the clothes 2011

Vernon and Irene Castle were basically the real life version of the on-screen couple of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (who did play them in a dramatic biopic). They were a husband and wife team of ballroom dancers who are largely credited with bringing popularity to modern dancing. In 1911 the couple became hugely popular in Paris and introduced American ragtime to France. They were groundbreaking in a number of ways: they traveled with a black orchestra and were animal rights advocates, and Irene was a fashion innovator. She was considered "the best dressed woman in America" and bobbed her hair around 10 years before that look became popular.

Ruth St. Denis has become my new obsession; I'm in awe of her grace and envious of her elaborate costumes. Ruth was a pioneer of modern dance known for her interests in exotic mystiscm and spirituality. One of her major techniques was "music visualization" and she was known for mystique and the school she founded with her husband in 1938; Martha Graham was one of her pupils.

For her, dancing was a very spiritual act and I think it shows in these images. There seems to be a sense of communion between her and nature.

Ruth St. Denis 1876-1968 via NYPL