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Helen Tamiris

Shows · Helen Tamiris

Choreographer 1902–1966

Helen Tamiris (born Helen Becker; April 23, 1902 – August 4, 1966) was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher. Tamiris began her studies in modern dance at the Henry Street Settlement as a child, and began her career in the field of ballet. Tamiris refocused to modern dance, making her solo debut in 1928, with a focus on social activism. Tamiris was a leader in the Federal Theatre Project and its sister projects, arguing for modern dance as an art form, and choreographing multiple productions. In her later career, Tamiris choreographed on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 1949 for her choreography in Touch and Go.

Also credited on11 works

Annie Get Your Gun
Fanny
Inside U.S.A.
Plain And Fancy
Show Boat
Up in Central Park
Bless You All
Flahooley
Carnival in Flanders “A Musical Comedy”
By the Beautiful Sea “The New Musical”
By the Beautiful Sea

These come off the person record, which names a work and not a production. So we can say this name is attached to the work and we cannot say which staging, or in what capacity. For a composer or a writer that is the whole career we hold; there is no cast list to find them in.

In the literature8 passages

  • Direction : Mary Hunter; Choreography : Helen Tamiris; Scenery , Costumes , and Lighting : Stewart Chaney; Musical Direction : Max Meth; Producers : Vinton Freedley in association with Anderson Lawler and Russell Markertebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • But all the critics agreed the musical had three strengths: the contributions of Stewart Chaney, Helen Tamiris, and Valerie Bettis. Barnes praised Chaney’s “extraordinarily stylish and effective” scenery, costumes, and lighting (Chaney’s decrepit mansion was festooned with gigantic cobwebs), and Coleman said Chaney’s contributions “should…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Direction : John C. Wilson; Producers : Herman Levin and Oliver Smith; Choreography : Helen Tamiris; Scenery : Oliver Smith; Costumes : Miles White; Lighting : Peggy Clark; Musical Direction : Lehman Engelebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Direction : E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy; Producers : Cheryl Crawford in association with E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy; Choreography : Helen Tamiris; Scenery and Lighting : Howard Bay; Costumes : David Ffolkes; Musical Direction : Maurice Levine; Note : Yma Sumac’s special material was written and composed by Moises Vivanco.ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Direction : Preston Sturges; Producers : Paula Stone and Mike Sloane and Johnny Burke and James Van Heusen; Choreography : Helen Tamiris; Scenery : Oliver Smith; Costumes : Lucinda Ballard; Lighting : Uncredited; Musical Direction : Harold Hastingsebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Direction : Marshall Jamison; Producers : Robert Fryer and Lawrence Carr; Choreography : Helen Tamiris; Scenery and Lighting : Jo Mielziner; Costumes : Irene Sharaff; Musical Direction : Jay Blacktonebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Any staging. This name appears in no production cast list we hold — 1,877 of 7,139 people are in that position, most of them writers, composers and designers rather than performers.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — choreographer — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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