Xenia Zarina

Xenia Zarina (1903 – August 15, 1967), born June Zimmerman, was an American dancer.

Xenia Zarina
Xenia Zarina, from a 1930 newspaper.
Born
June Zimmerman

1903
DiedAugust 15, 1967
Mexico City
OccupationDancer, dance scholar, dance educator
Notable work
Classic Dances of the Orient (1967)

Early life

June Zimmerman was the daughter of Oliver Brunner Zimmerman and Grace Adele Bushnell Zimmerman. Contrary to some accounts of her early life,[1] both of her parents were born in the American Midwest. Her father was a military engineer during World War I,[2] who taught at the University of Wisconsin[3][4] and the University of California,[5] and wrote a manual for tractor engine maintenance.[6] She graduated from Lyons Township High School in Illinois, and studied dance with Michel Fokine and other Russian dancers.[7][8]

Career

Zarina danced with the Chicago Opera Civic Ballet as a young woman,[9][10] and gave dance recitals for community groups in the midwest.[11][12] She appeared as a dancer in films Morning Judge (1926) and Chucho el Roto (1934). In 1935, she made her New York debut at the Guild Theatre, in a program of regional Mexican and "interpretive" dances with elaborate costumes.[13]

She traveled in Mexico[14] and many Asian countries[15][16] during the 1930s and 1940s, studying, performing, and teaching traditional dances.[9][17] She studied with Matsumoto Kōshirō VII in Japan.[18] For a time, when her travels were restricted during World War II,[7] she taught dance to the daughter of the Shah of Iran.[19][20] While in Iran, she worked with a fellow American expatriate, Nilla Cram Cook, who held a high position in Iran's Ministry of Education.[21]

An illustration depicting Zarina by Magda Nachman[22] was published in Dance Magazine in 1952.[1] She was on the program at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 1955.[23][24] She wrote a book, Classic Dances of the Orient (1967),[25] with "particularly extensive treatments of the Indian Bhurat Natyam and the Japanese Nihan Buyo."[26]

Personal life

Zarina died in 1967, in her sixties, in Mexico City. Her brother Gordon Zimmerman wrote about her life for an Illinois newspaper after her death.[7]

References
  1. Bernstein, Lina (2020-06-23). Magda Nachman: An Artist in Exile. Academic Studies PRess. ISBN 978-1-61811-970-4.
  2. "Liberty Fuel is O. K." Republic County Democrat. 1919-01-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Former Instructor at Madison Succumbs". The Journal Times. 1941-05-13. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Oliver B. Zimmerman". Wisconsin State Journal. 1941-05-14. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "J. Zimmerman, Local Inventor, Dies in South". The Capital Times. 1939-04-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Zimmerman, Oliver Brunner (1920). Internal Combustion Engines and Tractors, Their Development, Design, Construction, Function and Maintenance. International Harvester.
  7. "Brother of Xenia Zarina Writes About Her Life". Brookfield Citizen. October 19, 1967. p. 25. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  8. "Chenkin and Zarina at Orchestra Hall". Chicago Sentinel. October 9, 1931. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  9. Isaac Cohen, Matthew (March 2007). "DANCING THE SUBJECT OF 'JAVA' : International Modernism and Traditional Performance, 1899–1952". Indonesia and the Malay World. 35 (101): 9–29. doi:10.1080/13639810701233722. ISSN 1363-9811. S2CID 214652986.
  10. "Opera Ballet Finds Rest Here After Long Tour". Star Tribune. 1930-03-23. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Oriental Dancing of Xenia Zarina Pleases Watchers". Wausau Daily Herald. 1931-01-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Dances of Mexico Shown by Artists in Studio Recital". Wausau Daily Herald. 1932-04-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Martin, John (1935-01-21). "XENIA ZARINA DANCES IN NEW YORK DEBUT; Interesting Mexican Numbers, Excellently Costumed, Are Features of Program". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  14. "Guest Dancer Sees Hope for America". Wausau Daily Herald. 1932-04-07. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Dansavond Xenia Zarina". Soerabaijasch Handelsblad. August 9, 1938. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  16. "Xenia Zarina". De Sumatra Post. April 22, 1938. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  17. "Gains Permission". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1935-01-19. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  18. "Xenia Zarina Recital Tonight". Tribune (Philippines : 1932 - 1945). 1937-07-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-09-09 – via Trove.
  19. "Ruth St. Denis, 75, Returns to Pillow". The Berkshire Eagle. 1955-08-20. p. 29. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Visiting Dancer Recalls Some Oriental Footwork". Star Tribune. 1958-07-10. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "UNESCO May Miss Its Dancing Girls". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1948-08-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Xenia Zarina (1947)". Magda Nachman Acharya. 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  23. "Person : Xenia Zarina". Jacobs Pillow Archive. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  24. Parker, T. H. (1955-06-12). "Danes en Arabesque". Hartford Courant. p. 27. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. Zarina, Xenia (1967). Classic Dances of the Orient. Crown Publishers.
  26. "Classic Dances of the Orient (review)". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
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