Virginia Myers | |
|---|---|
 Myers in 1926 | |
| Born | October 21, 1906 |
| Died | January 4, 1975 (aged 68) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Modern / Improvisational Dance |
Virginia Myers (October 21, 1906 - January 4, 1975) was an American dancer who gained national recognition as a precocious talent during her childhood in New York in the 1910s and 1920s.
Born in New York City in 1906, her parents were the New York-based artists Jerome Myers and Ethel Myers. [1] Virginia Myers was first introduced to the New York public at the age of four when she performed her own solo improvisational dance to the "Morning Mood" section of Grieg's Peer Gynt suite. It formed the 4-minute Prologue to a full evening of music, dance and story for a charity Benefit staged at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan on April 4, 1911. [2] [3]
Additional critical exposure and publicity was generated from the decision by the Edison Film Company to star Myers, then only 5 years old, in their 1000th film release, as the first part of a split reeler. This 20-minute film, solely devoted to her original creative dancing, was titled Dream Dances of Virginia Myers (1912) and produced by the Edison Film Company as production #1000, which was distributed all over America as well as overseas. [4]
In the 11 years to follow, Virginia made fifteen dance appearances at various New York theaters, each time filling an entire afternoon or evening program with her own original dance interpretations of a wide range of musical works. [3] Without formal dance training, professional choreography, or staging, she became a famous dancer in America and around the world during that era. [2] [1]
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