Eleanor King

GRAND LADY OF DANCE

Honored February, 1986

Eleanor King

"I have been asked what were the obstacles I had to overcome in my dancing life. I had a lot of resistance to overcome with my family," Eleanor King recalled. "My parents were not at all impressed that I wanted to be a dancer; this was unheard of in my family. I had five brothers and sisters who all thought I was mad, and that in a way was a good... springboard, I guess. The more they objected, the more I was determined to do it."

A pioneer modern dancer and soloist with the Humphrey-Weidman Company during the early years of modern dance, Eleanor's career as a dancer and choreographer spanned six decades. Her repertory of more than one hundred dances was inspired by her lifelong study of the dances of other cultures.