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Michio Itō

January 20, 2023

Michio Itō (伊藤 道郎, Itō Michio, 13 April 1892 - 6 November 1961) was a Japanese dancer who developed his own choreography style in Europe and America. He was the son of Kimiye Iijima and architect Tamekichi Ito who was educated at the University of Washington; he was one of nine children, and the brother of Director Koreya Senda.[1] Michio left Japan as a teenager to study classic music in Paris. After learning musical theory Dalcroze eurhythmics, Hellerau in Germany, he started to explore modern dance. He was an associate of William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound, Angna Enters, Isamu Noguchi, Louis Horst, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Lillian Powell, Vladimir Rosing, Pauline Koner, Lester Horton and others. He danced with the Anglo-Indian dancer Roshanara in 1917,[2] and with French-Indian dancer Nyota Inyoka in 1923-1924.[3][4]

Michio Itō
1919
Born(1892-04-13)April 13, 1892
Tokyo, Japan
DiedNovember 6, 1961(1961-11-06) (aged 69)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupationchoreographer

He married Dancer Hazel Agness (1902 -1971), who was performed professionally as Hazel Wright in 1923; they divorced in 1936.[5] They had two children: Donald and Gerald. Their son Gerald "Jerry" Tamekichi Ito (1927-2007) became an actor.

New York Years

He was active in New York City from 1916 to 1929, when he moved to California. His works in New York included "Bushido" (1916),"Tamura" (1918), "Cherry Blossoms" (1927), "Nuages et Fetes" (1929), and "Turando"(1929). He was particularly well-known for "The Pinwheel Review" (1923) and for being a headliner in William Collier's "Ching-a-Ling Revue" (1927) which featured many well-known performers such as: the Three Meyakos (whose real names were Esther, Florence and George Kudara); Hisako Koine; and J. Ah Chung and E. Don Sang (formerly vaudeville performers in the Chung Hwa Four).[6]

While in New York he championed the idea of a performance space for dancers.[7] This idea resulted in the Theatre Arts Building which was managed by the Dance Guild, Inc., and provided two theatres and 250 studios with living quarters.[8]

California Years

He moved to California in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression. He worked on several movies during this time, though his work was not always credited. In 1931, he opened Michio Ito Studios, his dance school at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Place. His wife, Hazel Wright, was on the faculty there. Dorothy Wagner and Jessmin Howarth were also listed as instructors at the school.[9] He performed several symphonic dance poems at the Hollywood Bowl, including ones to "Prince Igor" and "Scheherazade". These events were spectacular due to the size of the performance; they featured one hundred twenty-five dancers, a two hundred person choir and an orchestra of one hundred musicians.[10]

In 1931, the Itō's travelled to Japan.[11] His party included his wife Hazel Wright, their two children, along with some performers. The visit marked a homecoming for Michio who had been gone from Japan for nearly twenty years. Five performances were held in the two months he was in Japan. One performance was marred by an arrest of Hazel Wright during her performance at the International Club in Tokyo. An Inspector General and five policeman interrupted the performance by making an arrest for "social dancing." Tangos and Waltzes were perceived as a moral hazard in Japan during this period and were prohibited. Itō and the club's chairman supplied the permits and approvals they had received along with arguments that the dancing on stage exempted them from the current regulations. Their release occurred at two in the morning, and their arguments must have been successful because further police actions were avoided.[12]

In 1939, Itō surprised many when he assisted Sally Rand, one of his former students, with a benefit to support a repertory dance theater group. Rand and Itō performed a duet at the event.[13] Earlier the previous year he choreographed the "Dance of the Peacock" for her movie The Sunset Murder Case (1938).

Itō travelled to Japan in 1939 for his parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary.

World War II and Internment

In 1941, Michio was arrested and held at four different internment facilities; first in Montana (Fort Missoula), Oklahoma (Fort Sill), Louisiana (Camp Livingston), and New Mexico (Santa Fe).[14] He was eventually deported from the United States after the outbreak of World War II.[15] His son "Jerry" Ito served in the U.S. Navy during the war. Itō and his second wife, Tsuyako, sailed to Japan as part of a prisoner exchange.[16] He arrived in Yokohama in 1944.

Post War Years In Japan

Upon arriving in Japan, he told newspapers at a press conference that "the American fighting spirit cannot be underestimated."[17] Upon arrival, he worked creating the Greater East Asia Stage Arts Research Institute. After Japan surrendered in 1945, he was chosen to manage the Ernie Pyle Theatre which was created by the United States to entertain American troops.[18][19] Japanese citizens were not allowed to attend performances. "Fantasy Japonica" was the his first production there, "Jungle Drums" (1946), "Sakura Flowers" (1947) and "Rhapsody In Blue" (1947) performances also received press attention. While at the Ernie Pyle, he brought his brother Kisaku Ito on as Scenic Designer. In 1948, Ito was permitted to mount a production for the Japanese public of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.[20] His work was not restricted to the Ernie Pyle as he put on other performances in Japan during this time. He also formed a dancing school while in Tokyo.[21] The Ernie Pyle continued as an American Theatre until after his death; finally closing in 1966 and reverting to the original Japanese owners.

He was creator of the "Holiday In Japan" show for the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.[22]

In 1960, he was chosen to direct two of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics events: the Torch Relay and the opening ceremony. Articles reveal that he had plans for the Olympic torch bearers to leave Greece following the path of Marco Polo to Japan.[23] His plans for the Olympics were not realized he died 6 November 1961, at the age of 67.

Cinematography

References

  1. ^ "Michio Ito Dead; Japanese Dancer". The New York Times. 7 November 1961.
  2. ^ Deborah Jowitt (1989). Time and the Dancing Image. University of California Press. pp. 147–148. ISBN 978-0-520-06627-4.
  3. ^ Archbald, Anne (November 1923). "The Vanity Box". Theatre Magazine. 38: 68.
  4. ^ "Winter Interludes Which are Instinct with Grace and Rhythm". Vanity Fair. 21: 42. December 1923.
  5. ^ "Dancing Wife Divorces Ito". The New York Times. 2 April 1936. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Shubert Playhouse Advertisement for "Ching-A-Ling" an Ameri-Oriental Revue". Delaware County Times. 10 January 1927. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  7. ^ "To Aid Homeless Dancers". New York Times. 10 March 1928. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  8. ^ "The Dance: A New Home - Music Events. Project of Michio Ito for Theatre Building is Taking Shape". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Winter Course At Dance School To Open". Los Angeles Evening Post. 24 January 1931. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  10. ^ Jones, Isabelle. "Bowl Mixes Temperaments". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Japanese Dancer to Visit Homeland". Detroit Free Press. 1 March 1931. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  12. ^ Rodman, Tara. Altered Belonging. p. 158.
  13. ^ "Sally Rand Gives Classical Version". The Pittsburgh Press. 16 January 1939. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  14. ^ Rodman, Tara (2018). Altered Belonging: The Transnational Dance of Michio Ito. Northwestern University Dissertation. p. 188.
  15. ^ Riordan, Kevin (2017). "Performance In the Wartime Archive; Michio Ito at the Alien Enemy Hearing Board". American Studies. 56 (1): 67–89. doi:10.1353/ams.2017.0003. S2CID 148760569.
  16. ^ Rodman, Tara. Altered Belonging. p. 193.
  17. ^ "Repatriot Warns Japs Not to Sneer at Yanks War Spirit". The San Francisco Examiner. 20 November 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Michio Ito and Gerald Ito". The Miami Herald. 31 December 1946. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  19. ^ "We are Dancers of Japan". Des Moines Tribune. 20 December 1946. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Japan Enjoys Its First Glimpse of 'The Mikado'". Oakland Tribune. 29 January 1948. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  21. ^ Palmer, Kyle (26 October 1949). "Japs Plan Center to Attract Tourists". The Los Angeles Times.
  22. ^ "Marketplace Teahouse Planned". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Marco Polo's Path May Be Retraced By Olympic Flame". The San Bernardino County Sung. 23 August 1960. Retrieved 6 June 2021.

Further reading

  • Caldwell, Helen. Michio Ito: The Dancer and His Dances. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.
  • Cohen-Stratyner, Barbara Naomi. 1982. Biographical dictionary of dance. New York: Schirmer Books.
  • Cowell, M. (2001). Dance chronicle: Michio Ito in Hollywood: Modes and Ironies of Ethnicity. Taylor & Francis.
  • Cowell, M., & Shimazaki, S. (1994). "East and West in the Work of Michio Ito", Dance Research Journal, 26(2), 11-23. doi:1. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1477913 doi:1.
  • The Dances of Michio Ito (2007), a film produced by the Chamber Dance Company. Performances taped in 2001 at the Meany Theatre and the Meany Studio Theatre, University of Washington; dances reconstructed by Taeko Furusho.
  • Michio Ito: Pioneering Dance-Choreographer (2013), a film directed by Bonnie Oda Homsey for the Los Angeles Dance Foundation.
  • Takeishi, Midori, ed. and rev. by David Pacun. Japanese Elements in Michio Ito’s Early Period (1915-1924): Meetings of East and West in the Collaborative Works, (Tokyo: Gendaitosho, 2006).
  • Michio Ito's personal papers are located at the California Ethnic & Multicultural Archives, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michio Itō.
  • Michio Itō at IMDb
  • Michio Itō at IBDB
  • Michio Ito Foundation

January 20, 2023
michio, itō, 伊藤, 道郎, itō, michio, april, 1892, november, 1961, japanese, dancer, developed, choreography, style, europe, america, kimiye, iijima, architect, tamekichi, educated, university, washington, nine, children, brother, director, koreya, senda, michio, . Michio Itō 伊藤 道郎 Itō Michio 13 April 1892 6 November 1961 was a Japanese dancer who developed his own choreography style in Europe and America He was the son of Kimiye Iijima and architect Tamekichi Ito who was educated at the University of Washington he was one of nine children and the brother of Director Koreya Senda 1 Michio left Japan as a teenager to study classic music in Paris After learning musical theory Dalcroze eurhythmics Hellerau in Germany he started to explore modern dance He was an associate of William Butler Yeats Ezra Pound Angna Enters Isamu Noguchi Louis Horst Ted Shawn Martha Graham Lillian Powell Vladimir Rosing Pauline Koner Lester Horton and others He danced with the Anglo Indian dancer Roshanara in 1917 2 and with French Indian dancer Nyota Inyoka in 1923 1924 3 4 Michio Itō1919Born 1892 04 13 April 13 1892Tokyo JapanDiedNovember 6 1961 1961 11 06 aged 69 Tokyo JapanOccupationchoreographerHe married Dancer Hazel Agness 1902 1971 who was performed professionally as Hazel Wright in 1923 they divorced in 1936 5 They had two children Donald and Gerald Their son Gerald Jerry Tamekichi Ito 1927 2007 became an actor Contents 1 New York Years 2 California Years 3 World War II and Internment 4 Post War Years In Japan 5 Cinematography 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksNew York Years EditHe was active in New York City from 1916 to 1929 when he moved to California His works in New York included Bushido 1916 Tamura 1918 Cherry Blossoms 1927 Nuages et Fetes 1929 and Turando 1929 He was particularly well known for The Pinwheel Review 1923 and for being a headliner in William Collier s Ching a Ling Revue 1927 which featured many well known performers such as the Three Meyakos whose real names were Esther Florence and George Kudara Hisako Koine and J Ah Chung and E Don Sang formerly vaudeville performers in the Chung Hwa Four 6 While in New York he championed the idea of a performance space for dancers 7 This idea resulted in the Theatre Arts Building which was managed by the Dance Guild Inc and provided two theatres and 250 studios with living quarters 8 California Years EditHe moved to California in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression He worked on several movies during this time though his work was not always credited In 1931 he opened Michio Ito Studios his dance school at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Place His wife Hazel Wright was on the faculty there Dorothy Wagner and Jessmin Howarth were also listed as instructors at the school 9 He performed several symphonic dance poems at the Hollywood Bowl including ones to Prince Igor and Scheherazade These events were spectacular due to the size of the performance they featured one hundred twenty five dancers a two hundred person choir and an orchestra of one hundred musicians 10 In 1931 the Itō s travelled to Japan 11 His party included his wife Hazel Wright their two children along with some performers The visit marked a homecoming for Michio who had been gone from Japan for nearly twenty years Five performances were held in the two months he was in Japan One performance was marred by an arrest of Hazel Wright during her performance at the International Club in Tokyo An Inspector General and five policeman interrupted the performance by making an arrest for social dancing Tangos and Waltzes were perceived as a moral hazard in Japan during this period and were prohibited Itō and the club s chairman supplied the permits and approvals they had received along with arguments that the dancing on stage exempted them from the current regulations Their release occurred at two in the morning and their arguments must have been successful because further police actions were avoided 12 In 1939 Itō surprised many when he assisted Sally Rand one of his former students with a benefit to support a repertory dance theater group Rand and Itō performed a duet at the event 13 Earlier the previous year he choreographed the Dance of the Peacock for her movie The Sunset Murder Case 1938 Itō travelled to Japan in 1939 for his parents fiftieth wedding anniversary World War II and Internment EditIn 1941 Michio was arrested and held at four different internment facilities first in Montana Fort Missoula Oklahoma Fort Sill Louisiana Camp Livingston and New Mexico Santa Fe 14 He was eventually deported from the United States after the outbreak of World War II 15 His son Jerry Ito served in the U S Navy during the war Itō and his second wife Tsuyako sailed to Japan as part of a prisoner exchange 16 He arrived in Yokohama in 1944 Post War Years In Japan EditUpon arriving in Japan he told newspapers at a press conference that the American fighting spirit cannot be underestimated 17 Upon arrival he worked creating the Greater East Asia Stage Arts Research Institute After Japan surrendered in 1945 he was chosen to manage the Ernie Pyle Theatre which was created by the United States to entertain American troops 18 19 Japanese citizens were not allowed to attend performances Fantasy Japonica was the his first production there Jungle Drums 1946 Sakura Flowers 1947 and Rhapsody In Blue 1947 performances also received press attention While at the Ernie Pyle he brought his brother Kisaku Ito on as Scenic Designer In 1948 Ito was permitted to mount a production for the Japanese public of Gilbert and Sullivan s The Mikado 20 His work was not restricted to the Ernie Pyle as he put on other performances in Japan during this time He also formed a dancing school while in Tokyo 21 The Ernie Pyle continued as an American Theatre until after his death finally closing in 1966 and reverting to the original Japanese owners He was creator of the Holiday In Japan show for the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas 22 In 1960 he was chosen to direct two of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics events the Torch Relay and the opening ceremony Articles reveal that he had plans for the Olympic torch bearers to leave Greece following the path of Marco Polo to Japan 23 His plans for the Olympics were not realized he died 6 November 1961 at the age of 67 Cinematography EditSong of India 1920 Dawn of the East 1921 Lotus Land 1928 No No Nanette 1930 contributed Japanese Ballet sequence to the movie Madame Butterfly 1932 Spawn of the North 1938 The Sunset Murder Case 1941 References Edit Michio Ito Dead Japanese Dancer The New York Times 7 November 1961 Deborah Jowitt 1989 Time and the Dancing Image University of California Press pp 147 148 ISBN 978 0 520 06627 4 Archbald Anne November 1923 The Vanity Box Theatre Magazine 38 68 Winter Interludes Which are Instinct with Grace and Rhythm Vanity Fair 21 42 December 1923 Dancing Wife Divorces Ito The New York Times 2 April 1936 Retrieved 6 June 2021 Shubert Playhouse Advertisement for Ching A Ling an Ameri Oriental Revue Delaware County Times 10 January 1927 Retrieved 6 June 2021 To Aid Homeless Dancers New York Times 10 March 1928 Retrieved 6 June 2021 The Dance A New Home Music Events Project of Michio Ito for Theatre Building is Taking Shape The New York Times Retrieved 6 June 2021 Winter Course At Dance School To Open Los Angeles Evening Post 24 January 1931 Retrieved 6 June 2021 Jones Isabelle Bowl Mixes Temperaments The Los Angeles Times Retrieved 6 June 2021 Japanese Dancer to Visit Homeland Detroit Free Press 1 March 1931 Retrieved 7 June 2021 Rodman Tara Altered Belonging p 158 Sally Rand Gives Classical Version The Pittsburgh Press 16 January 1939 Retrieved 7 June 2021 Rodman Tara 2018 Altered Belonging The Transnational Dance of Michio Ito Northwestern University Dissertation p 188 Riordan Kevin 2017 Performance In the Wartime Archive Michio Ito at the Alien Enemy Hearing Board American Studies 56 1 67 89 doi 10 1353 ams 2017 0003 S2CID 148760569 Rodman Tara Altered Belonging p 193 Repatriot Warns Japs Not to Sneer at Yanks War Spirit The San Francisco Examiner 20 November 1943 p 2 Retrieved 6 June 2021 Michio Ito and Gerald Ito The Miami Herald 31 December 1946 Retrieved 6 June 2021 We are Dancers of Japan Des Moines Tribune 20 December 1946 Retrieved 6 June 2021 Japan Enjoys Its First Glimpse of The Mikado Oakland Tribune 29 January 1948 Retrieved 6 June 2021 Palmer Kyle 26 October 1949 Japs Plan Center to Attract Tourists The Los Angeles Times Marketplace Teahouse Planned The Honolulu Advertiser Retrieved 6 June 2021 Marco Polo s Path May Be Retraced By Olympic Flame The San Bernardino County Sung 23 August 1960 Retrieved 6 June 2021 Further reading EditCaldwell Helen Michio Ito The Dancer and His Dances Berkeley University of California Press 1977 Cohen Stratyner Barbara Naomi 1982 Biographical dictionary of dance New York Schirmer Books Cowell M 2001 Dance chronicle Michio Ito in Hollywood Modes and Ironies of Ethnicity Taylor amp Francis Cowell M amp Shimazaki S 1994 East and West in the Work of Michio Ito Dance Research Journal 26 2 11 23 doi 1 Retrieved from https www jstor org stable 1477913 doi 1 The Dances of Michio Ito 2007 a film produced by the Chamber Dance Company Performances taped in 2001 at the Meany Theatre and the Meany Studio Theatre University of Washington dances reconstructed by Taeko Furusho Michio Ito Pioneering Dance Choreographer 2013 a film directed by Bonnie Oda Homsey for the Los Angeles Dance Foundation Takeishi Midori ed and rev by David Pacun Japanese Elements in Michio Ito s Early Period 1915 1924 Meetings of East and West in the Collaborative Works Tokyo Gendaitosho 2006 Michio Ito s personal papers are located at the California Ethnic amp Multicultural Archives UC Santa Barbara Library University of California Santa Barbara External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michio Itō Michio Itō at IMDb Michio Itō at IBDB Michio Ito Foundation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michio Itō amp oldid 1125285896, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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