Nature moving naturally in succession: an exploration of Doris Humphrey’s Water Study with live performance

This paper and accompanying live performance of the work will focus on Humphrey’s creative intention and the interplay she explored between ‘nature’ and ‘the natural’ in a range of contexts. A brief historical synopsis will contextualise the place of Water Study in the Humphrey canon, as it was the first major ensemble work she choreographed following her departure from Denishawn in 1928 and it continues to be staged today, most recently in Turin, Italy in 2008. The main body of the paper will consider the influences of ‘the natural’ and ‘nature’ in Humphrey’s creative process in terms of movement, rhythm and time, and the resulting implications of interpreting ‘the natural’ in contemporary staging.

An extended version of this paper appears in: Fensham Rachel and Carter, Alexandra (eds.) 2011 ‘Nature moving naturally in succession’ in Dancing Naturally: Nature, neo-classicism and modernity in early twentieth century dance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-230-27844-8