Gemze de Lappe

Gemze de Lappe (February 28, 1922 – November 11, 2017) was an American dancer who worked very closely with Agnes de Mille and was frequently partnered by de Mille's favorite male dancer, James Mitchell.^[5][6]

Gemze de Lappe
Signed photo belonging to singer Margaret Ashton
Born	Gemze Mary de Lappe (1922-02-28)February 28, 1922 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Died	November 11, 2017(2017-11-11) (aged 95) New York City, New York, U.S.
Known for	Dance and choreography
Movement	Modern dance
Spouse(s)	John Carisi (m. 1959 or 1960; died 1992)[1][2][3][4]
Children	2

Born to Birch Wood de Lappe, an actor and teacher, and his wife, Maureen McDonough, an actress and drummer, Gemze attended Hunter College and the Ballet Arts School at Carnegie Hall.^[7] Originally trained by Irma Duncan and Michel Fokine, de Lappe began her career in Fokine's company. Her Broadway musical theatre performance credits include Simon of Legree in the original production of The King and I (also in the film version), Paint Your Wagon (Donaldson Award winner), Juno, and The American Dance Machine. She appeared in the original West End and first national companies of Oklahoma!, dancing the iconic role of Laurey in the "Dream Ballet". In the early 1950s, she briefly formed part of a dance team with Dean Crane.^[8] De Lappe's long concert dance career included engagements with American Ballet Theatre and the Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre. For several years, she was a professor of dance at Smith College, and has held a number of visiting appointments since her nominal retirement. In 1989, Niagara University awarded her an honorary doctorate.^[9]

She remained active as a choreographer and teacher until her death; she remains known for reconstructing the work of de Mille, Isadora Duncan, and Jerome Robbins. She recreated de Mille's choreography for the 1979 Broadway revival of Oklahoma! and choreographed Abe Lincoln in Illinois on Broadway. She regularly traveled the country, recreating the original choreography for such shows as The King and I, Oklahoma!, Brigadoon, and Carousel for various professional, regional, and educational theatre companies. In Spring 2011, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts presented an accurate recreation of the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! with the original choreography recreated by De Lappe.^[10]

In 2007, she was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre.^[11] In 2012, she received the Martha Hill Dance Fund Lifetime Achievement Award.^[12]

References

1. "Gemze De Lappe Biography". IMDb.
2. "New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLS5-PG37 : 19 June 2017), John Carisi and Gemze de Lappe, 1960, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States;Marriage, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, from Reclaim the Records, The NYC Marriage Index (http://www.nycmarriageindex.com : 2016); citing New York City Clerk's Office.
3. Applewhite, Ashton (October 22, 2008). "Gemze De Lappe: 'I danced straight on through'". This Chair Rocks. "De Lappe 'danced straight on through' from age nine until the birth of her first child at 38. She’d married John Carisi, a jazz composer and trumpet player, and stopped going on tour so she could stay close to New York City to raise their two sons." Retrieved November 20, 2002.
4. "Johnny Carisi, Pioneer Jazz Trumpeter, Composer". Chicago Tribune. October 11, 1992. p. 38. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
5. "Gemze de Lappe biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
6. Gemze de Lappe, 95, Dies; Keeper of the Agnes de Mille Flame
7. Willis, John (1977). Dance World 1976. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 176. ISBN 9780517526590.
8. "Via the Grapevine", Dance Magazine 24.9 (September 1950): 8.
9. "3 TO GET HONORARY DEGREES AT NIAGARA CONVOCATION". Buffalo News. 1989-05-26. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
10. UNCSA. "UNCSA Oklahoma!". Retrieved September 4, 2011.
11. Broadway.com. "2007 Tony Honors". Retrieved September 4, 2011.
12. "Martha Hill Dance Fund, Ltd. • Martha Hill Awards". www.marthahilldance.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2018-09-04.

Further reading

• "Birch DeLappe of the Big Bill Bittner Company". McAlester News Capital. December 2, 1909. p. 9

External links

• Gemze de Lappe at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gemze de Lappe at IMDb
• 2007 performance of Agnes de Mille's "Come to Me, Bend to Me," staged by de Lappe at Jacob's Pillow Dance
• 2007 interview about The King and I
• 2008 interview about aging and her career
• 2013 interview about Oklahoma! in The Huffington Post
• 2015 interview about Paint Your Wagon on the New York City Center blog