Grace and Kurt Graff: America's outstanding dancers

              AMERICA'S OUTSTANDING DANCERS
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Grace & Kurt Graff




Grace and Kurt Graff

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G
RACE AND KURT GRAFF
, unparalleled in their unity and harmony of movement, are a superlative dance pair, as well as most accom-plished solo dancers.




The Graffs have developed their own arrest-ing style based on a severe routine of training in both the classical ballet and modern dance.




Grace Graff studied ballet in Milan under the great Italian Ballet Master, Cecchetti.  Later in Paris she was acclaimed for her magnificent performances at the Champs Elysees Theatre. Returning to America, she danced in a series of performances in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and most of the major cities of the United States.  Her return engagements which took her back to the Continent brought her in contact with Rudolph von Laban, the instiga-tor of the modern dance in Europe, and she worked under his tutelage until she met the dancer, Kurt Graff.




Graff also studied under the famous von Laban, became his assistant, and formed a branch of the Laban Choreographic Institute in Paris.  Later he was chosen to be first dancer in the Jooss Ballet and also danced at the Bay-reuth Festivals under orchestral directions of Toscanini.




Grace and Kurt Graff's collaboration led them to the heights of success in America and abroad.  In Europe they filled a series of many important engagements in London, Paris, Cannes, Budapest, Vienna, Biarritz, etc.  On the French Riviera, they gave special command performances for the Emperor of Siam, the King of Sweden, the Prince of Wales and other royal personages.




Back in America, they appeared on Broadway in several musical productions—then returning to Chicago, Grace Graff's home, they built a concert house and studio of the Dance.




Eventually the Graffs developed their own company, the Graff Ballet.  This remarkable organization attained national scope and recognition before large and enthusiastic audiences.




Then came America's entry into World War II, and with it the call to arms of all the men in the company, including Graff.  Upon receiving his Honorable Discharge, Graff returned to assume his place in the field of dance.




Starting with a thorough understanding of and training in the fundamentals of the dance as an art form, the Graffs have conceived dances of extraordinary beauty, drama and humor—costumed them superbly, and presented them with a trained and attuned sense of what is good theatre.




P
AUL RECK
 a former member of the Graff Ballet rejoined the Graffs after his return from service in the Pacific.  His early training was under the famous Mary Wigman and abroad he appeared extensively on the concert stage.  Today Mr. Reck's dancing adds immeasurably to the variety of this most distinguished ensemble.



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Grace & Kurt Graff



Assisted by PAUL RECK At the Piano ARTHUR KLEINER





Piagram





Flame
The fire of jealousy and love destroys the object of its passion, and death extinguishes the flame.

GRACE AND KURT GRAFF AND PAUL RECK


De Falla



The Reason Why My Heart is Broke'

A dance version of an old Folk Tune 
Go 'Way From My Window


Kleiner




Bavarian Cream (A Baroque Fantasy)
With great ado a fussy angel prepares for the arrival of a heavenly visitor.  The celestial one descends and dances a gigue with him.  Fatigued, she returns to the pillow of her cloud.
Pinto



Renaissance
In the mood of the Borgia period
Campbell



Two Parodies


Medley







1.


Chapeaux Emile — on the frailty of women in a hat salon.


2.


Vintage 1912 — on early American ragtime.




GRACE AND KURT GRAFF AND PAUL RECK





Intermission





Aperitif
The apple of Temptation as it might have been offered in the time of Toulouse-Lautrec.
Bowles


Oh Tender Spring!
A bit of surrealistic nonsense
Walton






Romance


Satie




Ballada
An Elizabethan story of a Lord who lost his Lady
Niles-Kleiner





Choreography by Kurt Graff


Costumes designed by Kurt Graff


Executed by Hella Drumm Vogt & Ann Pratt


Lighting & Stage Management by Paul Reck








The Graffs have Appeared in


Albany, N. Y.


Albuquerque, N. M. (2)


Amherst, Mass. (3)


Appleton, Wis.


Arkansas City, Kans.


Athens, Ga.


Atlanta, Ga.


Auburn, Ala.


Augusta, Ga. (2)


Aurora, Ill.


Austin, Tex. (2)


Baldwin, Kans.


Baltimore, Md.


Baton Rouge, La.


Bay City, Mich.


Boston, Mass.


Brownsville, Tex.


California, Penn.


Canyon, Tex.


Carbondale, Ill.


Chapel Hill, N. C.


Charleston, S. C.


Charleston, W. Va.


Chicago, Ill. (6)


Cincinnati, Ohio (2)


Claremore, Okla.


Collegeboro, Ga.


Columbia, Mo.


Columbus, Ohio


Corpus Christi, Tex.


Culver, Ind. (2)


Decatur, Ill.


DeKalb, Ill. (2)


Denton, Tex.


Detroit, Mich.


Dixon, Ill.


Durham, N. C.


Eau Claire, Wis.


Evanston, Ill. (5)


Galesburg, Ill.


Goodwell, Okla.


Greensboro, N. C. (3)


Greeley, Colo.


Greenville, N. C.


Grinnell, Iowa


Havana, Cuba (4)


Hanover, N. H.


Houston, Tex.


Hudson, N. Y.


Indiana, Penn.


Indianapolis, Ind.


Jacksonville, Ill


Jefferson City, Mo.


Johnson's City, Tenn.


Kalamazoo, Mich. (2)


Kansas City, Mo.


Kenosha, Wis.


Kokomo, Ind.


LaCrosse, Wis.


Lafayette, La.


Lake Forest, Ill.


Lansing, Mich.


Las Cruces, N. M.


La Grange, Ala.


Laramie, Wyo.


Lexington, Ky.


Lincoln, Neb.


Louisville, Ky. (2)


McCook, Nebr.


Macon, Ga.


Madison, Wis.


Manhattan, Kans.


Mankato, Minn.


Marion, Ind.


Marmet, W. Va.


Maryville, Mo.


Milwaukee, Wis. (3)


Memphis, Tenn.


Menomonie, Wis.


Milledgeville, Ga.


Muncie, Ind.


Muskegon, Mich.


Nantucket, Mass.


Nashville, Tenn.


New London, Conn.


New York, N. Y.


Norfolk, Nebr.


Normal, Ill.


Norman, Okla.


Omaha, Nebr. (2)


Oxford, Penn.


Parkville, Mo.


Pensacola, Fla.


Peoria, Ill.


Peterboro, N. H.


Pine Bluff, Ark.


Pittsburgh, Pa.


Portales, N. M.


Princeton, Ill.


Putney, Vt. (6)


River Falls, Wis.


Rockford, Ill.


Rolla, Mo.


Russelville, Ark. (2)


Scotlandville, Mo.


Springfield, Ill.


St. Cloud, Minn.


St. Charles, Mo.


St. Louis, Mo.


St. Paul, Minn.


Statesboro, Ga.


Salem, W. Va.


Salisbury, N. C.


San Antonio, Tex.


Sarasota, Fla. (2)


Sebring, Fla.


Silver City, N. M.


Spencer, Iowa


Springfield, Mo. (2)


Stillwater, Okla.


Streator, Ill.


Stevensville, Tex.


Superior, Wis.


Syracuse, N. Y.


Tahlequah, Okla.


Talladega, Ga. (2)


Tallahassee, Fla.


Tarkio, Mo.


Texarkana, Ark.


Terre Haute, Ind.


Tulsa, Okla.


Tuskegee, Ala.


Urbana, Ill.


Valdosta, Ga.


Warrensburg, Mo.


Williamstown, Mass.


Winnetka, Ill.


Winston-Salem, N. C.


Worcester, Mass.




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Trilutes of the Press

LONDON

I have never seen dancers move more beautifully.—


Daily Mirror




The whole performance is remarkable.—


The Star




NEW YORK



Silver-sheathed romance, medieval passion, philosophical comment and broad slapstick shared the stage . . . expertly performed . . . dances and costumes were stunning of style and color.—


New York Herald Tribune




The Graffs made a definite impression by the enthusiasm and exuberance of their dancing and by the manner in which they could leap from topic to topic without losing spirit — one of the best was 'Renaissance.'


New York World-Telegram




Their work is outstanding.—


Walter Winchell





CHICAGO



Remarkable pair of originals . . . cannot be matched — always absorbs and inspires onlookers to rhapsodies.—


Chicago Herald-American




Infallible — arresting — intriguing . . . Best dancers you are liable to see anywhere.—


Gail Borden, Daily Times





BOSTON



Work that was of singular beauty and poetic reverence — remarkably powerful.—


Christian Science Monitor





DETROIT



An evening adorned by striking beauty — Grace and Kurt Graff are superb dancers worth seeing.—


Detroit News





PITTSBURGH



A brilliant display of terpsichorean art that achieved smash-hit success and evoked enthusiastic acclaim . . . lofty attainment.—


Pittsburgh Press





COLUMBUS



The dancers Grace and Kurt Graff performed with true finesse, all their work had a suavity and rare beauty of line . . . highly diverting.—


Ohio State Journal





CINCINNATI



It may be a long time before Cincinnati again will have such an exciting, dramatic and beautiful performance as that given last evening featuring Grace and Kurt Graff.—


Cincinnati Enquirer





BALTIMORE



Capacity audience — superb performance — skillful interpretations of the sprightly humorous.—


Baltimore American





LINCOLN



Breathtaking beauty . . . almost unbelievable grace and ludicrous pantomime.—


The Lincoln Star





NATIONAL MAGAZINES



The Graffs explored heretofore unsuspected possibilities of movement . . . a vivid theatre of their own.—


Theatre Arts Monthly




Renaissance was a masterpiece in conception and costuming.—


The Billboard