(Mar. 22, 1899-Apr. 4, 1991). The daughter of Indianapolis otolaryngologist Lafayette Page and pianist Mary Irvine Page, Ruth Page studied dance at an early age. In 1914, Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova invited Page on a tour of South America, and she accepted, becoming the first American woman to dance with Pavlova’s company.
Page attended Tudor Hall and finished her scholastic studies in New York. After performing a lead role in John Alden Carpenter’s early-20th-century ballet The Birthday of the Infanta in Chicago and New York (December 23, 1919 and February 23, 1920 respectively), she toured internationally with Ballet Intime, led by Adolph Bolm. Bolm had been part of the famed Diaghilev Ballet Russes founded by Sergei Diaghilev. Page then scored another success in Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue.
She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1927 in Smetana’s and danced for several seasons with that ballet ensemble. In 1928, she toured Japan and was a guest artist in the enthronement ceremonies for Emperor Hirohito. At various times, she was a principal dancer for opera companies in Buenos Aires and Ravinia (suburban Chicago) and maintained an international career.
Page began choreographing in the late 1920s and was a pioneer in using American themes in a Russian-dominated field. Her collaboration with Bentley Stone in 1945 led to the birth of the Page-Stone Ballet Company, which toured the United States for nearly a decade. In 1975, she founded the Ruth Page School of Dance in Chicago. She established the school as a platform for developing dance artists—ensuring a place for them to train, work, and perform at the highest level.
Her awards include membership in the Indiana Academy (1975), Dance Magazine Award (1980), the Illinois Gubernatorial Award (1985), and honorary degrees from Indiana University, DePaul University, and Columbia College of Chicago. She was the author of (1978) and (1984).
The Ruth Page School of Dance, renamed the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, continues her legacy. A Chicago Street is also named for her.
Help improve this entry
Contribute information, offer corrections, suggest images.
You can also recommend new entries related to this topic.
