1.    Michio Ito was born in _____ in 1893.  

2.    True or False: Michio traveled to Paris to study ballet when he was 19.

3.    Ito studied at the _____ _____ in Dresden, Germany.

4.    What performance role helped to develop Ito’s abstract, elegant style? 

5.    In New York, Ito worked on revues and musicals including _____ and ______.

6.    Ito’s style was a mixture of which disciplines?

7.    What is a landmark of Ito’s training system that influenced both Lester Horton and Luigi’s techniques?

8.    True or False: Ito’s company stayed in Los Angeles following a cross-country tour in 1929. 

9.     How did the bombing of Pearl Harbor affect Ito?

10.     Where did Ito continue to work until his death in 1961?

Bonus:  Why is Ito considered the forgotten modern dance pioneer?

ANSWER KEY  1. Tokyo; 2. False, he traveled to Paris to study Opera.; 3. Dalcroze Institute; 4. The role of the Hawk in William Butler Yeats’ play At the Hawk’s Well; 5. The Mikado and Madame Butterfly; 6. Dalcroze, ballet, acrobatic dancing and “Oriental dancing”; 7. Two sets of 10 arm movements, characterized as masculine and feminine. Students learn both while walking at a controlled pace. The breath is also incorporated.; 8. True; 9. Ito was interned in New Mexico. In 1943, he chose to repatriate to Japan as part of a prisoner exchange; 10.  The Ernie Pyle Theater, and he established a dance school in Tokyo; BONUS: Because of anti-Japanese sentiment after World War II, Ito’s accomplishments were buried and his contributions to dance are often overlooked.

Comments

comments