| Date Span: | 1929-1996 |
| Creator: | Dieman-Bennett Dance Theatre Of The Hemispheres (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) |
| Extent: | 9.50 linear feet. |
| Collection Number: | IWA0265 |
| Repository: | Iowa Women's Archives |
| Summary: | Cedar Rapids dance studio founded in 1951 by Edna Dieman and Julia Bennett. |
The internationally renowned Dieman-Bennett Dance Theatre of the Hemispheres began in 1951 when Edna Dieman and Julia Bennett rented a room in the Cedar Rapids YWCA to give dance lessons.
Edna Dieman, a native Iowan, received a B.A. in music from Coe College, Iowa, and continued the study of dance at institutions around the world. She studied classical ballet, Spanish dance, and Indian dance among many other styles and became a member of the Ethnologic Ballet Company, dancing in New York City under the direction of LaMeri.
Julia Bennett, a native of England who was raised India, is an alumnus of Lowther College, North Wales, and studied voice and classical ballet in London, England. She was auditioned by Sir Henry Wood and accepted at the Royal College of Music, London. Later she studied voice with Julian Kimball and ballet with Madame Legat and Preobrazhenskaya in Paris.
Edna Dieman and Julia Bennett met in New York. Initially the two women returned to Cedar Rapids from New York each summer to teach dance. In 1950 they moved permanently to Cedar Rapids and began teaching dance year round.
The Dance Theatre offered concerts for children as well as adults, lecture-demonstrations, dance history, teaching seminars, and master classes. The company's credo was "Diversity in Dance." Dieman and Bennett taught many different styles of dance from the traditional to the eclectic. Contained within their repertoire was classic Indian and Spanish dance, as well as contemporary tap and jazz. Their students also studied historical dance, which includes court dances from the 11th through the 18th century, and classical ballet.
The Dieman-Bennett Dance Theatre of the Hemispheres closed its doors permanently in 1997.
Alternate Extent Statement: 21 videocassettes [V97-99, V143-161]
Photographs in boxes 9-15
Access: The records are open for research.
Use: Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa.
Acquisition: The records (donor no. 369) were donated by the Dieman-Bennett Dance Theatre of the Hemispheres in 1996 and 1997.
Preferred Citation: Dieman-Bennett Dance Theatre of the Hemispheres records, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.
| Repository: | Iowa Women's Archives |
| Address: | 100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242 |
| Phone: | 319-335-5068 |
| Curator: | Kären Mason |
| Email: | lib-women@uiowa.edu |
| Website: | http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa |
Browse by Series:
Series 1: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Series 2: DANCE THEATRE OF THE HEMISPHERES
Series 3: FESTIVALS
Series 4: PRODUCTIONS
Series 5: PROGRAMS AND RECITALS
Series 6: WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
Series 7: MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS ABOUT DANCE
Series 8: PHOTOGRAPHS
Series 9: SCRAPBOOKS
Series 10: AUDIOVISUAL
This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.
