Adam Darius Explained

Adam Darius (10 May 1930 – 3 December 2017) was a Turkish origin American dancer, mime artist, writer and choreographer. As a performer, he appeared in over 86 countries across six continents.^[1] As a writer, he published 19 books and wrote 22 plays.^[2]

In a program devoted to his career, the BBC World Service described him as "one of the most exceptional talents of the 20th century".^{[3] [4]}

Biography

Adam Darius was born in Manhattan, New York City, into a family of Turkish and Russian ancestry.^[5]

Ballet career

Adam Darius began his ballet and contemporary dance training in 1945, at the age of 14, and went on to study with, among others, Anatole Oboukhov, George Goncharov, Olga Preobrajenska and José Limón.^[6]

His professional career began in 1946 with appearances at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, and then with numerous ballet companies including Britain's International Ballet (1953), Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet (1954), and Denmark's Scandinavian Ballet (1962).^{[7] [8]} He was also choreographer of the Israel National Opera (1963–1964), where he choreographed four operas for opera star Plácido Domingo; (Don Giovanni, Carmen, La Traviata and The Pearl Fishers, all of which premièred at the Israel National Opera in Tel-Aviv in 1963). From 1964–1966, Adam Darius was the director of his own company, the Israeli Ballet.^[9]

Principal ballets:

• Pierrot the Wanderer - Choreographed for American prima ballerina Melissa Hayden and premièred at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Toronto, Canada in 1955.
• Quartet - Choreographed for American prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory and premièred at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, California in 1958.^[10]
• The Anne Frank Ballet - Premièred in Long Beach, California in 1959. Produced for Italian Television in 1967.^[11] Released as a video in 1989, in which Mr Darius danced the role of Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank.^{[12] [13]}
• Marilyn - A ballet based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, which ran for five weeks at the Arts Theatre in London's West End in February 1975.
• Firebird - Choreographed to Stravinsky's music. Presented by the Las Vegas Civic Ballet at the Reed Whipple Cultural Center, Las Vegas, in April 1986.

Expressive mime

In 1967, Adam Darius broke away from the traditional world of ballet and premièred his own fusion of dance and mime, described as 'expressive mime',^[14] at the Spoleto Festival in Italy and at the Arts Lab in London.^[15]

In the years that followed he toured many countries, including: South Africa (1970); the Soviet Union (1971); the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia (1971);^[16] Syria, Iran^[17] and Afghanistan (1976); Japan (1984);^[18] and Greenland (1998).^[19]

Adam Darius' concept of physical theatre was also realized in the London productions of Yukio Mishima (1991),^[20] Rimbaud and Verlaine (1992) and Tower of Babel (1993), in collaboration with Kazimir Kolesnik. Among their further joint productions was A Snake in the Grass, presented in Amman, Jordan (2001) and acknowledged with the Noor Al Hussein Award.^[21]

Teaching

In 1978, Adam Darius and Marita Crawley founded the Mime Centre in London.^[22] In Britain he taught, among others, mime artist, dancer and director, Kazimir Kolesnik,^[23] rock star Kate Bush,^{[24] [25]} Hollywood film star Kate Beckinsale,^[26] and West End principal Warren Mitchell.^[27]

Death

Darius died on 3 December 2017 in Espoo, Finland at the age of 87.^[28]

Books by Adam Darius

Author		Year	Title	Pages	Publisher	City	ISBN	Genre
Darius, Adam	1	1973	Dance Naked in the Sun	325	Latonia Publishers	London		Autobiography
Darius, Adam	2	1978	The Way to Timbuktu	276	Latonia Publishers	London		Autobiography
Darius, Adam	3	1984	The Adam Darius Method	270	Latonia Publishers	London		Theatre technique
Darius, Adam	4	1988	The Man Who Spat at Fate	251	Latonia Publishers	London		Novel
Darius, Adam	5	1991	The Guru	115	Latonia Publishers	London		Philosophy
Darius, Adam	6	1996	The Commedia Dell' Arte	97	Kolesnik Production OY	Helsinki		Theatre technique
Darius, Adam	7	1998	Acting - A Psychological and Technical Approach	208	Kolesnik Production OY	Helsinki		Theatre technique
Darius, Adam	8	2000	Audition Monologues	128	Kolesnik Production OY	Helsinki		Theatre technique
Darius, Adam	9	2003	Double Existence	202	Kolesnik Production OY	Helsinki		Novel
Darius, Adam	10	2004	A Nomadic Life	250	Kolesnik Production OY	Helsinki		Autobiography
Darius, Adam	11	2005	When Your Dog Dies	63	Kolesnik Production OY	Helsinki		Animal Welfare
Darius, Adam	12	2007	Arabesques Through Time	407	Harlequinade Books	Helsinki		Autobiography
Darius, Adam	13	2009	Death in Damascus	n/a	e-book	n/a		Novel
Darius, Adam	14	2011	The Passion of Black Jesus	n/a	e-book	n/a		Novel
Darius, Adam	15	2012	Dancing in the Himalayas	n/a	e-book	n/a		Novel
Bocher, Barbara with Darius, Adam	16	2012	The Cage: Dancing for Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine, 1949-1954	288	CreateSpace	n/a		Autobiography
Darius, Adam	17	2013	La Belle Otero: The Last of the Great Courtesans	n/a	e-book	n/a		Play
Darius, Adam	18	2014	Poems by Adam Darius	n/a	e-book	n/a		Poetry
Darius, Adam	19	2014	Ballet Babylon	n/a	e-book	n/a		History

Honours and awards

• 1976: Silver medallion of the Belgrade Monodrama Festival (Yugoslavia)
• 1976: Honorary membership of the North Sumatran Community (Indonesia)
• 1978: American Television Emmy (US)
• 1984: Premio Positano Léonide Massine Per L'arte Della Danza (Italy)
• 1987: Key to the City of Las Vegas (US)^[29]
• 1998: Shetland Dance and Mime Award (UK)
• 2001: Noor Al Hussein Foundation Award (Jordan)
• 2002: Beirut Festival du Rire Trophy (Lebanon)
• 2003: Noor Al Hussein Foundation Award (Jordan)
• 2009: Order of Luis Manuel Gutiérrez (Venezuela)
• 2012: Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Cultura Award (Venezuela)
• 2014: Gjakova Komedia Fest Appreciation Award (Republic of Kosovo)
• 2016: Simon Bolívar Award (Venezuela)

International performances since January 2000

Unless marked as being a SOLO performance, all shows were given in partnership with Kazimir Kolesnik.

Year	Month	Country	City	Venue	Repertoire	Notes
2000	April	Jordan	Amman	Royal Cultural Centre	Resurrection
2000	July	Croatia	Dubrovnik	Dubrovnik Festival	Resurrection	^[30]
2000	August	Finland	Oulu	Oulu Music Festival Theatre	Pierrot in Exile
2000	Nov.	Turkey	Istanbul	Atatürk Cultural Center	Selected solos	SOLO
2001	Jan/Feb	Jordan	Amman	Baccalaureate School Theatre	A Snake in the Grass
2001	April	Turkey	Istanbul	Aksanat Cultural Centre	Resurrection
2001	Sept.	Morocco	Casablanca	International Theatre Festival	Resurrection
			Rabat	Salle Bahnini	Resurrection
2001	Nov.	Finland	Helsinki	Q-Teatteri	James Dean	As director
2002	June	Slovakia	Bratislava	Pantomime Festival	Death of a Scarecrow
2002	July	Lebanon	Beirut	Festival du Rire	Highlight repertoire
2003	Feb.	Russia	St. Petersburg	Okryty Theatre	Highlight repertoire
2003	May	Italy	Turin	Teatro Gobetti	Death of a Scarecrow
2003	Sept.	Jordan	Amman	Royal Cultural Centre	Death of a Scarecrow
2004	March	New Zealand	Christchurch	Hagley Community College	Death of a Scarecrow
2004	April	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysian National Theatre	Death of a Scarecrow	^[31]
2004	August	Malta	Valletta	Saint James Cavalier Centre	Death of a Scarecrow	^[32]
2004	Nov.	Syria	Damascus	Al-Kabbani Theatre	Death of a Scarecrow
2005	Feb.	Syria	Damascus	Finnish/Jordanian Festival, Al-Assad Opera House	Fusion	With company
2005	August	Turkey	Istanbul	Sultan's Palace	Death of a Scarecrow
2006	Feb.	Portugal	Porto	Serralves Foundation	Yukio Mishima	With company
			Ponte del Lima	Teatro Diogo Bernardes	Yukio Mishima	With company
2006	May	Ukraine	Kiev	TYS Theatre; Suzirie Theatre	Death of a Scarecrow
2006	Dec.	Argentina	Rosario	Teatro del Rayo Centro Cultural Lavarden	Death of a Scarecrow
2007	Oct.	Armenia	Yerevan	High Fest Theatre Festival	Death of a Scarecrow
2007	Dec.	Macedonia	Skopje	Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts	Dance: A Bridge between Cultures	UNESCO sponsored lecture
2008	Feb.	Egypt	Alexandria	Bibliotheca Alexandrina	Tears of a Clown
2009	Jan.	Finland	Espoo	Sellosali	Death of a Scarecrow
2009	March	Macedonia	Skopje	Macedonian National Theatre	Death of a Scarecrow
2009	Oct.	Venezuela	Isla de Margarita	Teatro Simon Bolivar	Selected solos	SOLO
2009	Nov.	Finland	Espoo	Sellosali	Tears of a Clown	^[33]
2010	May	Bosnia & Herzogovina	Sarajevo	Teaterfest	Death of a Scarecrow	^[34]
2010	Nov.	Nepal	Kathmandu	Kathmandu International Theatre Festival	Basho - A Windswept Spirit	^[35]
2012	May	Venezuela	Caracas	Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex	Basho - A Windswept Spirit
			Caracas	Sala Juana Sujo	Basho - A Windswept Spirit
			Caracas	Teatro Principal	Basho - A Windswept Spirit
2013	March	Kuwait	Kuwait City	Dar al Athar al-Islamiyyah	Basho - A Windswept Spirit	^[36]
2013	Oct	Macedonia	Skopje	Macedonian National Theatre	Basho - A Windswept Spirit	^[37]
2014	Sept	Republic of Kosovo	Gjakova	Gjakova Comedy Festival	Basho - A Windswept Spirit	^[38]
2015	March	Kuwait	Kuwait City	Royal Palace	Basho - A Windswept Spirit
2015	Dec.7	Russia	Krasnoyarsk	Palace of Culture	Basho - A Windswept Spirit
2015	Dec.8	Russia	Novosibirsk	Philharmonic Chamber Hall	Basho - A Windswept Spirit
2015	Dec.10	Russia	Chelyabinsk	Prokoviev Concert Hall	Basho - A Windswept Spirit

External links

• Adam Darius at the mimecentre.com
• Adam Darius on Facebook
• Dansmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden

Notes and References

1. The extensive archives of Adam Darius´s career as dancer, mime artist and author are now housed in Espoo, Finland and at the Royal Academy of Dance in London.
2. A full catalogue of Adam Darius' publications can be seen at the Mime Centre .
3. In a program devoted to his career, broadcast in October, 1993, the BBC World Service in London, hosted by the voice of Latin America, Araceli Uriarte, described Adam Darius as "one of the most exceptional talents of the 20th century".
4. Foreword by Araceli Uriarte in Darius. A Audition Monologues, Kolesnik, 2000 (p.viii).
5. Darius. A A Nomadic Life, Helsinki, 2004 (p.244)
6. Darius, A The Adam Darius Method, Latonia, 1984 (p.260)
7. Los Angeles Times. 11 September 1955. Retrieved 13.08.2009
8. Darius, A The Adam Darius Method, Latonia, 1984 (p.261)
9. [The Jerusalem Post]
10. Foreword by Hal de Becker in Darius. A Arabesques Through Time, Harlequinade, 2007 (p.viii)
11. Anne Frank Ballet - Italian Television RAI Turin, 1967
12. "2 videos recollect life in World War II". Chicago Tribune. 1 September 1989. Retrieved 13.08.2009
13. [José Greco|Greco, José]
14. Dr Alberto Testa, Festival Magazine, Rome, 1967
15. Burns, Richard Adam Darius at the London Arts Lab, 1968
16. "Mime - a rare moment". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 April 1971. Retrieved 13.08.2009
17. Performance poster in Darius. A Audition Monologues, Kolesnik, 2000 (p.32)
18. Performance poster in Darius. A Audition Monologues, Kolesnik, 2000 (p.48)
19. Performance poster in Darius. A Audition Monologues, Kolesnik, 2000 (p.96)
20. http://www.cix.co.uk/~shutters/reviews/91052.htm Ian Shuttleworth's review of Yukio Mishima
21. Afterword by Lina Attel in Darius. A Arabesques Through Time, Harlequinade, 2007 (p.252)
22. Introduction by Marita Crawley in Darius, A The Adam Darius Method, Latonia, 1984 (p.12)
23. Interview with Kazimir Kolesnik in Darius, A Acting: A Psychological and Technical Approach, Helsinki, 1998 (p.150)
24. Interview with Kate Bush in Darius, A The Adam Darius Method, Latonia, 1984 (p.236)
25. Jovanovich, Rob Kate Bush: The Biography, Portrait, 2006
26. Interview with Kate Beckinsale in Darius, A Acting: A Psychological and Technical Approach, Helsinki, 1998 (p.144)
27. Interview with Warren Mitchell in Darius, A The Adam Darius Method, Latonia, 1984 (p.241)
28. http://www.dancemagazine.com/dancer-and-choreographer-adam-darius-passes-at-87-2517204272.html Dancer and Choreographer Adam Darius Passes at 87
29. Presented by Mayor Bill Briare
30. Adam Darius on Dubrovnik Festival archives
31. Review of Kuala Lumpur performance on Virtual Malaysia.com
32. Article in The Times of Malta, 26 August 2004
33. http://www.kultus.fi/suomi/?page=tapahtuma&event_id=7796&lang=fi Kultus
34. http://www.tf.com.ba/programo.php?ID=1 Teaterfest
35. Article in The Kathmandu Post, 20 November 2010
36. http://ar.theasian.asia/archives/10070 Review in The Asian
37. Web site: Review in Dnevnik. 2016-05-26. 2013-10-01. ru. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923215553/http://www.dnevnik.mk/?itemID=D44728C084DEA14CBA20EE4E34B9FE57&arc=1. 23 September 2015. dead.
38. http://gjakovapress.info/wordpress/?p=6838 Review in Gjakova Press