Nina Payne Explained

Nina Payne
Birth Date:November 15, 1890
Birth Place:Charlestown, Indiana, U.S.
Death Date:1971
Death Place:New York, New York, U.S.
Other Names:Nina Dibble, Nina Bostwick, Nina Isbell
Occupation:Dancer, vaudeville performer

Nina L. Payne Dibble Bostwick Isbell (November 15, 1890 – 1971) was an American dancer, singer, and vaudeville performer. She danced at the Folies Bergère in Paris, and was known for her "Cubist and Dadaist"[1] costumes and dancing.

Early life and education

Payne was born in Charlestown, Indiana,[2] and raised in Seattle,[3] the daughter of Leslie A. Payne[4] and Emma N. Lutz Payne. She attended Broadway High School, but left after three years to begin her stage career.[5] Her mother traveled with her,[6] and her cousin Catherine Payne accompanied her as musical director.[7]

Career

Payne was a dancer and a singer.[8] She made headlines when she set fire to her gown and hair with a candle, during a 1910 performance in New York City.[9] In the 1920s she danced at the Folies Bergère in Paris,[10] and toured Europe. "Paris's Most Sensational Dancer is an American!" declared one 1922 newspaper headline.[11]

She was known for her elaborate and unusual costumes,[12] [13] sometimes with Cubist or Dada influences,[14] and her dances inspired by Egypt,[15] [16] jazz,[17] [18] and technology.[19] Fellow American vaudeville veteran Holland Robinson designed gowns and sets for Payne's Paris shows.[20] Some of her costumes and moves were considered "shocking" or scandalous by American critics. One costume, based on a newspaper cartoon, was painted onto her body.[21]

Personal life

Payne married Merritt Z. Dibble in 1917; they later divorced. She married businessman Charles A. Bostwick in 1930. He died in 1937.[22] She married a third time in 1941, to Frank Genovar Isbell. She died in 1971, at the age of 80, in New York City.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kermode, Frank . Pieces of My Mind: Essays and Criticism 1958-2002 . 2004-09-06 . Farrar, Straus and Giroux . 978-1-4299-3118-2 . 1887 . en.
  2. News: 1923-10-14 . Indiana Girl 'Takes' Paris; The Reason is Because She Wears Clothes in the Follies . 2024-08-22 . The Enid Morning News . 14 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: 1917-10-13 . Gay Comedy Coming to the Met; Nina Payne, Seattle's Own Star, Will Dance at the Moore Theatre . 2024-08-22 . The Seattle Star . 5 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: 1934-03-10 . Leslie A. Payne Service Monday . 2024-08-22 . The Franklin Evening Star . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: 1917-10-18 . Famous Dancer Visits Old Home; Nina Payne, Star at Moore, Recalls Her Days at Broadway High . 2024-08-22 . The Seattle Star . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: Szold . Bernadine . 1924-10-05 . About Town . 2024-08-22 . Daily News . 70 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: 1918-03-27 . Nina Payne, Social Favorite . 2024-08-22 . The Buffalo Times . 11 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: 1913-11-05 . Dancer to Singer Easy . 2024-08-22 . Los Angeles Evening Express . 6 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: May 5, 1910 . Ablaze on Stage, Dancer Stops Panic; Nina Payne Sets Fire to Her Gown in Play at the American Theatre . 2024-08-22 . The New York Times . 1 . en . TimesMachine . 0362-4331.
  10. Smith . Clay . January 1929 . Loose Lyrics of Lovely Ladies . The Lyceum Magazine . 38 . 8 . 29.
  11. News: Van Duzer . Winifred . 1922-10-29 . Paris's Most Sensational Dancer is an American! . 2024-08-22 . El Paso Times . 43 . Newspapers.com.
  12. December 6, 1916 . Another Novelty from America . Tatler . 62 . 301.
  13. News: 1917-12-27 . Nina Payne, Artist; Orpheum Today . 2024-08-22 . Lincoln Journal Star . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  14. December 1923 . A Vision out of the Past . Arts & Decoration . 20 . 2 . 44.
  15. News: 1929-07-14 . Why the Pharaohs of Old Egypt Did Not See Dances Like This . 2024-08-22 . The San Francisco Examiner . 99 . Newspapers.com.
  16. January 24, 1917 . A Western Exponent of Eastern Dances . The Tatler . 63 . 813 . 116–117 . Internet Archive.
  17. Book: Roberts, Walter Adolphe . The moralist . 1974 . [New York, AMS Press] . Internet Archive . 978-0-404-11411-4 . 270.
  18. Book: Blake, Jody . Le Tumulte Noir: Modernist Art and Popular Entertainment in Jazz-Age Paris, 1900-1930 . 1999-01-01 . Penn State Press . 978-0-271-01753-2 . 156 . en.
  19. November 1922 . No Matter Where You Go, You Will Find Radio . The Wireless Age . 10 . 24.
  20. Robinson . Holland . February 28, 1929 . Taking a Fling at High Art . Musical Courier . 98 . 9 . 8 . Internet Archive.
  21. News: 1917-11-30 . Nina Payne Prances . 2024-08-22 . The Los Angeles Times . 15 . Newspapers.com.
  22. News: 1937-07-26 . Charles A. Bostwick Dies . 2024-08-22 . The Baltimore Sun . 7 . Newspapers.com.

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