Blecher, Miriam (1912–1979)

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Blecher, Miriam (1912–1979)

American dancer and choreographer. Name variations: Miriam Sklar. Born Feb 23, 1912, in New York, NY; died Sept 19, 1979, in Los Angeles, California; m. George Sklar (playwright).

First trained at Henry Street Settlement House in New York City in a program run by Martha Graham and Louis Horst; an active member of the American Dance Association and New Dance League, created anti-Fascist works during the buildup to WWII, including Van de Lubbe's Head; also created numerous solo works, performed in concert recitals with fellow members of the Dance League, including Si-Lan Chen, Lily Mehlman, and Anna Sokolow; moved to Los Angeles, CA, with husband (c. 1940), where she worked in dance therapy; best remembered works include Three Dances to Poems (1934), East Side Sketches: The Bum (1937), Me and Robert Taylor (1937), Negro Poems (1938), and the series of Masks (of Wealth, War, and Hatred, 1938).