Liz Lerman
DCCo – Founding Member, Dancer:
Yesterday’s Garlands and Yesterday’s Kisses
Brook Andrews, Liz Lerman, John Bailey “Yesterday’s Garlands & Yesterday’s Kisses”
Maida Withers Dance Construction Company
Liz Lerman and Brook Andrews
Wikipedia:
Liz Lerman was born in Los Angeles, California on December 25, 1947. Lerman describes being a “wild child”, as she ran up giant slides, jumped through their flooded backyard, and begged for dance classes which she finally began when her family left California for Washington, D.C. in the early 1950s.[1] At age 14 in 1962, Liz Lerman danced in Washington, D.C., for President Kennedy as part of a group from the Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan.[5]
Lerman’s father, Philip Ephraim Lerman was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he became active in progressive Jewish youth groups.[5] He was a labor organizer for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and served in World War II as a medic. Eventually, Phil worked in a tire store in Milwaukee that Lerman’s grandfather had opened after a hazardous journey out of Russia in the early 1900s. Lerman’s father remained a dedicated political organizer and served as the Secretary of Industry, Labor and Human Relations for the State of Wisconsin under Governor Lucey from 1971 to 1977.[6] Lerman’s mother, Anne Louise Levy, was raised in San Francisco and was one of the first women in a Ph.D. program in mathematics at University of California, Berkeley.[5] She worked as a draftsperson during World War II and eventually supported Dane County’s public mental health network as a Counselor and Administrator. Both parents nurtured Lerman’s artistic growth, but in very different ways. Her father insisted on understanding the community and social context of art, while her mother pushed her toward radicalism, independent thought, and asymmetry.[7]
Through her father’s civil rights activism, Lerman was highly aware of the inequities present in Milwaukee where the Black community faced high unemployment, unequal housing, and segregated schools.[5] An ongoing challenge was instigated for Lerman about redefining an artist’s role to include questions concerning subject matter, financial sustenance, and pursuing deeper relationships with audiences.
Lerman graduated high school early and worked a clerical job before pursuing higher education. From 1965 to 1967, she attended Bennington College, where she studied under Martha Wittman, who later became a member of the Dance Exchange. From 1967 to 1968, she attended Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. Lerman then transferred to University of Maryland where she earned a BA in Dance in 1970. Upon graduation, she worked at the Sandy Spring Friends Schools in Sandy Spring, Maryland as a history teacher and strengthened their dance program.[8] After one semester, Lerman shifted to teaching dance full-time after making dance an essential part of the school’s curriculum and culture until she left in 1973.
Lerman eventually earned a MFA in Dance from George Washington University in 1982. She trained in dance with Ethel Butler, Meriem Rosen, Viola Farber, Peter Saul, Jan Van Dyke, Maida Withers, Twyla Tharp, Florence West, Martha Wittman, Don Redlich; mime with Jan Kessler; and theatre with Robert Prosky. Lerman considers most of her education to have occurred in rehearsal halls, community gatherings, and interactions with her peers.