{"id":14112,"date":"2026-01-06T20:57:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T03:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/aztec-lunch-learn-series-spotlights-modern-dance-history\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:44:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:44:01","slug":"aztec-lunch-learn-series-spotlights-modern-dance-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/aztec-lunch-learn-series-spotlights-modern-dance-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Aztec Lunch & Learn series spotlights modern dance history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"JP
JP Tenuta, son of dance historian and Aztec resident Stephanie Clemens, performs the pas de deux from Don Quixote with Academy student Sarah Jordan in 2014. Clemens, who trained at Juilliard and taught dance for more than five decades, co-founded the Momenta Dance Company and now brings her expertise to the Aztec Museum\u2019s lecture series on modern dance pioneers. (Courtesy Stephanie Clemens)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

During the quieter winter months in San Juan County, the Aztec Museum & Pioneer Village offers visitors a look into 19th-century Paris theaters and the early development of American modern dance.<\/p>\n

As part of its Lunch & Learn series, the museum will host \u201cGreat Women of American Modern Dance,\u201d a two-part multimedia lecture presented by dance historians and Aztec residents Stephanie Clemens and Michael Dutka.<\/p>\n

Scheduled for Jan. 9 and 23, the presentations introduce influential artists who advanced theatrical lighting, performance style and women\u2019s roles in the arts.<\/p>\n

Joan Monninger, the museum\u2019s executive director, views the series as an important way to serve the public during the offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuseums are learning institutions and they\u2019re kind of cultural hubs in a community and that\u2019s really what we\u2019re actively trying to do at the Aztec Museum,\u201d Monninger said. \u201cBy having these programs, especially in the off season, it\u2019s one more way to reach out into the community, bring in speakers that are here in our community who have expertise on things and then share that with the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series draws on Clemens and Dutka\u2019s decades of experience in modern dance and performance documentation. They retired to Aztec from Oak Park, Illinois, around 2021.<\/p>\n

Clemens, born in Hollywood to artist parents, trained at Juilliard and founded the Academy of Movement and Music<\/a> in Oak Park, where she taught for 52 years. She also co-founded the Momenta Dance Company<\/a>, which gained recognition for performing historical reconstructions and incorporating dancers with disabilities.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
Stephanie Clemens, 1993, in Radha by Ruth St. Denis (Judith Gilman)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Dutka, originally a carpenter who ran a design studio for historic restorations, moved into dance production through his relationship with Clemens. According to a news release, his introduction to dance was cultivated by Clemens and her mentors, leading him to master lighting, audio and video and eventually direct a documentary on Loie Fuller.<\/p>\n

Monninger said she was enthusiastic when Clemens and Dutka proposed the idea. \u201cWe have them in the community and they asked, \u2018How about we do this?\u2019 And I was just thrilled about it because that brings a whole kind of different and unusual expertise into the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
Stephanie Clemens and Momenta co-director Larry Ippel perform Day on Earth by Doris Humphrey, 1947, in 1995. (Anne Bradley)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The first lecture, Jan. 9, focuses on Loie Fuller, described as the \u201cembodiment of Art Nouveau.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuller rose from poverty in the Midwest to become the world\u2019s most famous dancer by 1900, largely by reinventing stage lighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time Loie Fuller came out in the late 1800s, you walked into a vaudeville house or into a theater or to the ballet and the house lights stayed up,\u201d Dutka explained. \u201cLoie got up on stage at one point of her career and said, \u2018OK, I\u2019ve had enough of this. We\u2019re going to turn the lights out and I want people to look at me and only me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuller held more patents for theatrical effects and lighting design than anyone in her generation. She used a glass floor to allow electricians to light her from beneath and employed chemically treated silks to catch the light.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were really hot instruments you could get burned on them and she would have up to 25 electricians working for her, holding on to these instruments, wearing asbestos gloves that wouldn\u2019t be allowed today,\u201d Dutka said.<\/p>\n

The presentation will highlight Fuller\u2019s lasting influence, which Monninger said can still be seen in pop culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was the inspiration for Taylor Swift\u2019s \u2018Reputation\u2019 tour in that section because of the way she danced and the flowing,\u201d Monninger said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s still relevant in many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second lecture, Jan. 23, covers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis. Clemens describes them as entrepreneurs who radically altered public perception of female performers before women could vote.<\/p>\n

Monninger said early dance performances were not always viewed with respect, which led pioneers to challenge those perceptions. \u201cThese women wanted to raise the image of women through dance to something that was spiritual, powerful, elegant, refined and creative,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Clemens credits Duncan with liberating women from restrictive clothing. \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for Isadora Duncan, I wouldn\u2019t be sitting here without a corset,\u201d she emphasized.<\/p>\n

For Clemens, the connection is personal. Growing up in California, her babysitters were dancers in Ruth St. Denis\u2019 company, giving her a direct link to primary sources she now studies.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
Stephanie Clemens and Michael Dutka, 2011, (Laurie Murray)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A central theme of the lectures is the detective work required to reconstruct lost dances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts by finding out what the music is and taking the sheet music and pasting it up on the wall all around you and looking at photographs, pictures and statements about what was this and making them go on a timeline,\u201d Clemens said.<\/p>\n

Dutka added that for their work on Fuller, they relied on extensive archival research because the lineage had been broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key thing in any kind of reconstruction is to go back and try and find primary sources,\u201d Dutka said. \u201cWe sat in New York Public Library looking for references that we could draw on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the topics go beyond the region, the presenters said they feel a strong connection to Aztec\u2019s interest in history.<\/p>\n

Monninger hopes the series sparks curiosity among attendees, encouraging them to find connections between global history and local reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was going on in New Mexico at the same time Loie Fuller was in Paris being painted by Vincent Van Gogh?\u201d Monninger asked. \u201cI just love seeing all of these different connections and they\u2019re there. Sometimes you just have to dig a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both lectures begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Aztec Museum & Pioneer Village. Admission is free, and attendees are encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a neat way to share knowledge with more people,\u201d Monninger said. \u201cWe try to give people a reason to visit the museum and a reason to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

If you go<\/h4>\n

WHAT:<\/strong> Great Women of American Modern Dance, as part of the Aztec Museum\u2019s \u201cLunch & Learn\u201d series.<\/p>\n

WHEN<\/strong>: Loie Fuller \u2013 The Embodiment of Art Nouveau: Friday, Jan. 9 at 11:30 a.m. Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis: Friday, Jan. 23 at 11:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

WHERE:<\/strong> Aztec\u2019s WPA-era City Hall building, 125 N. Main Ave., Historic Downtown Aztec<\/p>\n

INFORMATION:<\/strong> Joan Monninger, (317) 850-2841<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lecture series explores pioneering women in dance and theatrical innovation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-14112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14112"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19334,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14112\/revisions\/19334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14112"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=14112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}