Beverly Blossom danced (as Beverly Schmidt) in dozens of pieces by the great Alwin Nikolais in the 1950s and 1960s. During that period, she began creating her own body of work as a choreographer, with Nikolais as a mentor, and she continued developing pieces for the stage through her final performance, in 2010 — fittingly, a solo tribute to "Nik.” Along the way, she generated hundreds of her own works, including many solos for herself, a few solos for others, and a significant number of large and small group works. Her best known pieces are Black Traveler (1961), Brides (1980), Dad’s Ties (1981), and Besame Mucho (1987), all of which have continued to be performed since her death. The Beverly Blossom Foundation is dedicated to documenting and digitizing her career, sharing the best with the dance community and the public, and promoting and sustaining Beverly’s unique artistic contributions.
The following list of Beverly Blossom’s choreography is neither complete nor definitive at this stage, and information may be missing or incorrect. The Foundation is just beginning to dig into her rich archive, and we would like to augment this research using interviews with the many people she worked with over the decades — a time-sensitive endeavor. Please donate to help with this effort, as well as with the digitization of a career’s worth of film, video and photography.
1953: Three Characters
1954: Interlude
1954: Evil Eye
1955: Styx
1955: Gigue
1955: Last Flower
1955: Six Miniatures
1955: Beginning
1955: White Figure
1956: Rite
1956: Mobile
1956: Penguins, Arise!
1956: Caprice
1956: Hymn
1956: Rag
1956: Premonitions
1956: Magma
1956: Droll Figure
1957: Idyll
1959: Crest
1959: Wanderhythm (40 min. suite)
1960: Nine Points In Time (9 dances)
1961: Aire
1961: Black Traveler
1961: ERG
1961: Caper
1962: Pindaric
1962: Mementos
1962: Prelude To A Masked Event
1962: Chamber Dances
1963: Blossoms (The Seasons) (with film)
1963: Everybody
1963: All
1964: With Gladys, et. al.
1964: Scene: Unresolved
1964: Rocking Chair Dance (with 12 chairs)
1964: Poem For The Theater #6 (with film)
1964: Florence, Italy (with film)
1965: Waltz
1965: Three October Dances
1966: Moon Dial (with film)
1966: Yes, Live Happily
1967: Movement Loops
1968: A Rehearsal For Michaelangelo
1968: Depot Soup (collage)
1968: Kaleidoscope
1969: Patterns
1970: Yaxkin
1970: Corolla
1971: The Beginning Of A Revolting Solo
1971: A Long Walk
1972: Dog (first version)
1972: Erquiem
1973: Moonlight Sonata
1974: Movement Loops With Bumbershoots
1974: I Look Back . . . . I
1974: Flashback
1974: Blue
1975: Kitsch (Bicentennial suite) (w/2 actors)
1976: Dog (second version)
1977: Celebrant
1977: One, Too
1977: Coda (Sorceress)
1977: Souvenir
1977: Questus Inquietus (Huh?)
1978: Vivaldi Trio
1978: Memory
1978: Old Woman In Blue Suede Shoes
1978: Signal (Chicago Fan Dance)
1978: Brahms Walk
1978: Sands (National Endowment Grant)
1979: Rollercoaster
1979: Ballroom (50 min. suite)
1979: My Bag
1980: Gemini
1981: Sailors 3
1981: Brides
1981: Lunch
1981: Interlude
1981: Sailors 10
1982: Valentines for “Smiley” (suite) (with assistant figure)
1982: Stravinsky Ragtime
1983: Dad’s Ties
1983: You Are Still With Me, Fred
1983: Rehearsal For A Class Act (suite)
1984: Egg (with 2 musicians)
1984: Ordinary Heartbreak
1985: Steps
1985: Radio Show
1985: Quick-Step
1985: Heartbeat
1985: Interlude (from Veranda)
1985: The Actor & Re-Run
1985: Holiday Dance
1986: Russian Tea Room
1986: Eye Of The Beholder
1986: Potpourri
1986: Weather-Watch
1987: Entitled . . . for Mother Teresa
1987: Grass Widow
1987: Inch
1988: Castles In Spain
1989: Onward
1989: An “Inch” For Doug
1989: Swan Song
1990: . . . Exit
1990: Him & Her & Them (a re-staged suite)
1991: Onward! (second version)
1991: The Cloak #1 & #2
1992: New Jersey Fan Dance
1992: . . . Tell Them About Peoria
1993: Shards
1994: Found in New York
1994: Whither in Winter
1995-2010: To Be Added….
1953
1954
1954
1955
1955
1955
1955
1955
1955
1956
1956
1956
1956
1956
1956
1956
1956
1956
1957
1959
1959
1960
1961
1961
1961
1961
1962
1962
1962
1962
1963
1963
1963
1964
1964
1964
1964
1964
1965
1965
1966
1966
1967
1968
1968
1968
1969
1970
1970
1971
1971
1972
1972
1973
1974
1974
1974
1974
1975
1976
1977
1977
1977
1977
1977
1978
1978
1978
1978
1978
1978
1979
1979
1979
1980
1981
1981
1981
1981
1981
1982
1982
1983
1983
1983
1984
1984
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
1986
1986
1986
1986
1987
1987
1987
1988
1989
1989
1989
1990
1990
1991
1991
1992
1992
1993
1994
1994
Three Characters
Interlude
Evil Eye
Styx
Gigue
Last Flower
Six Miniatures
Beginning
White Figure
Rite
Mobile
Penguins, Arise!
Caprice
Hymn
Rag
Premonitions
Magma
Droll Figure
Idyll
Crest
Wanderhythm (40 min. suite)
Nine Points In Time (9 dances)
Aire
Black Traveler
ERG
Caper
Pindaric
Mementos
Prelude To A Masked Event
Chamber Dances
Blossoms (The Seasons) (with film)
Everybody
All
With Gladys, et. al.
Scene: Unresolved
Rocking Chair Dance (with 12 chairs)
Poem For The Theater #6 (with film)
Florence, Italy (with film)
Waltz
Three October Dances
Moon Dial (with film)
Yes, Live Happily
Movement Loops
A Rehearsal For Michaelangelo
Depot Soup (collage)
Kaleidoscope
Patterns
Yaxkin
Corolla
The Beginning Of A Revolting Solo
A Long Walk
Dog (first version)
Erquiem
Moonlight Sonata
Movement Loops With Bumbershoots
I Look Back . . . . I
Flashback
Blue
Kitsch (Bicentennial suite) (w/2 actors)
Dog (second version)
Celebrant
One, Too
Coda (Sorceress)
Souvenir
Questus Inquietus (Huh?)
Vivaldi Trio
Memory
Old Woman In Blue Suede Shoes
Signal (Chicago Fan Dance)
Brahms Walk
Sands (National Endowment Grant)
Rollercoaster
Ballroom (50 min. suite)
My Bag
Gemini
Sailors 3
Brides
Lunch
Interlude
Sailors 10
Valentines for “Smiley” (suite) (with
assistant figure)
Stravinsky Ragtime
Dad’s Ties
You Are Still With Me, Fred
Rehearsal For A Class Act (suite)
Egg (with 2 musicians)
Ordinary Heartbreak
Steps
Radio Show
Quick-Step
Heartbeat
Interlude (from Veranda)
The Actor & Re-Run
Holiday Dance
Russian Tea Room
Eye Of The Beholder
Potpourri
Weather-Watch
Entitled . . . for Mother Teresa
Grass Widow
Inch
Castles In Spain
Onward
An “Inch” For Doug
Swan Song
. . . Exit
Him & Her & Them (a re-staged suite)
Onward! (second version)
The Cloak #1 & #2
New Jersey Fan Dance
. . . Tell Them About Peoria
Shards
Found in New York
Whither in Winter
1995-2010: To Be Added….
Gottschalk
Hovhaness
Cage
Carillo
Couperin
Schumann
13th Century
Scarlatti
Silence
Albeniz
Cage
Wolpe
W. Schumann
Hovhaness
Stravinsky
Webern
Electronic
Varsovienne
Hovhaness
Vivaldi
Electronic
Loper
Barroso
Cartoon Music
Electronic
Cage
Corner
Nikolais
Corner
Jos. Byrd
Purcell, et. al.
Frederick the Great
Percussion
Bach
Goldstein
Beethoven
Villa Llobos
Water Sounds
Schubert
Bach
Cook
Scarlatti
Metronome
Mixed Media Event
Toy Trains
Mixed Media Event
Fulkerson
Musser
Bach/Loussier
None
Bagpipes
Percussion
Musser/Brosch
Beethoven
Moog Synthesizer
Bach
Various
Gluck
Early American
Percussion
Kalmon
Kalmon
Musser
Songs of the 1920’s
Kalmon
Vivaldi
Bach
Silence
Reich
Brahms
Benford
Ohio Players
Ballroom Music
Granados
Eno
Eno/Moebius/
Roedelius
Hassel/Fripp/Eno/
Mantovani
Bach
Jones/Tschaikowsky
Eno/Kraftwerk
Gertrude Stein/
Mancini/
Tschaikowsky/Ravel/
Benford/Satie
Stravinsky
Hamlisch/
Mystic Moods Orch.
Mantovani
Goulet/Jalousie/Yaz/
Ravel/Stoller
One Plus One Quartet
Yamashta
Lucinda Lawrence
Various
Jarre
Lucinda Lawrence
Jarre
Jarre
Popular song “The
Rose"
Jarre
Zamfir/Kitaro
Various
Jarre
Bach
Music from the Palm
Court
Ellington
Bach/Weill
Bach
Ellington
Saint-Saëns
Massanet
Various popular
Caleb Sampson
Verdi/J&D Edwards
Caleb Sampson/
Lil Louis
Villodo/Louis/Dvorak
Albinoni
Beethoven
Vivaldi/Ben Webster/
Jon Faddis/Bach
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
6
5
1
1
8
1
1
1
1
1
1
6
1
14
4
1
20
20
2
5
0
1
1
1
1
1
10
10
12
7
12
10
18
7
1 + 15
10
10
13
12
7
1
8
1
22 + 2
21
1
7
1
12
11
3
1
1
5
3
17
18
17
1
5
3
7
6
6
10
1
11
1
8
13
2
1
20
7
1
6
1
1
1
1
1
1
8
1
1
1
1
3
1
1 + 4
1
1 + 4
3
1
12 + 1
1 + 4
1
5
1 + 4
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
92nd St. YMHA Kaufmann Theater, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Henry Street Playhouse, New York, NY
Judson Hall, 57th St., New York, NY
Second City Theater, New York, NY
Sarah Lawrence College Theater, Bronxville, NY
Sarah Lawrence College Theater, Bronxville, NY
92nd St. YMHA Theater, New York, NY
92nd St. YMHA Theater, New York, NY
92nd St. YMHA Kaufmann Theater, New York, NY
New York Poets Theater, New York, NY
Bridge Theater, New York, NY
Bridge Theater, New York, NY
Bridge Theater, New York, NY
Electric Circus, New York, NY
Adelphi University Dance Theatre, Long Island, NY
Depot Theatre, Urbana, IL
Lincoln Hall Theatre, Urbana, IL
Depot Theatre, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Ballroom, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Playhouse Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Playhouse Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
The Space, Louis-Nikolais Dance Lab, New York, NY
The Space, Louis-Nikolais Dance Lab, New York, NY
The Space, Louis-Nikolais Dance Lab, New York, NY
The Space, Louis-Nikolais Dance Lab, New York, NY
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Playhouse Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Playhouse Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Playhouse Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Playhouse Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
The Loft Performance Space, New York, NY
Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Kirkland College, Clinton, NY
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Circus-Arts Foundation, New York, NY
Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Great Hall, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
The Loft Performance Space, New York, NY
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Illini Union, Urbana, IL
Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab, New York, NY
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Nikolais-Louis Choreospace, New York, NY
Nikolais-Louis Choreospace, New York, NY
Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Improvisations Unlimited Co., University of Maryland
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Ted Shawn Theatre, Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Studio Theatre, Krannert Center, Urbana, IL
Fiorello Festival, New York, NY
R.A.P.P. Arts Center, New York, NY
St. Marks Church & Hunter College, New York, NY
St. Marks Church & Hunter College, New York, NY
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY
Miller Theater, Columbia University, New York, NY
Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York, NY
Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York, NY