Helen McGehee

Helen Gray McGehee
Born(1921-05-10)May 10, 1921
Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
DiedApril 9, 2020(2020-04-09) (aged 98)
Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
Other nameHelen McGehee Umaña
OccupationsDancer, dance educator

Helen Gray McGehee Umaña (May 10, 1921 – April 9, 2020) was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance educator associated with Martha Graham and the Juilliard School.

Early life and education

McGehee was born in Lynchburg, Virginia,[1] the daughter of William Gibson McGehee and Helen Gray Mahood McGehee. Her mother was an artist and her father was in manufacturing. She graduated from E. C. Glass High School in 1938,[2] and from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in 1942. At Randolph-Macon, she majored in Latin and Greek, but also won first prize in German Club, for a map she made.[3] She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She took a dance class with Martha Graham in the summer of 1941, and was head of the modern dance troupe at Randolph-Macon.[4]

Career

After college, McGehee moved to New York City to join the Martha Graham Dance Company.[5] She toured as a dancer in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East,[6] and starred in the company's productions of Clytemnestra (as Electra), Deaths and Entrances, Appalachian Spring, Every Soul is a Circus, Dark Meadow, Acrobats of God, Phaedra, Archaic Hours,[7] Judith,[8] Errand into the Maze, Diversion of Angels , Night Journey, Canticle for Innocent Comedians, and Cave of the Heart.[5] She also designed costumes for Clytemnestra (1958),[9] and One Gaudy Night (1961).[10] She was described by Clive Barnes as "intense as a flickering flame" in a 1968 review.[11]

From 1951 to 1982, McGehee taught in the dance program at the Juilliard School.[12] A Juilliard she staged dance programs including I Am the Gate,[13] El Retablo de Maese Pedro, and Changes. She choreographed After Possession, Yarn, Suspended Path,[14] Ceremonies of Remembrance,[15] and a production of The Oresteia starring Judith Anderson.[16] She also taught at Harvard Summer Dance Center.[9] She appeared in several performances in Greece in 1965.[14] In 1976 she was a guest artist-in-residence at Florida State University.[16]

In 1971 McGehee founded a visiting artists' program at Randolph-Macon. In 2008, she organized an exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society, A Creative Dynasty: Four Generations of Virginia Women, featuring works by herself, her mother, her grandmother Sallie Lee Blount Mahood, and her great-grandmother Julia Anne Morrison Blount, all artists.[17][18]

Publications

  • Helen McGehee: Dancer
  • To Be a Dancer (1974, documentary film, made by her husband)[19]
  • "Working for Martha Graham" (1985)[20]
  • "The Technique of Martha Graham" (1993)[21]

Personal life

McGehee married Colombian artist Rafael Alfonso Umaña Mendez in 1950.[22] They lived in Paris and New York City, before retiring to Lynchburg together in 1978. Her husband died in 1994, and she died in April 2020, at the age of 98, in Lynchburg.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Lynchburg Native to Head Dance Festival". The Daily Advance. March 4, 1966. p. 21. Retrieved June 4, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ E. C. Glass High School (1938). The Crest. Allen County Public Library. p. 33 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ "Club Prizes are Given; German Students Receive Awards". The Sun Dial. May 9, 1940. p. 1 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  4. ^ a b Risenhoover, Pamela (April 12, 2020). "Martha Graham Dancer Helen Gray McGehee, 98, Dies". Dance Magazine. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Tracy, Robert (1997). Goddess : Martha Graham's dancers remember. Internet Archive. New York : Limelight Editions. pp. 122–127. ISBN 978-0-87910-086-5 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  6. ^ "Dance Concert Slated by Helen G. McGehee". The News and Advance. January 9, 1966. p. 32. Retrieved June 4, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Barnes, Clive (April 12, 1969). "Dance: 'Archaic Hours,' a New Graham; A 'Commentary' Offered at the City Center; Miss McGehee, Louther and Thompson in Cast". The New York Times. p. 40. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  8. ^ Hughes, Allen (October 14, 1963). "Martha Graham Offers 'Judith'". The New York Times. p. 34. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  9. ^ a b Kisselgoff, Anna (May 1, 2020). "Helen McGehee, a Martha Graham Dancer and Teacher, Dies at 98". The New York Times. p. A24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  10. ^ "A Passion and Ferocity for Dance: Helen Gray McGehee". Lynchburg Premier Artists. October 4, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  11. ^ Barnes, Clive (October 26, 1968). "Dance: 'Errand Into the Maze' Returns; Martha Graham Work Back After 15 Years Helen McGehee and Thompson Appear". The New York Times. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  12. ^ "In Memoriam: Helen Gray McGehee Umaña 1921-2020". The Juilliard School. April 20, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  13. ^ Hughes, Allen (April 8, 1963). "Dance Program Led by Helen M'Gehee". The New York Times. p. 36. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  14. ^ a b Hughes, Allen (April 12, 1965). "Two New Dances by Miss M'Gehee; She and 2 Men Appear at Kaufmann Concert Hall". The New York Times. p. 49. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  15. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (March 20, 1969). "Dancers Retell Greek Legend". The New York Times. p. 52. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  16. ^ a b Smith, Sid (November 3, 1976). "Helen McGehee dances way into legend, FSU". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 19. Retrieved June 4, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Four Generations of Va. Women to open" RVA News (August 5, 2008).
  18. ^ Pugh, Susan (August 22, 2008). "art-full lives". The News and Advance. p. 7. Retrieved June 4, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ McGehee, Helen. To Be a Dancer (1974 documentary film). New York Public Library. 26 min.
  20. ^ McGehee, Helen (October 1, 1985). "Working for Martha Graham". Dance Research. 3 (2): 56–64. doi:10.2307/1290558. ISSN 0264-2875.
  21. ^ McGehee, Helen (April 1993). "The Technique of Martha Graham Studies in Dance History, Volume II Number 2 Alice Helpern Society of Dance History Scholars, 1992, 59pp". Dance Research. 11 (1): 103–104. doi:10.2307/1290613. ISSN 0264-2875.
  22. ^ Laurant, Darrell (February 13, 1994). "Love: A dancer and a sculptor". The News and Advance. pp. C1, C8. Retrieved June 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
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