Background
Erdman, Jean was born on February 20, 1916 in Honolulu. Daughter of John Pinney and Marion (Dillingham) Erdman.
Erdman, Jean was born on February 20, 1916 in Honolulu. Daughter of John Pinney and Marion (Dillingham) Erdman.
Diploma, Sarah Lawrence College, 1936; DArts (honorary), Bard College, 1992.
Principal dancer, Martha Graham Dance Company, 1938;
organized, Jean Erdman Dance Group, 1944;
performer, choreographer, Jean Erdman Dance Group, 1944-1954;
director dance department, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, 1954-1957;
creator, producer, performer, Jean Erdman Theater of Dance, 1957-1972;
co-founder, Theater of the Open Eye, 1972. Creator, head Dance Theater program New York University School Arts, 1966-1971. Artist-in-residence arts festivals in Vancouver, Honolulu, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boulder.
President Joseph Campbell Foundation, Honolulu. Choreographer The Transformations of Medusa, 1942, Ophelia, 1946, The Perilous Chapel, 1949, The Coach with the Six Insides, 1960, Gauguin in Tahiti, 1972, Moon Mysteries, 1965, The Dream of Kitamura, 1978, The Minotaur Among Us, 1985.
Jean Erdman Scholarship endowment, University Hawaii. Member Century Club, Outrigger Canoe Club, American Dance Guild, Sacred Dance Guild (honorary).
Married Joseph Campbell, May 5, 1938 (deceased October 1987).