In Memory of Patricia
Nanon
Patricia Nanon, of New York City and Chilmark, died peacefully
on February 29, in her home in New York City, surrounded by her
loving daughters. She was 84.
Ms. Nanon, a choreographer, was a 1944 graduate of Bennington
College. She started her professional dance career in the Broadway
musical Sing Out Sweet Land and performed in the companies
of Hanya Holm and Doris Humphrey. She choreographed for and co-directed
the Choreographers’ Workshops with Trudy Goth, presenting
in New York all the leading modern dance creators of the late
1940s and early 1950s. She also choreographed a weekly Dumont
television series and presented her work in New York at the Theatre
of the Open Eye with the New Repertory Ensemble at Queens College,
The Hunter Playhouse, the 92nd Street Y, Marymount Manhattan,
and St. Clement’s.
In 1973, Ms. Nanon founded The Yard, in Chilmark, now a treasured
part of both the Vineyard and the contemporary dance world. Her
own personal artistic journey, extensive and varied, led her to
envision a “playground without walls.” She spoke of
The Yard as a place where choreographers could “explore,
experiment, and construct. A place of possibility, joy, love,
anger, frustration.” Ms. Nanon produced new work annually
at The Yard for 35 years, and received recognition for her vision
and generosity from many leaders in the world of dance.
Friends and colleagues of Ms. Nanon remember her sharp wit, her
keen insight, her sun hat, her humor, her generosity, her discriminating
and deep love of art, and her chain smoking. The Yard’s
Wendy Taucher reminds us all that she “died with her boots
on,” having just completed one of her most successful works
of choreography for her 2007 residency at The Yard. As late as
this February she was planning her next project.
She is survived by her daughters Vicki Woolner Samuels of Chicago,
Cate Woolner of Northfield, Massachusetts, and Justine Woolner
Wise of Oneonta, New York, their families, many devoted nieces
and nephews and their families, as well as many dear friends.
There will be a memorial service for Patricia on Martha’s
Vineyard on the weekend of June 28th, and a celebratory concert
with revivals of her work there on July 20. There will also be
a public memorial in New York City at the Joyce in 2009.
Donations in honor of Patricia may be made to Bennington College
(http://www.bennington.edu/give.asp),
The Juilliard School (http://www.juilliard.edu/giving/giving.html),
and The Yard.
On Behalf of The Yard Board
The Board of Trustees of The Yard, Inc. mourns the passing of
its founder, choreographer Patricia N. Nanon on Friday, February
29, 2008. Patricia's vision led to the creation of The Yard, in
1972, to foster modern dance choreography. Her dedication and
genius allowed many of the dance world's choreographic stars to
create and dance new works and gave hundreds of choreographers
and dancers the opportunity to grow and advance in their chosen
fields. Her gift to The Yard Inc. in 2007 of property in Chilmark,
Massachusetts, including the theatre and the resident houses that
so many of you know, will allow The Yard, Inc. to continue her
mission. We salute her vision, her passion for choreography and
excellence, and her wish to encourage, educate and promote the
work of so many others. We pledge ourselves to her remarkable
legacy and ask you to join us in honoring her. We will miss her.
Sarah Jane Hughes
President, Yard Board of Trustees
Memories of Patricia
It was 1989 and a typical, yet special, day on the Vineyard.
This tiny woman emerged from her blue convertible, straw hat on
her head and blazing blue eyes directed at me. This was Patricia
Nanon. Such a light and life in those eyes! There are only a few
people I have ever met whose eyes revealed such intelligence,
passion, warmth, and intensity. It was as if she could see through
me. I now know that she could. As an artist, visionary and human
being, Patricia commanded the room, the stage and embraced the
world. She held firm to her beliefs and vision at all cost. I
cherish her for that. Her creation of the Yard and her generosity
of spirit, advice and deed to young and mature artists alike,
is unprecedented. She always had time, always listened, always
shared, and always cared. She inspired all who knew her. She defended;
she offended and was one of the most authentic and honest people
I have ever known. I loved Patricia. Hers is not just a legacy
to admire, but one to emulate. In her passing, Patricia challenges
us to do, give, and commit to The Dance, The Yard and to our fellow
artists and the world. These are HUGE tiny shoes to fill. Only
together can we hope to make that happen.
Carolyn Dorfman
Yard Advisory Board Member and Affiliate Artist
I am so saddened to hear about Patricia's passing. The dance world
and all she touched have indeed lost a dear friend. Patricia Nanon,
although small in stature, had the heart and deeds of people twice
her size. There are few choreographers and dancers working in
the U.S. today who have not benefited greatly from her generosity
and vision. I will have an image of her riding around Martha's
Vineyard in her blue convertible and sun hat pleasantly etched
in my brain forever. I thank Patricia for The Yard and am consoled
a bit knowing that it, and her spirit (giving choreographic notes
from above), will be around forever.
David Dorfman
Yard Advisory Board Member
On my imaginary list of people I would like to see living forever,
Pat is the first name.
She let so many people have their 15 minutes, always looking closely
in the background, with her unselfish, humble, giving and nurturing
attitude.
It is a great loss for everyone.
Silvio Facchin
I have known Patricia for about 30 years. She was the only woman
I have known who had a dream of this magnitude and truly brought
it to fruition. She had faith it was going to work through its
ups and downs. Across the years, we often had picnics together
on the rocks at the beach. Patricia was always hopeful for the
future. It was an amazing journey to see her vision come to fruition
and I give her tremendous credit for it.
Anne Gallagher
Yard Advisory Board Member
...On the subway, I smiled to myself thinking of how many dancers
affectionately called her Patty Twist. I believe this nickname
originated in the Limon Company of years ago, and I was never
sure whether she knew of this alias or not. Somehow I suspect
she knew it, in the back of her mind, the way mothers always seem
to know everything you did as a child and thought you got away
with. She herself would always say, “twist is my middle
name,” never failing to lighten the mood when you couldn’t
quite get the particular brand of twist she was looking for.
She had a fierce eye for detail and was always determined that
everything in her work would be just so. While, in the later years,
this sometimes meant trying for hours to achieve the impossible
jump she pictured in her head, straining calves and frustrating
everyone to no end, it also meant you never left one of her rehearsals
without obtaining some new and vital clue to the art of performing....
Hana Ginsburg
Yard Alumna
Patricia did so much for me and I am so grateful to have known
her. She was a generous and passionate individual, and her commitment
to dance, particularly the development of new choreographic talent,
was exemplary. I have so many warm memories of my time with Patricia
at The Yard and I will cherish them forever.
Adam Hougland
On behalf of the José Limón Dance Foundation I want
to express our love, thanks and admiration for Patricia Nanon.
She was a great woman, a visionary, and a leader in creating vital
opportunities for creation within our field. This joyous, generous
and elegant human being gave us so much that it is hard to believe
that she is no longer physically present with us. I know that
her gifts and spirit remain with us, inspiring new generations
toward bold adventures. Bravo Patricia!!!
To Patricia's family we send all our love. Please know that our
hearts are with you all.
Carla Maxwell
Artistic Director, Limón Dance Company/Foundation
Yard Affiliate Artist
It's hard to think of Patricia without the Yard, or the Dance
World without both of them. They have been an integral part of
the creative growth of Modern Dance over the last thirty years.
Patricia's passion and persistence in this mission is astonishing
and inspiring. She practiced what she preached, making dances
herself until the end. It was as if she wanted the whole world
to know and love - and practice - dance. She brought many young
people and adults to see and to dance themselves on the Vineyard.
Young talented choreographers and dancers from across the nation
came to explore new creative paths in residencies at the Yard.
To enrich lives through providing participation in an art form
is an idealistic goal; to achieve it is a miracle. Many generations
of dance artists and audiences are indebted to Patricia for her
generosity and vision.
Martha Myers
Yard Artistic Mentor
On Friday, February 29, the world lost Patricia Nanon. Though
we all considered her infallible, and regardless of her physical
frailty, it appeared she would be with us forever, being her feisty,
focused, determined self. There will be a huge void in her family's
life, the dance world and the world in general. It is the passing
of a huge personality and she will be deeply missed.
Elaine Miller
Yard Presidenct Emerita
In 1992, Patricia wrote a remarkable essay in "Sea, Sand
& Stars," an essential publication that celebrated the
first 20 years of The Yard's existence. The title for her chapter
was the essence of simplicity - "Past, Present, Future"
- and it mostly outlined how The Yard came into being and developed
from its modest beginnings. But Patricia also wrote comprehensively
about The Yard's current programming and what she had envisioned
for the future of this institution. It is to her credit that at
this time of inevitable change, it seems clear that the years
of love and effort that Patricia poured into The Yard will have
continuing repercussions. While she will no longer be conducting
rehearsals or presiding over performances, Patricia Nanon will
always be an essential part of The Yard's illustrious past, its
exciting present and its limitless future.
Norton Owen
Yard Trustee
Patricia and I became friends over 30 years ago when she invited
me to dance in a Yard performance at Chicama Vineyards. This friendship
grew and when our relationship became professional, we became
even closer. She was so open with me and so generous to me. My
fondest memories are of sharing simple daily rituals in her New
York home: breakfast with tea, the New York Times, and always
classical music in the background. It was a privilege to have
known and loved Patricia Nanon.
DiAnn Ray
Former Executive Director, The Yard, Inc.
I remember fondly the lunch and dinnertime conversations Patricia
and I had about the art of dance during my summer visits to the
Yard, when I served as mentor to the Bessie Residency. The institution
she founded has been appreciated by countless dancers and choreographers
who are now the prime movers of the art form, and her generosity
has left the Yard to future generations of talented dance artists.
I shall miss her very much, but rejoice, along with the rest of
the dance community, in her life and her wonderful gift to us.
Gus Solomons jr
Yard Advisory Board Member
Patricia and The Yard have been family to me since my first
Vineyard summer in 1974. I will be forever grateful to her for
giving me a place to "grow up" artistically--a place
to try new ideas without fear of failure; a place to play, to
meet new colleagues. Patricia was first and foremost a friend--generous,
funny, affectionate. Her love of dance was paramount. Her determination,
unwavering. She continued to choreograph, and to love the process
even when, for health reasons, rehearsing became an act of will.
Her final work, created last summer, was one of her best. It showed
her understanding of form, her love of nature, and her joy in
full-bodied, lyrical movement. I cannot imagine the world without
her in it.
Linda Tarnay
Yard Trustee and Associate Artistic Director
Patricia Nanon was a feisty spirit and a truth teller with sharp,
smart wit, discriminating taste and flirtatious eyes. She created
her final dance just last June. Until this February, she had been
planning on inventing another this spring. She believed, she was
generous and she made a difference. She will be missed.
Wendy Taucher
Yard Artistic/Executive Director
From my first meeting with Patricia exactly 20 years ago in Feb.
1988, she continued to pour her kindness onto me and it nurtured
not only my maturing artistry but me as a person. When I lived
in New York City we would go to the movies or theatre together,
she would often give me tickets to some event when she couldn't
go... and of course all the years at the Yard are treasures of
my life that helped to mold me.
Thomas Warfield
