While reading our local paper this morning, I came across an obituary for choreographer Sophie Maslow. The Bergen Record reported that Sophie Maslow passed away at the age of 95 in New York City on June 25th.

Her name might not be familiar to many folk music fans in 2006, but she was an innovator who would combine folk song with modern dance, and she played an important role in life of Woody Guthrie.

Sophie was born on March 22, 1911 in New York City. She was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants and at the age of 7 she would be taught music and dance at a socialist school in the City. She would learn folk dances at Camp Kirkland and took lessons from Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse in the city.

She began her career as a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company. In 1941 the Almanac Singers were exploring new opportunities and attempted a stage revue that combined dance, folk song, and stage performance. Sophie, a political progressive, had already begun to incorporate progressive themes into dances that she was choreographing, and she was asked by the Almanacs to set some of Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl Ballads to dance. Sophie danced to “So Long It’s Been Good to Know You” and other songs while wearing costumes featuring aprons and western hats.

While it was received favorably, the revue was not the rousing success that Almanacs hoped for, but it did spark an interest in Sophie. She approached Guthrie about choreographing more of his songs, and having Woody sing for the performances. After a few attempts, she realized that Guthrie would not perform the song the same way twice, and dancers need consistency for timing. Not one to comprise his performances, Woody and Sophie gave up the idea.

In 1942, Sophie was creating a new experimental dance set to Carl Sandburg’s poem “The People, Yes”. She had recruited Earl Robinson to participate as a narrator, but she needed another – an individual that could play guitar, have a sense of humor, and display a “folksy” attitude as a narrator. Robinson suggested Guthrie.

Against her better judgment, she decided to approach Guthrie again. For help, she asked one of her dancers to accompany her to meet with Guthrie. A 25-year-old dancer named Marjorie Mazia, who had heard a recording of Guthrie’s “Tom Joad”, was interested in helping Sophie. They went to see Guthrie at Almanac House, a building that the Almanacs used as their home and office. When I interviewed Marjorie years later, she told me that when their eyes met, they new it was something special. She told me that Woody would claim he only saw Marjorie in the room, Sophie had disappeared from his view.

Woody did agree to perform, and apparently Sophie was able to work with Guthrie’s idiosyncrasies because the performance was a success. Woody and Marjorie would eventually be married (Sophie was one of the witnesses to the marriage), and Marjorie played an integral role in motivating Guthrie and continuing his legacy after his death.

Sophie Maslow would create a number of important dance pieces in her career. She is recognized for creating “May Day March” and “Two Songs about Lenin” – pieces that dealt with the working class. In 1950 she created “The Village I Know” based on Sholom Aleichem’s short stories about life in Russia and immigration in the United States. She created a stirring production called “The Champion” that dealt with a champion boxer who was a loser outside of the ring. During her career she would choreograph many diverse productions including setting the stories of Hans Christian Anderson to dance as well as interpreting Lawrence Ferlinghetti set to the music of Duke Ellington.

She remained a close friend of Woody and Marjorie for the remainder of their lives. In 1980 she returned to the work of Guthrie when she created “Woody Sez”, a piece that combined comic and serious writings of Guthrie.

Sophie Maslow’s contribution to the world of dance was powerful. Her involvement with the world of folk music deserves greater acknowledgement.