Mura Dehn

Who was Mura Dehn?

Mura Ziperovitch Dehn documented African-American social jazz dancing at the Savoy Ballroom in New York between 1920 and 1940, a time that she referred to as the "Golden Age of Jazz." She also worked as a producer and documenter up until her death, and was co-artistic director of Traditional Jazz Dance Theater, along with vaudeville performer James Berry.

Dehn was raised in Russia where she was schooled in ballet and modern dance by Ellen Tels, a student of Isadora Duncan. She realized early on that dance would be her passion in life. During her training she was exposed to many styles of dance, including jazz. However, she did not become interested in the style of jazz dance until later.

In 1925 Dehn ventured to Paris in hopes of furthering her dance career. There, she saw Josephine Baker perform. At that time in Paris, Baker was regarded as one of the best jazz dancers in the country, and was extremely popular. Mura Dehn then realized that she was very attracted to jazz dance. She instantly became a fan and decided to take up jazz dance to see where it would lead her.

By 1930 Mura Dehn had immigrated to New York with her husband Adolf Dehn, an American painter and lithographer she had met in Paris. The Dehns divorced, but remained friendly. One night in New York Dehn stumbled across the Savoy Ballroom. Inside, she witnessed dancing that was completely foreign to her and she loved it. She took it upon herself to somehow document what she saw for later generations. The best way that she could think of was to put it on film.