Dora Duby
Dora Duby | |
|---|---|
 Duby, photographed for the Bain News Service in the 1910s | |
| Born | Stephania Dubcich October 9, 1901 Seattle, Washington |
| Died | April 12, 1998 (aged 96) |
| Other names | Stephanie Duby |
| Occupation | Dancer |
Dora Duby (October 9, 1901[1] – April 12, 1998), born Stephania Dubcich, was an American dancer on Broadway, in London, and in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s.
Early life and education[edit]
Stephania Dubcich was born in Seattle (though some sources give Spokane or San Francisco as her birthplace), the daughter of Stephen Dubcich (Duby) and Augusta D. Fraude Stevens. Her mother was born in Germany, and her father was born in Austria. She trained as a dancer with Luigi Albertieri. In mid-career, she also trained with Mary Wigman in Berlin.[2]
Career[edit]
Duby danced in San Francisco, and with Anna Pavlova's company, as a young woman.[3][2] Her Broadway credits included roles in The Lady in Red (1919), Linger Longer Letty (1919–1920), The Midnight Rounders of 1921,[4][5] and Bombo (1921). In London, she danced in music halls,[6] and appeared in The Whirl of the World (1924) and Dolly's Revels (1924).[7] In Paris she danced in cabarets at Club Daunou, Acacias, Ciro's, the Casino de Paris, and Le Perroquet in the mid-1920s, including a stint as dance partner of Maurice Chevalier.[8] In Europe she also danced in Venice, Vienna,[9] Deauville, Biarritz, Monaco, Cannes, and Aix le Bains, and she toured in China, India, and South America.[2]
Duby also modeled gowns for Vogue, and displayed her jewelry in The Sketch.[10][11] Her dresses were described in detail in press reports in the 1920s and 1930s.[12][13][14] In 1935, she was hired by the Mexican government to direct the Escuela Nacional de Danza in Mexico City.[15][16]
Personal life[edit]
Duby sued millionaire Harold Grier in 1923, saying that he promised then failed to marry her.[17] In 1924, she was rumored to have many wealthy suitors in Paris and Venice,[18][19] including Ahmad Mirza.[20] Her partner Ernest Van Duren died by suicide in 1930.[21][22] She died in 1998, at the age of 96.
References[edit]
- ^ Many sources give 1902 or 1905 as Duby's birth year; 1901 is the date given in the United States Social Security Death Index, via Ancestry; this date agrees with her appearance in the 1910 Federal Census as an 8-year-old, in her mother's home in Seattle.
- ^ a b c Kerr, Adelaide (1932-10-16). "Dance Needs Footwork; Head Counts Too; Dora Duby Holds Interpretation Not Mere Matter of Legs and Arms". The Enid Morning News. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "French Opera Co. Revivie Ballet Dances". The San Francisco Examiner. 1917-10-20. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dora Duby" Dramatic Mirror 83(March 12, 1921): 442.
- ^ "On the Century Roof". Shadowland: 44. May 1921 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Jolo (June 4, 1924). "Dora Duby and Partner, Singing and Dancing". Variety. 75 (3): 31 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Dora Duby the American Dancer". Variety. 75 (3): 6. June 4, 1924 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ de Fouquières, André (September 15, 1925). "A Visit to the Chateau de Merlemont". The Spur. 36: 58.
- ^ "The A-Dora-Ble Duby: Dancing in a Spectacular Viennese Revue: Dora Duby". Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. February 18, 1928. p. 355 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Two Stars in the Realm of Art" Vogue 68(October 15, 1926): 161-162.
- ^ "One of the Most Popular French Stage Stars--Mlle. Dora Duby--and her Bracelets" The Sketch 137(March 2, 1927): 413.
- ^ "American Dancer In Vienna Wears Individual Stage Frocks". Women's Wear. December 22, 1926. p. 29 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Dora Duby Will Appear in Dazzling Costumes". The Buffalo News. 1933-11-21. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dora Duby Combines Gray, Gold and White in Frock". Press of Atlantic City. 1933-11-07. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "This Famous Dancer is a Government Official". The Shepton Mallet Journal, City of Wells Reporter, and County Advertiser. 1936-01-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dance Conscious; Mexican Children". Lithgow Mercury. 1937-01-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Thousand-Dollar Bills for a Sprint, Pennies for Her Broken Heart". The Times. 1923-07-15. p. 46. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U. S. Beauty, Dancer in Paris, Won by Scion of Gotham Family, Report". Ada Evening News. December 8, 1924. p. 1. Retrieved August 11, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Jazz, Dukes and Diamonds to Cure a 'Broken Heart'". The Evansville Journal. 1926-10-03. p. 50. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Jilted, Jilting Beauty and the Jolly Shah". Lancaster New Era. 1925-01-08. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wales, Henry (1930-07-18). "Kills Self as Morgan Scion's Sweetie Balks at Nude Dance". Daily News. p. 99. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Faithful a Ghost". El Paso Times. 1934-12-16. p. 34. Retrieved 2023-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
External links[edit]
- Dora Duby at the Internet Broadway Database
- A photograph of Dora Duby, by James Abbe, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- A photograph of Dora Duby in Paris, by James Abbe, at the Museum of Modern Art
- Gary Chapman, "Dancing Dora Duby" Jazz Age Club (April 27, 2010); a blogpost about Duby, with a lot of images.