Abstract Ted Shawn was born Edwin Myers Shawn on October 21, 1891 in Kansas City, Missouri. After a battle with Diphtheria at the age of 19, he took up dance as a form of Physical Therapy. In 1914 he met Ruth St. Denis, married her, and together they started the Denishawn Dance Company and School. Many of today’s modern dancers can trace their roots to this company. Shawn and St. Denis separated and dissolved the Denishawn Company in 1930. That very same year, Shawn purchased a farm in the...