Zella Wolofsky
Born1947 (age 76–77)
Canada
EducationMcGill University,
Simon Fraser University,
University of Toronto
Known forModern dance, dance research, human-computer interaction research, teaching
Spouse
​
​
(died 2020)​

Zella Wolofsky (born 1947)[1] is a Canadian modern dancer,[2] researcher, columnist, and educator. During her dance career, she danced with various dance companies including Dancemakers, [3] Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers, Burnaby Dance, Laura Dean, and independent choreographers such as Jean Pierre Perrault, Muna Tseng, Elizabeth Chitty as part of 15 Dance Labs, founded by Miriam Adams and Lawrence Adams in Toronto, Canada.

Her research became the launchpad for applying computer interpretation to Labanotation at Simon Fraser University,[4][5] which led to the development of LifeForms, the computer program used by Merce Cunningham in the later part of his career.[6][7] Journalist Robert Sarti described her research as a way for choreographers to eventually be able to try out new movements, similar to how a composer might "doodle" on a piano.[8]

Biography

Zella Wolofsky was born in 1947 in Canada. She was known for her reconstruction and performances of Doris Humphrey 1931 iconic masterpiece solo, Two Ecstatic Themes,[9][10] and was the first to perform this solo widely in Canada. Jeffrey Simpson reported that Clement Crisp, the dance critic at The Financial Times praised her performance of this solo when he saw it at The Place, in London UK.[11] She studied modern dance with Merce Cunningham, Viola Farber, Peggy Baker, Ruth Currier, Milton Myers, Bella Lewitzky and ballet with Alfredo Corvino and Maggie Black.

She received a 1967 B.Sc. degree from McGill University, a 1974 M.Sc. degree in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University,[6][12] and after she retired from performing, a Doctorate in Education from University of Toronto in 1990. Her graduate studies were supported by Canada Council Humanities Grant,[8] National Research Council Canada Award, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship. LifeForm software was the brainchild of Wolofsky and Tom Calvert, and later, Thecla Schiphorst.[6] Wolofsky was the first person who applied Labanotation, a system of human movements, to computers, which was part of her masters thesis.[4][13][8] She had been interested in the creation of computer animation of dancers and their movement.[14]

Wolofsky was on the Board of Directors of Dancer Transition Resource Centre and Peggy Baker Dance Projects and served as Board Secretary for both organizations. While in Vancouver in the 1970s, she wrote for Dance Magazine as Foreign Correspondent from Vancouver. She was close friends and briefly dated the filmmaker Donald Shebib, providing guidance on the beginning and ending of his last film Nightalk.[15] She and his son Noah shared Don's primary caregiving during his last weeks alive.

She was married to Douglas Tyndall Wright, first Dean of Engineering and 3rd President of University of Waterloo.[16] He died in May 2020.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Wolofsky, Zella, 1947-". viaf.org. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  2. ↑ Wyman, Max (April 26, 1974). "Dancers of Vancouver". The Vancouver Sun. p. 96. ISSN 0832-1299 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Studies in Dance History. Society of Dance History Scholars. 1994. p. 69.
  4. 1 2 Wilke, Lars; Calvert, Tom; Ryman, Rhonda; Fox, Ilene (2003). "Animating the Dance Archives". The 4th International Symposium on Virtual Reality. doi:10.2312/VAST/VAST03/093-100. ISBN 978-3-905673-08-1.
  5. ↑ Guest, Ann Hutchinson (1984). Dance Notation: The Process of Recording Movement on Paper. Dance Books. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-903102-75-9.
  6. 1 2 3 Salter, Chris (2010). Entangled: Technology and the Transformation of Performance. MIT Press. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-262-19588-1.
  7. ↑ Schibsted, Evantheia (October 1, 1996). "LIfeform". Wired.
  8. 1 2 3 Sarti, Robert (January 16, 1973). "Shall We Dance to Computer". The Vancouver Sun. p. 29. ISSN 0832-1299 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Goodwin, Noel (November 7, 1982). "Giselle and the Umbrella". The Observer. London, England. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Wyman, Max (November 6, 1981). "Dancemakers strong on versatility". The Province. Vancouver, Canada. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Simpson, Jeffrey (November 2, 1982). "RWB dancers praised, but choreography criticized". The Globe and Mail. p. 17. ProQuest 1240645360.
  12. ↑ Canadiana. Vol. 2. National Library of Canada. 1975. p. 1409.
  13. ↑ Tongpaeng, Yootthapong; Rattanakhum, Mongkhol; Sureephong, Pradorn; Wicha, Satichai (2017). "Implementing a Tool for Translating Dance Notation to Display in 3D Animation: A Case Study of Traditional Thai Dance". Advances in Artificial Intelligence: From Theory to Practice. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 10351. pp. 22–26. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-60045-1_3. ISBN 978-3-319-60044-4.
  14. ↑ Mann, Stephen; Gutwin, Carl (2006). Graphics Interface 2006. Taylor & Francis. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-56881-308-0.
  15. ↑ "Zella Wolofsky". IMDb. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  16. 1 2 MacKay, Susan Ferrier (June 12, 2020). "Brilliant structural engineer Douglas Wright had a talent for building metaphorical bridges". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
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