Sophia Delza Glassgold, born Sophie Hurwitz, was an American modern dancer, choreographer, author, and practitioner of Wu-style tai chi, which she taught at her school in New York City.
14 Facts About Sophia Delza
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Sophia Delza authored the first English language book on tai chi, T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Body and Mind in Harmony.
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Sophia Delza was a sibling of documentary filmmaker Leo Hurwitz, and psychoanalyst Marie Briehl.
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Sophia Delza initially learned to dance from her sister, Elizabeth Delza, who went on to a successful career as a dancer.
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Sophia Delza performed with her sister at the Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1920s.
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Sophia Delza later travelled to Paris to continue her studies in dance.
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Sophia Delza danced opposite James Cagney in the Grand Street Follies of 1928.
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Sophia Delza studied Spanish dance and received a grant to study folk dance forms in Mexico.
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In 1937, after the Spanish Civil War broke out, Sophia Delza created two anti-fascist works, We Weep for Spain and We March for Spain.
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Sophia Delza performed in a "Dances for Spain" concert at the Adelphi Theatre that year, alongside fellow modern dancers Sokolow and Helen Tamiris.
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In 1948, Delza accompanied her husband, A Cook Glassgold, to Shanghai.
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Sophia Delza worked as a dance instructor, and was the first American to teach modern dance in China.
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Sophia Delza subsequently began teaching tai chi as a form of exercise at the United Nations and the Actors Studio.
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In 1996, Sophia Delza died at the age of 92 at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, soon after publishing her last book, The T'ai-Chi Ch'uan Experience.