On May 22, 1920, the members of the Women’s Physical education classes performed an elaborate allegorical pageant, entitled “The Spirit of Grinnell,” on the campus grounds. Accompanied by the Grinnell Orchestra, the pageant aimed to tell the story of the College in 5 stages:
1.) “The Spirit of the Prairie” (pictured above)
2.) “The Spirit of Education” (which depicted the founding of the college)
3.) “The Cyclone”
4.) “Grinnell’s Part in the Great Wars” (i.e. Civil War & WWI)
5.) “The Hope for the Future of Grinnell.”
According to the program, the dancing captured in the photograph above–from the prologue, the “Spirit of the Prairie”–was performed while the orchestra played portions of Charles Gounod’s 19th-century grand opera, Faust.