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Lester Horton Dance Theater collection, 1918-1996

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BOX 1-10, 34, 42, 45, 47 MAPCASE 3 Business Papers, 1926-1996 (bulk 1936-1960)
Comprised of architectural drawings, clippings, contracts, financial documents, inter-office communications, legal documents, press releases, promotional materials, scrapbooks, and biographical information on the company and dancers, the Business Papers document the everyday activities of the Dance Theater. Clippings and material in the two scrapbooks hold information on Horton's career before the formation of the Dance Theater and its earlier incarnation as the Lester Horton Dancers or Horton Dance Group. Several folders of bills and receipts reveal the various company expenses, including a wide range of maintenance activities such as paint purchases and ticket printing costs. Bank statements and ledgers chart the financial decisions of the company, and documentation on Horton and Frank Eng's personal bank accounts contain expenditures linked to company activities. Materials related to the Dance Theater School are found under Education Files.
Arranged alphabetically by material type.
BOX-FOLDER 1/1 Address books, undated
BOX-FOLDER 1/2 Address lists, undated
BOX-FOLDER 1/3 Administration and staff, 1947-1952 and undated
MAPCASE-DRAWER 3/4 Architectural blueprint and sketches by R.M. Schindler (Dance Theater architect), undated
BOX-FOLDER 1/4 Architectural sketches by Lester Horton, undated
BOX-FOLDER 47/1 Artwork by Keith Finch, undated
Note: Displayed in Dance Theater lobby
BOX-FOLDER 1/5 Bank loan documents, 1947-1962
Bank statements
BOX-FOLDER 2/1-13 Dance Theater, 1949-1952
BOX-FOLDER 3/1-6 Dance Theater, 1954-1961
BOX-FOLDER 3/7-11 Eng, Frank, 1953-1960
BOX-FOLDER 3/12-13 Horton, Lester, 1947, 1950-1952
BOX-FOLDER 1/6-11 Bills and receipts, 1939-1961, 1973, and undated
BOX-FOLDER 4/1 Calendars, 1957
BOX 4/2-7, 5/1-4 Check stubs, 1946-1966 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 5/5 Choreo '76 proposal, 1976
BOX-FOLDER 6/1-9, 42/1 Clippings, 1926-1996 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 6/10 Company biographies, undated
Contracts
BOX-FOLDER 6/11 Agents and representation, 1949-1956
BOX-FOLDER 7/1 Dancers, 1937-1953, 1973
BOX-FOLDER 7/2 Performances, 1933-1959
Dancer biographies
BOX-FOLDER 7/3 de Lavallade, Carmen, undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/4 Horton, Lester, 1952-1953 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/5 Martin, Don, undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/7 Miscellaneous, 1948-1960 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/6 Truitte, James, undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/8 Dance Theater building, 1946-1961
Correspondence, leases, and permits
BOX-FOLDER 34/1 Dance Theater logo drawing by Lester Horton, undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/9 Drawings by Lester Horton, 1950 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/10 Financial statements and budgets, 1935-1956 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/11, 42/2 Fundraisers: Bal Caribe, circa 1955
Fliers, invitations, photographs, and posters
BOX-FOLDER 7/12 Grant application, undated
BOX-FOLDER 7/13 Inner City Cultural Center 20th Anniversary Celebration, 1985
Insurance
BOX-FOLDER 8/1 Dancers' policies, 1953
BOX-FOLDER 8/3 Miscellaneous, 1948-1960
BOX-FOLDER 8/2 Workmen's compensation claims and coverage, 1946-1961
BOX-FOLDER 8/4 Internal memos, 1950 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 8/5 Internal notices, 1952-1960 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 34/2-7 Ledgers, 1946-1950
BOX-FOLDER 8/6 Legal documents, 1938-1975
BOX-FOLDER 8/7 Lester Horton Dance Theater Foundation, circa 1990
BOX-FOLDER 8/8 Mailing lists, 1950 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 8/9 Meeting notes, 1951 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 8/10 Newsletters, 1950-1953
BOX-FOLDER 8/11 Outside rentals, 1936, 1948-1949
BOX-FOLDER 8/12-14 Payroll and wages, 1936-1961
BOX-FOLDER 45/1, 47/2-5 Posters and poster mock-ups, 1936-1960
BOX-FOLDER 9/1-5 Press releases, 1948-1958 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 9/6 Production set ups and notes, undated
BOX-FOLDER 9/7, 42/3, 45/2 Promotional materials, 1941-1956 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 9/8 Publicity drafts and notes, undated
BOX-FOLDER 9/9 Repertoire and casting, circa 1950 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 9/10 Road maps, undated
BOX 35 Rubber stamps and keys, undated
BOX-FOLDER 9/11 Schedules, 1956 and undated
BOX-FOLDER 50/1-14 Scrapbook, 1929-1950
BOX-FOLDER 42/4-5 Scrapbook, 1936-1956
Taxes
BOX-FOLDER 10/1 Dance Theater, 1946-1949
BOX-FOLDER 10/2 Eng, Frank, 1953-1955
BOX-FOLDER 10/3 Excise, 1942-1960
BOX-FOLDER 10/4 Horton, Lester, 1939-1944
BOX-FOLDER 10/5 Miscellaneous, 1939, 943
BOX-FOLDER 10/6-7 Ticket sales and statements, 1934-1956
BOX-FOLDER 10/8 Venue solicitations, 1949-1953
BOX 10-15, 35-38, 42-43, 45, 48-49, 51-55 MAPCASE 3 Production Files, 1928-1996 (bulk 1936-1955)
Information related to specific productions and choreographic works put on by Lester Horton and the Dance Theater company is organized in this series. Material types include costume and set renderings, photographs, programs, scripts, typed scenarios, and licensing agreements with composers.
Organized as two subseries, Individual Works and Programs.
Individual Works, 1928-1981
This subseries consists primarily of photographs and design renderings of individual dance works created or considered by Horton or the Dance Theater. Some files contain scripts or written dance scenarios. The majority of the pieces were created by Horton, but works presented by the company after his death are also included such as Alvin Ailey's According to St. Francis. There is a significant amount of material documenting the different iterations and revisions to Horton's Salome. Also found in this subseries are six props and costume pieces used in performance. Unless otherwise noted, all productions listed are choreographic works.
Arranged alphabetically by title of work.
BOX-FOLDER 36/1 7 Scenes with Ballabilli, 1952
Photographs
BOX-FOLDER 10/9 According to St. Francis, 1954
Photograph and scenario
BOX-FOLDER 10/10 Annie Get Your Gun (musical), 1951
Typescript
Another Touch of Klee
BOX-FOLDER 45/3 Costume and set designs, 1951
BOX-FOLDER 10/11, 36/2-3 Photographs, 1951
BOX-FOLDER 42/6 The Art Patrons, 1935
Photographs
BOX-FOLDER 10/12 Aztec Ceremonial, 1933
Photographs
BOX-FOLDER 11/1 Bal Caribe, 1953-1956
Photographs
Note: Includes Bolero, Kandyan, and Miss Salome
Bamboo Alley
BOX-FOLDER 45/4 Costume designs, 1951-1955
BOX-FOLDER 11/2 Photographs, 1951-1955
BOX-FOLDER 11/3 Barrel House, 1948-1949
Photographs
BOX-FOLDER 36/4-5, 48/1 Batucada, 1951
Photographs
BOX-FOLDER 45/5 Beguine, undated
Costume designs
BOX-FOLDER 11/4 The Beloved, 1948-1974
Choreographic notation, photographs, and programs
BOX-FOLDER 11/5 A Bouquet for Molly, 1950
Photographs and scenario
Note: Includes scenario for The Cottonwood Leaves are Whisperin'
BOX-FOLDER 11/6 Brown County, Indiana, 1950
Photographs, scenario, and set designs
BOX-FOLDER 45/6 Cakewalk, undated
Costume designs
BOX-FOLDER 36/6 Carmen, 1948-1949
Photograph
BOX-FOLDER 11/7 Carnival in (Bahia, Recife or ?), circa 1945
Scenario
BOX-FOLDER 11/8 Carolina and the Quaker, undated
Scenario
Chronicle
BOX-FOLDER 11/9, 36/7, 42/7 Costume and set designs, circa 1940
BOX-FOLDER 11/10, 36/7, 42/7 Photographs, circa 1940
BOX-FOLDER 11/11 Chungsville, 1955
Photograph
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