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Cesi Kellinger collection of dance materials, 1842-1994

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BOX 1, 3 Programs, 1926-1994
Programs and playbills for the performances of national and international dance companies between 1926 and 1994 constitute this series. The series contains a program for a performance of early modern dance artists Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, who with their Denishawn dance company exercised significant influence upon the careers of Martha Graham and many other prominent modern dancers. The later career of Ted Shawn is well represented by programs from the renowned Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival between 1949 and 1973, which Shawn founded and directed until his death in 1974. Of special note are numerous programs for performances of the Martha Graham Dance Company between 1961 and 1994. The collection has a range of outstanding programs documenting other distinguished ballet companies and modern dance, especially strong in the years from the 1930s to the 1970s.
Arranged alphabetically by company.
BOX-FOLDER 1/1 American Ballet Company, 1969-1970
Program; cast change list; flyer
BOX-FOLDER 1/2 Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo of Colonel W. De Basil, 1937
Program; repertory list
BOX-FOLDER 1/3 Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo of Léonide Massine, 1938
BOX-FOLDER 1/4 Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo of S. J. Denham, 1961-1962
BOX-FOLDER 1/5 Ballet Society, 1947
BOX-FOLDER 1/6 Ballet West, 1977-1978
BOX-FOLDER 1/7 Bolshoi Ballet (film), [1957]
BOX-FOLDER 3/1 Denishawn: Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, and their Denishawn Dancers, circa 1926
BOX-FOLDER 1/8-12 Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, 1949-1958, 1973
Five souvenir programs; five programs
BOX-FOLDER 1/13 Jooss Ballet, 1946-1947
Program; souvenir program
BOX-FOLDER 3/2 Jooss European Ballet, circa 1933
BOX-FOLDER 1/14 Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, circa 1972
Two programs
BOX-FOLDER 1/15-19, 3/3 Martha Graham and Company, 1947-1992
Twelve souvenir programs; six programs
BOX-FOLDER 1/20 Maurice Béjart Ballet of the 20th Century, 1974
Souvenir program; program
BOX-FOLDER 1/21 Merce Cunningham Dance Company, 1968-1973
Three programs, one dance-goer letter
Note: Includes Festival international de danse de Paris
BOX-FOLDER 1/22 Nikolais Dance Theatre, circa 1980
Souvenir program with guest artist page
BOX-FOLDER 1/23 Nimura, 1936-1937
BOX-FOLDER 1/24 Nureyev and Friends, 1975
BOX-FOLDER 1/25-26 Original Ballet Russe, 1941, 1946-1947
Two programs; one souvenir program
BOX-FOLDER 1/27 Ted Shawn & Dance Group, 1950
Autographed program
BOX-FOLDER 1/28 Weidman, Charles, 1975
Program; photograph of document, [8] pages
Note: Charles Weidman's company Expression of Two Arts Theatre in program titled "Visualization, or From a Farm in New Jersey" in honor of Ruth St. Denis
BOX 2 Correspondence, 1931-1994
The Correspondence series, which dates from 1931 to 1994, includes several hand-written letters of prominent modern dancers Hanya Holm, Mary Wigman, and Ted Shawn, along with correspondence between Cesi Kellinger and other antiquarian dealers about modern dance figures. Of particular interest is Shawn’s 1962 Christmas holiday letter which describes the year’s activities.
Arranged alphabetically by author of the letter.
BOX-FOLDER 2/1 Holm, Hanya, 1979
Handwritten letter
BOX-FOLDER 2/2 Jacob's Pillow, 1965
Fundraising letter
BOX-FOLDER 2/3 Kellinger, Cesi, 1987-1994
Three letters and enclosures on collecting and dance artists (Wigman, Holm, and Pola Nirenska)
BOX-FOLDER 2/4 Page, Ruth, undated
Hand-written note
Note: Transmittal note of good wishes
BOX-FOLDER 2/5 Shawn, Ted, 1953, 1962
Two single-page typed letters; one holiday newsletter, [14] pages
BOX-FOLDER 2/6 Wigman, Mary, 1931
One letter, 3 pages; envelope
BOX 2-5 Photographs and Prints, 1842-1974
The Photographs and Prints series is divided into two subseries: The Photographs subseries contains a significant number of black-and-white photos and film publicity shots related to the productions of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn dating from 1906 to 1974. It includes a rare photo in which St. Denis dances in her first choreographed work Radha (1906). This collection also includes photos of her solo in The Gold Madonna, most likely during her first performance in 1934, as well as performing The White Madonna in 1936. Other photographed productions include The Gift of Eternal Life, an Indo-Persian Legend, which renowned American artist Albert Herter wrote and produced in 1929, Greek Veil Plastique Dance (1917), Legend of the Peacock (1919), White Jade (1926), and Nautch (1908). Other items include headshots of St. Denis, images of Ruth Denis with Ted Shawn, and photographs taken in non-performance settings.
The Prints subseries consists primarily of illustrations on dance-related topics from magazines and newspapers dating from 1842 to 1929, many of which accompany essays or performance reviews. It also contains two photogravures depicting dance lessons by the Gebbie & Husson Photogravure Company. One particularly rare item is Jacques-Émile Blanche’s essay "Léon Bakst dans le Ballet Russe" in the French serial L'Illustration (1927). Léon Bakst, famed costume and set designer for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, provided watercolor illustrations for the essay. This subseries also contains several portraits of renowned dancers Fanny Cerrito, Sofia Fuoco, Carlotta Pochini, and Marie Taglioni.
Photographs arranged by title of the work; prints arranged by title of illustration or surname of the person depicted.
Photographs, 1906-1974
Ruth St. Denis in Performance
BOX-FOLDER 4/1 Abduction of Sita, circa 1920
Photographer: Lou Goodale Bigelow
BOX-FOLDER 4/2 Balinese ballet solo, circa 1931
Photographer: unknown
BOX-FOLDER 4/3 Burmese solo, circa 1923
Photographer: Nicholas Muray
BOX-FOLDER 4/4 Egypta [?], undated
Includes: Ruth St. Denis with unidentified male dancer
BOX-FOLDER 4/5 Folder of photographs, early 1900s?
Eleven 2.25 x 3.75 inch prints inside a photo decorated with a Ruth St. Denis bookplate
Note: Five different costumes or dances
BOX-FOLDER 4/6 The Gift of Eternal Life: An Indo-Persian Legend, a play by Albert Herter, 1929
Two photographs
Photographer: J. W. Collinge and Robert Bordeaux
Location: Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, California
Note: St. Denis played the role of Rabia
BOX-FOLDER 4/7 The Gold Madonna, 1934?
Note: Solo from Color Study of the Madonna, a dance work also known as The Masque of Mary
Photographer: unknown
BOX-FOLDER 4/8 Greek Veil Plastique Dance, 1917
Photographer: Albert Witzel
Location: Los Angeles
BOX-FOLDER 4/9 Gregorian Chant, 1950s
Autographed photograph, dated 1955
Photographer: unknown
BOX-FOLDER 4/10 Kitty (Paramount Pictures film), circa 1944-1945
Two publicity photographs
Photographer: Bud Fraker
Note: In role of Duchess of Marlborough
BOX-FOLDER 4/11 Legend of the Peacock, 1919?
Photographer: unknown
BOX-FOLDER 4/12 The Lovers, circa 1913
Photographer: Muray Studios
Includes: Ruth Denis with Ted Shawn
BOX-FOLDER 4/13 Nautch dance, 1927, undated
Two photographs
Photographer: Marcus Blechman
Note: As performed in vaudeville
BOX-FOLDER 4/14 Nautch dance, undated
Photographer: unknown
BOX-FOLDER 4/15 Postcard photographs, undated
Eight 4 x 5 inch prints
Contents: Burmese solo; The Cobra; Incense; Legend of the Peacock; Radha; White Madonna; Yogi; unidentified dance
BOX-FOLDER 4/16 Radha, 1906
Two photographs: headshot of the full-length portrait
Photographer: Marcus Blechman
BOX-FOLDER 4/17 Radha, circa 1943-1947
Colorized photograph
Photographer: Constantiner
BOX-FOLDER 4/18 Siamese ballet, 1929
Photographer: Arthur F. Kales
BOX-FOLDER 4/19 Spirit of the Sea [?], undated
Note: On verso, word "prophetess" in pencil
BOX-FOLDER 4/20 White Jade (1926), undated
Photographer: Marcus Blechman
BOX-FOLDER 4/21 White Madonna, 1936?
Photographer: unknown
Note: Solo from Color Study of the Madonna, a dance work also known as The Masque of Mary
BOX-FOLDER 4/22 The Yogi, 1956?
Photographer: unknown
BOX-FOLDER 4/23-25 Unidentified dance roles, undated
Four photographs of three different dances
Photographer: unknown
BOX-FOLDER 4/26-27 Unidentified theatrical roles, undated
Two photographs of different productions
Photographer: unknown
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