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  Music Division  Judith Chazin-Bennahum Photograph Collection Relating to Antony Tudor

Judith Chazin-Bennahum Photograph Collection Relating to Antony Tudor

 Collection
Identifier: ML31.T83

Scope and Content Note

This one-box collection is organized in one series: Photographs. Most photographs document choreography of Tudor, including some of his major choreographic works such as Dark Elegies , Jardin aux Lilas , and Pillar of Fire . Artists appearing in the photos include Tudor himself, Alicia Alonso, Lucia Chase, Agnes de Mille, Eric Hampton, Nora Kaye, Hugh Laing, Maude Lloyd, Jerome Robbins, Gailene Stock, and many others. Several photographs capture works by choreographers Andrée Howard, Eugene Loring, and Frederick Ashton; one photograph of the ballet Alcestis by Martha Graham is included.

Photographers Baron Adolph de Meyer, Fred Fehl, Gjon Mili, George Platt Lynes, Enar Merkel Rydberg, Elizabeth Sawyer, Werner Wolf, Alfredo Valente, Jack Mitchell, George Hurell, Carl van Vechten, and Angus McBean are represented among the collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1932-1971

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

Access and Restrictions

The Judith Chazin-Bennahum Photograph Collection Relating to Antony Tudor is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.

Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.

Copyright Status

Materials from the Judith Chazin-Bennahum Photograph Collection Relating to Antony Tudor are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.

Biographical Note

In addition to a career as a choreographer and ballet dancer, scholar Judith Chazin-Bennahum is the author of numerous books and articles on dance and dance research. She earned a doctorate in romance languages and the title of Distinguished Professor Emerita from the University of New Mexico. Many of the photos assembled by Chazin-Bennahum in this collection were acquired during research for her book The Ballets of Antony Tudor , published in 1994 by Oxford University Press.

Antony Tudor, born in London on April 4, 1908, was a choreographer and dancer. He was originally named William Cook. His teachers included Marie Rambert, Pearl Argyle, Margaret Craske, and Harold Turner. Tudor danced from 1930 to 1937 with the Ballet Club, later named Ballet Rambert. In 1937, he founded the London Ballet, for which he choreographed until 1940. From 1939 to 1950, he was resident choreographer for the American Ballet Theatre in New York. He taught with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School beginning in 1950, and the Juilliard School from 1957 to 1963. In 1974, Tudor became associate director for American Ballet Theatre. Tudor displayed a comic sensibility in many of his ballets, but he is best-known for his psychological ballets that explored jealousy, despair, rejection, and other deep emotions. Throughout his lifetime, Tudor's choreographic work was performed by companies in Europe, Australia, and Japan; his achievements were marked by numerous awards. Tudor died April 19, 1987, in New York. The following chronology dates Tudor's most significant choreography.

Biographical Note

1908, Apr. 4
Born, London, England
1930 - 1937
Performed with and choreographed for Ballet Rambert
Choreographed Cross Garter'd (1931), Lysistrata and Adam and Eve (1932), The Planets (1934), The Descent of Hebe (1935), Jardin aux Lilas (1936), and Dark Elegies (1937)
1937 - 1940
Founded and choreographed for the London Ballet
Choreographed Soirée musicale and Gala Performance (1938)
1940 - 1950
Joined and choreographed for Ballet Theatre, which became American Ballet Theatre (ABT)
Choreographed Goya Pastorale (1940), Pillar of Fire (1942), The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and Dim Lustre (1943), Undertow and Day Before Spring (1945), Shadow of the Wind (1948), Nimbus (1950)
Choreographed Time Table for American Ballet Caravan
1951 - 1952
Choreographed Lady of the Camillias (1951) and La Gloire (The Glory) (1952) for New York City Ballet
1954
Choreographed Offenbach in the Underworld for Catherine Littlefield's Philadelphia Ballet Company
1957 - 1963
Taught at the Juilliard School
Choreographed A Choreographer Comments (1960) and Dance Studies (1961) for students at the Juilliard School
1960
Performed role of Hercules in Martha Graham's Alcestis
1963
Choreographed Fandango for American Ballet Theatre
Choreographed Echoing of Trumpets for the Royal Swedish Ballet
1967
Choreographed Shadowplay for the Royal Ballet
1969
Choreographed The Divine Horsemen for the Australian Ballet
1971
Choreographed Continuo , Cereus , and Sunflowers for the Juilliard School with support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
1974 - 1978
Became Associate Director of American Ballet Theatre
Choreographed Leaves Are Fading (1975) and The Tiller in the Fields (1978) for American Ballet Theatre
1987, Apr. 19
Died, New York City

Extent

122 items
1 container
0.5 linear feet

Abstract

This photograph collection documenting the career of English ballet dancer-choreographer Antony Tudor (1908-1987) was assembled by professor and scholar Judith Chazin-Bennahum (1937- ) in preparation for the publication of her book titled The Ballets of Antony Tudor: Studies in Psyche and Satire (1994).

Organization of the Judith Chazin-Bennahum Photograph Collection Relating to Antony Tudor

The collection is organized in a single series:

Provenance

Gift; Judith Chazin-Bennahum; 2013

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Related Material

The American Ballet Theatre Archive in the Music Division, Library of Congress, contains additional photographs of Tudor and his ballets, along with corresponding programs, clippings, Benesh notation, and other documentation.

Other Repositories

The Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has two related collections: the materials in the Hugh Laing and Antony Tudor Papers provide a limited selection of Hugh Laing's and Antony Tudor's personal written records; a second collection titled Antony Tudor Papers contains correspondence, notebooks, and music scores relevant to his dance career from 1908-1987. The Dance Notation Bureau houses Labanotation scores and videotapes of performances for approximately 25 works choreographed by Antony Tudor.

Processing History

The Judith Chazin-Bennahum Photograph Collection Relating to Antony Tudor was processed and a finding aid created by Amanda Smith in 2013. The finding aid was coded for EAD format by Libby Smigel in 2016.

Title
Guides to Special Collections in the Music Division of the Library of Congress
Author
Processed by the Music Division of the Library of Congress
Date
2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Part of the Music Division Repository

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