Free to Dance records, 1987-2004

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Collection is open for research. Please contact the American Dance Festival Archives (adf@americandancefestival.org) to arrange for use of these materials. Researchers must register and agree to...
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Summary

Creator:
American Dance Festival
Abstract:
Free to Dance: The African-American Presence in Modern Dance was a three-part television documentary co-produced by the American Dance Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in association with Thirteen/WNET New York. The series aired on PBS' Great Performances: Dance in America in 2001. It chronicled the role of African-American choreographers and dancers in the development of modern dance as an American art form. The collection includes film, video, sound recordings, oral histories, interview transcripts, business records, photographs, clippings, and research materials created or collected during the production of the three-part television documentary Free to Dance.
Extent:
96.34 Linear Feet
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
ADF.008

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes business records, grant proposals, correspondence, film, video, sound recordings, oral histories, interview transcripts, photographs, clippings, and research materials created or collected during the production of the three-part television documentary Free to Dance.

The bulk of the Free to Dance Collection dates from 1998 to 2001, when technical production of the series took place; however, the collection also includes grant proposals and early project development documentation dating back to 1987, as well as some correspondence and financial information created after its air date in 2001.

Biographical / historical:

Free to Dance: The African-American Presence in Modern Dance was a three-part television documentary co-produced by the American Dance Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in association with Thirteen/WNET New York. The series aired on PBS' Great Performances: Dance in America in 2001 and won an Emmy for Outstanding Cultural and Artistic Programming-Long Form. It chronicled the role of African-American choreographers and dancers in the development of modern dance as an American art form. Dance masterpieces by African-American choreographers were filmed expressly for the series, including the works of Katherine Dunham (Barrelhouse Blues), Pearl Primus (Strange Fruit), Donald McKayle (Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder), Talley Beatty (Mourner's Bench), Bill T. Jones (D-Man in the Waters), Alvin Ailey (Revelations), and many others.

Free to Dance was an outgrowth of the American Dance Festival's Black Tradition in American Modern Dance (BTAMD) program. Initiated in 1987 to preserve, present, and interpret significant dances by African-American choreographers, BTAMD reconstructed and presented twenty-three dances in danger of being lost. BTAMD's national touring initiative presented performances throughout the US by African-American dance companies, including Chuck Davis' African American Dance Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Philadanco, and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. Scholars touring with the companies contextualized and interpreted the cultural and aesthetic significance of the dances in panel discussions.

The success of the BTAMD project led to the creation of Free to Dance, and the American Dance Festival began fund raising efforts in 1993. Fund raising, research, and conceptual development continued through 1997. Full production commenced in 1998, including scripting, securing the rights to archival footage and photos, and the filming of interviews, performances, and scene recreations. Editing was completed in 2001.

Acquisition information:
The Free to Dance Records were received by the American Dance Festival Archives as transfers in 2000-2004.
Processing information:

Processed by ADF Archives Staff, Oct. 2004

Encoded by Dean Jeffrey, Jan. 2009

Accessions were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the ADF Archives.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Choreographers -- United States
African American dance
Dance -- United States
Modern Dance -- United States
Names:
American Dance Festival
Free to Dance
Ailey, Alvin
Beatty, Talley
Dunham, Katherine
Jones, Bill T.
McKayle, Donald, 1930-
Primus, Pearl

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Please contact the American Dance Festival Archives (adf@americandancefestival.org) to arrange for use of these materials.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Access to film, videotapes, or audiotapes in this collection requires the use of reference copies. To arrange for the creation of reference copies, if none exist, please contact American Dance Festival Archives.

Terms of access:

Copyright for official American Dance Festival administrative records is held by the American Dance Festival; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Before you visit:
Materials from the ADF Archives may be viewed by appointment in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library at Duke University. Visits may be arranged in advance by contacting the ADF archivist at adf@americandancefestival.org. Visitors will need to comply with Duke's registration and security policies.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Free to Dance Records, American Dance Festival Archives.