Harper Theater Dance Festival records, 1961-1984
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Summary
- Creator:
- Harper Theater Dance Festival
- Abstract:
- The Harper Theater Dance Festival Records (1965-1979) presented Chicago audiences with more than a decade of annual performance seasons from a variety of celebrated dance companies. Originating in 1965 as the brainchild of Bruce and Judith Sagan, proprietors of a series of local, neighborhood newspapers in Chicago, the Festival also served as an important milestone in American modern dance as the pilot program for the National Endowment for the Arts Residency Touring program. Favorite performers included Merce Cunningham, Alwin Nikolais, Paul Taylor, José Limón, and Murray Louis. The collection includes financial records, production requirements, clippings, correspondence, posters, programs, tickets, photos, negatives, 35 mm slides, video and audio reels, and several small objects.
- Extent:
- 11.3 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Material in English
- Collection ID:
- ADF.010
Background
- Scope and content:
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The collection contains the institutional records of the Harper Theater Dance Festival, public relations and publicity materials of dance companies, as well as the personal files of the collection's donor, Judith Sagan. The materials housed within the collection are in a variety of formats, including paper-based records, photographs, 35 mm slides, programs, newspaper clippings, large-format posters and publicity materials, audio reels, open reel video, and several objects.
The bulk of the materials were collected or created during the running of the Festival (1965-1979), with additional records (e.g. souvenir programs, professional membership records, financial records, etc.) collected by the donor following the Festival's demise.
- Biographical / historical:
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No Subnote Content
The Harper Theater Dance Festival (1965-1979) presented Chicago audiences with more than a decade of annual performance seasons from a variety of celebrated dance companies. Originating in 1965 as the brainchild of Bruce and Judith Sagan, proprietors of a series of local, neighborhood newspapers in Chicago, the Festival also served as an important milestone in American modern dance as the pilot program for the National Endowment for the Arts Residency Touring program. Favorite performers included Merce Cunningham, Alwin Nikolais, Paul Taylor, José Limón, and Murray Louis.
Contemporary ballet companies, such as the Boston Ballet, Robert Joffrey's City Center Ballet, and the fledgling Pennsylvania Ballet Company, also found a place in the Festival in the early years (1965-1966). In later years, Judith Sagan, then sole producer of the Festival, brought newcomers such as Louis Falco, Bella Lewitzky, Wendy Perron, James Cunningham, Donald McKayle, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, and Viola Farber to Chicago (1970-1979). In an effort to diversify Festival offerings (and reach out to new donors), Mrs. Sagan also started the Chicago Dance Film Festival in 1974. Unfortunately, audiences in Chicago never reached the level necessary to continue funding the Festival and it was eventually abandoned in 1979.
Chronology of Performers Date Event 1965 Paul TaylorRobert Joffrey Ballet CompanyAlba-Reyes Spanish Dance CompanyAlvin Ailey American Dance TheaterMerce CunninghamNala NajanEdward Villella and Patricia McBride1966 Pennsylvania Ballet CompanyPaul TaylorGlen TetleyLotte Goslar's Pantomime CircusDaniel NagrinMurray LouisBoston Ballet Company1967-1968 Paul TaylorJosé LimónErick HawkinsGlen TetleyPaul TaylorAlwin NikolaisMerce Cunningham1969 Alwin NikolaisAnna SokolowMerce Cunningham1970 José LimónPaul TaylorAlwin Nikolais1970-1971 Alwin NikolaisMurray LouisPaul TaylorMerce Cunningham1972-1973 Louis FalcoAcme Dance CompanyViola FarberInner City Dance Repertory Company1973-1974 Manuel AlumPilobolus Dance TheatrePerron and JarosolowMurray LouisBella LewitzkyZe'eva Cohen1975 Merce Cunningham1979 Paul Taylor5 by 2 PlusPilobolus Dance TheatreAlwin NikolaisLaura DeanBella Lewitzky - Acquisition information:
- The Harper Theater Dance Festival Records were received by the American Dance Festival Archives as a gift in 1999.
- Processing information:
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Processed by Amanda Wick, July 2012
Encoded by Amanda Wick, July 2012
- Arrangement:
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Arranged into four series: Institutional Records, Company Files, Personal Files, and Photography.
- 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.
Contents
Using These Materials
- Using These Materials Links:
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Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
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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 copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
In off-site storage; 48 hours advance notice is required for use.
- Terms of access:
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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:
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[Identification of item], Harper Theater Dance Festival Records, American Dance Festival Archives.