Collections : [American Dance Festival Archives]

American Dance Festival Archives

American Dance Festival Archives

The American Dance Festival Archives serves as the repository for records of enduring historical value created and collected by ADF. The Archives preserves its collections for use by the dance community, including students, scholars, and the general public.
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Nathan Ockman programs collection, circa 1949-2006 1 Linear Feet

Nathan Ockman was born on December 29, 1926 in New York City. As a child in the 1930s, he was brought by his parents to an event that featured pioneering choreographers in modern dance, among them Anna Sokolow and Sophie Maslow. Though he received no formal dance training himself, this childhood exposure to modern dance sparked a lifelong passion for dance spectatorship. The collection contains the dance-related memorabilia (circa 1949-2006) saved by Nathan Ockman. Materials include performance programs and newspaper clippings, which are arranged chronologically. Many of the materials are annotated by Mr. Ockman.
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American Dance Festival Photographic Materials collection, circa 1930-2008 19.4 Linear Feet

The American Dance Festival is a non-profit organization committed to serving the needs of dance, dancers, choreographers, and professionals in dance-related fields. It presents a six and a half week summer festival of modern dance performances and educational programs, hosts community outreach activities, and sponsors numerous projects in the humanities. Its mission is to create and present new dance works, preserve the modern dance heritage, build wider national and international audiences and enhance public understanding and appreciation for modern dance, and provide training and education for dancers and choreographers. The collection includes photographic materials created and collected by the American Dance Festival, including negatives, contact sheets, prints, and transparencies.
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Ethel Tison Chaffin papers, circa 1930-1993 1.5 Linear Feet

Ethel Tison Chaffin was born on January 13, 1921 in Natchitoches, LA. From childhood on, she took dance classes with a variety of instructors and, as a college student, studied dance at Louisiana State University, New York University, the University of Maryland, and Bennington College. Instructors included John Martin (former dance critic at the New York Times), Charles Weidman (Humphrey-Weidman Technique), Ethel Butler (Martha Graham Technique), and Nina Fornoff (Hanya Holm Technique). Ms. Chaffin also participated in master classes with Martha Graham and Katherine Manning. The collection contains the personal papers and dance-related memorabilia (circa 1930-1993) of Ethel Tison Chaffin. Materials include photographic prints, newspaper clippings, programs, and correspondence, which are housed within a scrapbook and one Hollinger box. Many of the materials are annotated by Ms. Chaffin.
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American Dance Festival records, circa 1924-1988, bulk 1934-1977 89.05 Linear Feet

The American Dance Festival is a non-profit organization committed to serving the needs of dance, dancers, choreographers, and professionals in dance-related fields. It presents a summer festival of modern dance performances and educational programs, hosts community outreach activities, and sponsors numerous projects in the humanities. Its mission is to create and present new dance works, preserve the modern dance heritage, build wider national and international audiences and enhance public understanding and appreciation for modern dance, and provide training and education for dancers and choreographers. Contains correspondence, lists, administrative materials, memoranda, contracts, legal documents, financial records, class schedules, teaching materials, student records, clippings, press releases, publicity materials, brochures, tickets, posters, and other printed materials created by or related to the American Dance Festival.
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Tony C. Johnson papers, 2000-2017 0.834 Linear Feet

Tony Johnson (b. 1959) is a choreographer and dancer who was based in Durham, NC between 1984 and 2017. Collection includes legal notepads, spiral-bound notebooks, newspaper clippings, webpage printouts, programs from performances, photographs, event fliers, personal correspondence, CD, VHS.
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Subject Files, 1988-2000

The Subject Files series contains reading material related to dance, poetry, music, and Africa. Additionally, there are several scripts and scores from dramatic productions and stagings that Davis choreographed, as well as curriculum guides, handouts, educational resources, and other teaching materials Davis collected for use in his classes and workshops on dance, Africa, and related topics.

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  2. Dr. Charles Davis papers, 1938-2003

Free to Dance records, 1987-2004 96.34 Linear Feet

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.
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Mark Dendy papers, 1981-2017 13.73 Linear Feet

Mark Dendy (b. 1961) is a New York-based choreographer, writer, dancer, and actor. His career spans experimental dance theater, grand scale site specific work, pure movement dance pieces, opera, improvisation, Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theater. Dendy also founded and served as Artistic Director of two dance companies: Mark Dendy Dance and Theater and Dendy Dancetheater. His work often responds to societal issues, examining diverse themes such as fame, gender, religion, heritage, violence, politics, the media, and values in society. The collection includes newspaper clippings and photocopies, magazines, programs, flyers, large-scale posters, publicity materials, project files, notes and notebooks, financial documentation, and correspondence. Other materials include photographs, negatives, 35 mm slides, DVDs, and VHS, U-matic, Betacam, Betacam-SP, and DVCPRO tapes.
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Gerald E. Myers papers, 1979-1988 0.21 Linear Feet (100 items)

Gerald E. Myers (1923-2009) was a professor of philosophy and the philosopher-in-residence at the American Dance Festival. This collection contains documents pertaining to Gerald Myers' participation in American Dance Festival programs funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities between 1979 and 1988.
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Jay C. Anderson papers, 1976-2013 19 Linear Feet

Jay C. Anderson (1956-2013) was the photographer for the American Dance Festival from 1978 to 1994. This collection contains documents, slides, negatives, and prints pertaining to ADF performances and student classes during Jay Anderson's tenure as photographer for the American Dance Festival.
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Notebooks, 1973-2003

The bulk of the entries in the notebooks and legal pads consist of Davis's handwritten personal notes ranging in subject from ideas for choreography, company production details, and costume notes to lesson plans, lottery numbers, sketches, and shopping and to-do lists. Additionally, there are first drafts of schedules for the Cultural Arts Safari trips as well as rehearsal schedules and community engagements. Also included are handwritten drafts of correspondence and business memos.

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  2. Dr. Charles Davis papers, 1938-2003

Laura Dean papers, 1966-2007 30.34 Linear Feet

Laura Dean (b. 1945) is an American choreographer and composer. In 1972, she established her company, Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, where she created the choreography for forty works, and in most instances, created the music as well. A number of Dean's pieces were also accompanied by the music of Steve Reich. Dean continued to create works for her company until 2000. She received the Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award in recognition of her accomplishments as a choreographer and composer in 2008. Collection includes photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives, slides, clippings, programs, printed materials, posters, VHS videotapes, and an audiocassette.
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Correspondence, 1964-2003

The Correspondence series is comprised of paper communication both composed and received by Davis. The series consists of personal and business correspondence and memos, postcards, invitations, announcements, and greeting cards. A bulk of correspondence are those maintained with the hosts and collaborators of his excursions to West Africa during the early 1990s. Additionally, there are letters and postcards written to Davis's parents, Tony and Ethel.

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  2. Dr. Charles Davis papers, 1938-2003

Stephanie Reinhart papers, 1961-2002 3.13 Linear Feet

Stephanie Reinhart (1944-2002) began working at the American Dance Festival in 1977 as the Director of Planning and Development and became Co-Director with Charles L. Reinhart in 1993. While on the board Stephanie traveled to many countries to view dance and lecture on American modern dance and arts administration, and in 1993 she was awarded a Fulbright research grant to study modern dance in Argentina.
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Harper Theater Dance Festival records, 1961-1984 11.3 Linear Feet

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.
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Anna Halprin papers, 1957-1995 1.33 Linear Feet

Anna Halprin (b. 1920) is a pioneering dancer and choreographer of the post-modern dance movement. She founded the San Francisco Dancer's Workshop in 1955 as a center for movement training, artistic experimentation, and public participatory events open to the local community. Halprin has created 150 full-length dance theater works and is the recipient of numerous awards including the 1997 Samuel H. Scripps Award for Lifetime Achievement in Modern Dance from the American Dance Festival. Her students include Meredith Monk, Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, Simone Forti, Ruth Emmerson, Sally Gross, and many others. Collection includes books, magazines, photographic prints, clippings, flyers, written correspondence, programs, essays, and other printed materials.
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Newspaper Clippings, 1954-2003

The Newspaper Clippings series contains newsprint and photocopied articles documenting the performances, festivals, lecture demonstrations, and community activities sponsored by Davis, Chuck Davis Dance Company, African American Dance Ensemble, and DanceAfrica. Also included are clippings related to friends and colleagues of Davis as well as news, performances, and events of personal interest to Davis.

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  2. Dr. Charles Davis papers, 1938-2003

Charles Reinhart Management, Inc. records, 1951-2008 97.25 Linear Feet

Charles Reinhart Management, Inc. (CRMI) was involved in dance company management, festival production, grant-funded projects, and assorted professional services. Collection includes correspondence, printed material, and business and financial records created by Charles L. Reinhart and the employees of Charles Reinhart Management, Inc., 1951-2008.
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Memorabilia, 1948-2000

The Memorabilia series contains an assortment of keepsakes and momentos from Davis's career and personal life. A substantial portion of this series is comprised of blank postcards collected during Davis's many travels. Davis's travels are also documented in this series through assorted foreign currencies, travel brochures, and a passport. Additionally there are two scrapbooks, a spelling book, several yearbooks, and a US Navy book from Davis's time in the Navy. There are business cards collected throughout Davis's career, pins from the Chuck Davis Dance Company, Christmas cards, costume designs and patterns, and nametags from conferences.

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  2. Dr. Charles Davis papers, 1938-2003

Joe Nash collection, 1946-1999 0.21 Linear Feet

Joe Nash (1919-2005) was a self-taught dancer and prominent historian of African-American dance history. Collection includes photographic prints, programs, clippings, fliers, and other printed materials.
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Dr. Charles Davis papers, 1938-2003 23.25 Linear Feet

Dr. Charles Rudolph "Chuck" Davis or Baba Chuck (1937-2017) was an African American dancer, choreographer, and founder of the African American Dance Ensemble, the Chuck Davis Dance Company, and the annual DanceAfrica Festival. Collection includes correspondence, paper based records, printed materials, teaching materials, programs, posters, publications, newspaper clippings, conference materials, notebooks, photographs, negatives, slides, super 8 film, videotapes, artwork, and various other types of memorabilia.
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Dance Pages records, 1930-1997, bulk 1982-1997 6.25 Linear Feet

Dance Pages (circa 1983-1997), a quarterly magazine, presented its readers with articles about a wide range of dance genres, performances, companies, and individual dancers. The magazine also contained studio listings, book and video reviews, and information about dance history and health. Kenneth Romo and Donna Gianell, both professional dancers, created Dance Pages as a hobby, and they continued to serve as the publishers and editors of the magazine as it grew in size and scope. In 1995, the magazine changed names, becoming Dance & the Arts, and moved to a bimonthly publication schedule. The magazine ceassed publication in 1997. The collection includes publicity information, magazines, drafts of articles and advertisements, paste-ups for advertisements and magazine features, newspaper clippings, press kits, programs, flyers, brochures, catalogs, invoices, personal and professional correspondence, photographs, contact sheets, negatives, 35 mm slides, and transparencies.
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American Dance Festival Company and Biographical Reference collection, 1928-2009 8.75 Linear Feet

The American Dance Festival is a non-profit organization committed to serving the needs of dance, dancers, choreographers, and professionals in dance-related fields. It presents a six and a half week summer festival of modern dance performances and educational programs, hosts community outreach activities, and sponsors numerous projects in the humanities. Its mission is to create and present new dance works, preserve the modern dance heritage, build wider national and international audiences and enhance public understanding and appreciation for modern dance, and provide training and education for dancers and choreographers. The collection consists of materials collected by the American Dance Festival pertaining to choreographers, dance companies, and others involved in modern dance, including printed materials, newspaper and magazine clippings, press kits, programs, and correspondence.
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Pearl Primus collection, 1920-1994 20.4 Linear Feet 20650 Items

Pearl Primus (1919-1994) was an African-American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and teacher. Collection includes materials created or collected by Primus and by others dating from circa 1920 to 1994, including correspondence, writings, legal documents, research and teaching materials, clippings, programs, printed materials, photographs, sound recordings, films, videos, and artifacts.
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