Research Guides: Dance in Library Special Collections: Dance materials

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Dance Resources beyond Library Special Collections

Toward Ethical and Inclusive Descriptive Practices in UCLA Library Special Collections

LSC is committed to remediating harmful description by creating and implementing an anti-oppressive approach to discovery and access. We aim to:

Be clear about what we know, how we know it, and what we don't know
Embrace baseline description as a tool to improve the discoverability of all our materials
Demonstrate an understanding that description is a continuous and necessarily iterative endeavor

Read more about our past and current approaches to description in Library Special Collections Content Advisory Policy.

Dance

One of Library Special Collection’s most important holdings in dance relates to the Denishawn dancers, Ruth St. Denis (more than one hundred boxes) and Ted Shawn (two boxes). The Arthur Todd Dance Collection comprises thirty boxes of ephemera, photographs, programs, and memorabilia relating to dance in the twentieth century, including clippings, programs, fliers, magazines, and posters, as well as letters to Todd. The department also owns the papers of British dancer Maud Allan, an interpretive dancer active in the early twentieth century. Separate collections pertaining to choreographers Gower Champion and Jake Cole document important careers on the stage and screen. The Gordon Anthony Ballet and Theatrical Photographs Collection and the Ernest Belcher Collection contain photographs and programs of both British and American dancers. Another collection (twenty-two boxes) of dance programs document virtually every major British and American dance performances between 1900 and 1990. The Folk Dance Federation of Southern California was established in 1946 to conduct monthly festivals, encourage research in authentic dance forms, and to provide recognized patterns of folk dances; their collection comprises forty-one boxes.

LSC has also acquired the largest private collection ever assembled of rare materials by and about modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan (1877/78-1927). Built by Los Angeles attorney Howard Holtzman over a thirty-year period, the collection of some fifteen hundred items includes manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, artwork, contracts and box office statements, and ephemera.

National Dance Week 2021 Blog Posts by LSC Curator Genie Guerard

Dance Collections

Selected Bibliography of Primary Resources - UCLA Library Special Collections

Abel (Rudolfe) collection about Dance in Southern California, 1920-1953
Collection consists of programs, clippings, advertising, dance school brochures, and serial publications relating to the dance in Southern California.
Allan (Maud) papers, 1910-1934
Maud Allan (1883-1956) was a interpretive dancer. She made her performing debut in Vienna (1903) and was best known for her solo performance in The vision of Salome (1908). She toured India (1913), Southeast Asia (1913 and 1923), South America (1919-1920), and the U.S. The collection contains manuscripts, photographs, postcard albums, books, ephemera, and a scrapbook related to Allan's life and career.
Balcena (Antony) papers
Antony Galindo Balcena, a Mexican-American, was born in Lompoc, California in April 30, 1954 and died in Los Angeles, California in November 23, 1995. Antony Balcena, (also known as Tony Balcena) was an accomplished dancer, choreagrapher and Gay and AIDS activist. He was known for his unique choreographic style and, through his life, he created and performed intimate and controversial performances such as "Dudes" and "Shell of Flesh." This collection documents the life and work of Balcena as a choreographer, dancer, and Gay and AIDS activists.
Becket (Marta) papers, ca. 1969-
The collection consists of materials related to the development and growth of the Amargosa Opera House as a performance venue by Marta Becket and Tom Williams and the productions created by Marta Becket since the theatre's opening in 1968.
Belcher (Ernest) papers
Belcher was born in London, England, in 1883. He studied ballet in London and was the principal danseur at the Alhambra Theatre (1902-09). He founded the Celeste School of Dance in 1916, which supplied dancers for films and produced ballets for Hollywood Bowl concerts from 1923-36. His career as a film dance director took off in 1918 when he staged dances for D.W. Griffiths' Broken Blossoms. He was the trainer and coach of many film performers including Beth Beri, Mary Pickford, Pola Negri, Ramon Navarro, Nanette Fabray and Shirley Temple. The collection consists of material related to Belcher's involvement with the dance community. Includes issues of various dance periodicals, articles by and submitted to Belcher, as well as Belcher's notes, sketches, scrapbooks, and teaching materials. Also includes a taped interview of Belcher and a paper titled Ernest Belcher, the father of ballet in Southern California.
Bradley (Mayor Tom) Administrative papers, 1920-1993 (bulk 1973-1993)
Contains materials about Bat Dor, Dance Company of Israel; Los Angeles Dance Gallery; American Dance Theater; Los Angeles City Contemporary Dance Theatre; American Indian Dance Theatre Day; Performance of Chinese Folk Dance; Sousta National Folk Dance Troupe of Cyprus; Oriental Song & Dance Ensemble; Japanese Dance Performance at The Japan America Theatre; and Teen Dance Clubs
Bywaters (Mary) collection of Dance Ephemera, 1965-1985
Mary McLarry Bywaters (1904-1988) was a founding member of the Dallas Civic Ballet. The collection consists of programs, advertising material, schedules, committee reports, bulletins, and ephemera regarding regional and guest dance companies performing in Dallas/Fortworth, Texas and the Southwest.
California Ephemera Collection, 1860-
Contains dance programs and ephemera related to dance in California, dance halls, and social dance.
Cashin (Bonnie) collection of Fashion, Theatre and Film Costume Design, 1913-2000
The collection contains Bonnie Cashin's personal archive documenting her design career. The collection includes Cashin's design illustrations, writings on design, contractual paperwork, photographs of her clothing designs, and press materials including press releases and editorial coverage of her work. Personal photographs and letters to Cashin are also included.

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Bonnie Cashin was born September 28, 1908 in Fresno, Calif. In her teens she worked as a fashion illustrator and dance costume designer for Los Angeles dance troupe, Fanchon and Marco.
Charlot (André) papers, 1910-1945
André Charlot (1882-1956) was a press manager, business manager, and manager of various Parisian theaters and music halls, including the Folies-Bergères and Châtelet. In 1912, he was appointed joint manager of the Alhambra in London, and was managing director of that theater until 1915. He also broadcast 50 shows of Charlot's Hour for the BBC before relocating to California in 1937 where he worked briefly as a technical adviser to Paramount Pictures and acted in films (1942-1956). The collection consists of scripts, sheet music, photographs, programs, and business papers related to Charlot's career as a producer for the London stage.
Dance Programs collection, 1890-1990
Collection consists of some 1000 twentieth-century dance programs, primarily American, but many for foreign dance companies on tour in the U.S.
De Mille (Agnes) papers, ca. 1990-1991
Agnes De Mille (1908 or 1905- ) appeared as a dancer in the Grand street follies (1928), creating the choreography for a revival of the Black crook in Hoboken the following year. She danced and choreographed in London before returning to New York to develop the dances for (1937) and (1939). She became known for popularizing modern ballet styles in musical theater, and choreographed (1943), (1947), (1949), and (1969). The collection consists of a photocopy of the first draft of Agnes De Mille's biography, (c1991).
Desti (Mary) papers, 1918-1930
Mary Desti (1871-1931) was the owner of Desti Beauty Products cosmetics firm and New York City studio which sold art objects, perfumes, and clothing. She wrote The untold story: the life of Isadora Duncan, 1921-1927 (1929). The collection consists of general and business correspondence, papers related to organizing clubs in London and Paris, facsimiles and notes for two projected magazines, bills, receipts, legal documents, photographs, press clippings, programs and flyers for performance and art events, and manuscripts of her biography, other non-fiction, plays, poems and short stories.

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Box 2 contains programs and flyers for theater, dance, and exhibitions.
Galpern (Lasar) papers, 1920-1950
Lasar Galpern (b.1896) was a ballet master and teacher, guest artist, and director of various ballet companies in Europe (1919-32) before relocating to the U.S. in 1932 where he was affiliated with a number of dance performances in New York. He also taught dancing at the Washington Conservatory of Music, the New Theater School, Theater Collective and Group Theater in New York City, was a guest lecturer at a number of U.S. educational institutions, and served as director of the San Francisco Academy of allied Arts. The collection consists of musical scores with holograph annotations, watercolor and pencil sketches, and ephemera related to Galpern's career in the field of dance.
Gernreich (Rudi) papers, 1891-1993
Rudi Gernreich (1922-1985) was a controversial Austrian-American fashion designer and dancer, created clothes that celebrated the natural shape and movement of the body, including his most famous designs, the topless swimsuit and the thong swimsuit. In addition to fashion photographs, clothing, design materials, and business records, the collection includes portraits of Gernreich, personal materials, Bella Lewitzky Dance Company photographs and business records, awards, and the papers and correspondence of Gernreich’s family, including Oscar Jellinek.
Gordon Anthony Ballet and Theatrical Photo Albums, 1935-1946
Gordon Anthony was born James Gordon Dawson Stannus (1902-1989) in Wicklow, Ireland. His photographs during the ballet revival in England in the 1930s helped the Royal Ballet obtain international prominence. His books include Margot Fonteyn (1950), Alicia Markova (1951) and A Camera at the Ballet: Pioneer Dancers of the Royal Ballet (1975). The collection consists of 8 large albums of photographs and clippings of British ballet and stage by Gordon Anthony as well as 400 original photographic prints.
Harman (Paul) papers, 1935-1965
Paul Hartman (1910-1973) was born in San Francisco, California. He was a dancer, actor, magician and singer appearing in vaudeville, the theater, film and television. The collection contains correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, diaries, clippings, programs, sheet music, books, pamphlets, and memorabilia of Paul Hartman and family members.
Hawkins (Alma) papers, 1919-1998
This collection contains the professional and personal files of Alma Hawkins, the creator and original chair of the UCLA Dance Department; faculty member at UCLA, George Williams College, and Santa Monica College; and practicing dance therapist.
Haynes (John Randolph) papers, 1890-1937
Box 80 contains a memor from the Department of the Interior related to American Indian Dances
Holtzman (Howard) collection on Isadora Duncan, 1878-1990
The collection consists of Isadora Duncan's business and personal papers, primary writings, and material about her. There are also materials by and about Edward Gordon Craig, Raymond Duncan, and Ellen Terry. Materials include dance programs, business correspondence, writings by Isadora Duncan, photographs, objets d'art created by her brother Raymond, research materials compiled by her biographer, Allan Ross Macdougall and collector Howard Holtzman, correspondence between Howard Holtzman and Irma Duncan, and programs and photographs of other dancers who influenced or were influenced by Isadora Duncan.
Institute for Dance and Experimental Art Records, 1956-1994
The records, including tapes of performances, of the Institute for Dance and Experimental Art (I.D.E.A.).
Kikuchi (Charles) papers, 1941-1988
Many of Charles Kikuchi's diaries in this collection include clippings and programs related to the career of Kikuchi's wife, Yuriko Amemiya, a professional dancer and a member of Martha Graham's dance next hit group.
Koosis (Ella) collection of material relating to Dance, 1910-1940
Collection consists primarily of periodicals, ballet programs, and ephemera related to dance. Also includes holograph diaries of Ms. Koosis as well as some French and German language programs and periodicals.
de Laban (Juana) papers, 1912-1975
Juana de Laban (1910-1978) was the director of graduate studies in theater at Baylor University, a distinguished professor at the University of Wisconsin, and served on the dance faculty at UCLA for nearly a decade. She was active in many educational and professional organizations, including the Sacred Dance Guild of America. The collection consists of books, pamphlets, dance programs, magazines and journals, as well as correspondence, typed drafts and carbon copies, photographs, clippings, notes, and sketches.
Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) Records, 1978-1984
Collection consists of business records, publication and poster samples, architectural drawings, newspaper clippings, videotapes, slides and other photographic material, audio recordings, awards and certificates of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC) in the staging of the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in LA in 1984.
Los Angeles Times Photographic Archives, ca. 1918-1990 (Collection 1429)
The Los Angeles Times was founded in 1881 and was incorporated as the Times-Mirror Company in 1884. The collection consists of photonegatives as well as photographic prints documenting events and people in Southern California, the U. S., and the world. The material originates from the Los Angeles Times newspaper and includes glass negatives (circa 1918-1932), nitrate negatives (circa 1925-45), and safety negatives (circa 1935-1990). Also includes prints and negatives from the Los Angeles Times Orange County and San Diego bureaus.
Lyon (Margerie) collection about Ted Shawn and the Dance, 1930-1970
Edwin (Ted) Meyers Shawn (1891-1972) was a choreographer, teacher, lecturer, and impresario, as well as a dancer for over sixty years. He made his professional debut in 1913, ballroom dancing with his partner, Norma Gould. He married Ruth St. Denis (1914), and together they founded the Denishawn School of Dancing in 1915. At the school, Shawn choreographed 185 dances and nine major ballets. He danced in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and was involved in dance entities called Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn and the Denishawn Dancers (1914-31), Ted Shawn and his Men Dancers (1933-40), and the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (1940-72). The collection consists of books, newsletters, photographs, memorabilia, clippings, and programs relating to Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, Barton Mumaw and the dance.
Morgan (Barbara) Wight Gallery collection, 1938-1967
The collection includes 143 mounted photographs, 137 of which were taken by Barbara Morgan and 6 by her husband, Willard D. Morgan. The photographs include images of dancers, nature, Camp Treetops, a Southwest series, New York cityscapes, and a junkyard series.
Nagrin (Daniel) Collection, 1941-1982
Daniel Nagrin (b.1917) was an American modern and theatrical dancer and choreographer. He performed in numerous dance productions, staged the dances for a jungle musical film, His majesty O'Keefe (Warner Brothers, 1954) and partnered Miriam Pandor in the dance numbers in Just for you (Paramount, 1952). In the 1960s, he co-directed the Tamiris-Nagrin Company and Workshop with his wife, Helen Tamiris. His solo repertory included Strange hero (1948), The fall (1978), and Jacaranda (1979). The collection consists of clippings, programs, and printed materials related to Nagrin's life and career.
Packman (Anna Bégué de) papers
Ana Bégué de Packman (1882-1973) served as Secretary of the Historical Society of Southern California from the 1930s through the 1950s. The collection consists of Packman's photographs, newspaper articles, manuscripts, genealogies, maps, ephemera, and correspondence pertaining to the history of the city of Los Angeles, California missions, and Southern California ranchos and adobes.
Photographers' collection, 1863-
Collection consists of original photographs and negatives of various 19th and 20th century photographers covering a broad range of subjects and includes portraits, landscapes, panoramic views, cityscapes and buildings from various geographic locations and photographs from various historical periods.
Pierre (Dorathi B.) dance collection, 1929-1996
Collection of photographs, performance programs, publicity information, and clippings related to dance, gathered by Dorathi Bock Pierre, a dance writer and publicist.
Raab (Edmund W.) collection of photographic slides, bulk, 1960-1969
The collection consists of photographic slides representing Los Angeles-area dance and theater productions photographed by Edmund W. Raab.
Robert (Elyse) collection on Ruth St. Denis, 1932-1991
Elyse Robert (1901-1993) danced for Ruth St. Denis's Church of the Divine Dance between 1934 and 1968. During this time, Robert performed with Ruth St. Denis (1880-1968), a pioneer of modern dance, for many events and in numerous churches in the Los Angeles area. Collection includes dance costumes, correspondence, programs, photographs, and notes about Ruth St. Denis performances.
St. Denis (Ruth) papers, 1880-1968
Ruth St. Denis (1879-1968) was a modern dance pioneer who combined spirituality and dance. Throughout her career, St. Denis’s dances were greatly influenced by eastern culture and religion. In the later years of her career, Christian themes were also explored and depicted in her works. Her papers include handwritten journals, personal and professional correspondence, essays, poems, lectures, choreographic notes, musical scores, dance programs and ephemera, photographic prints, reel-to-reel audio recordings, books from her personal library, and business materials. The collection spans the majority of her life, though the bulk of collection derives from the 1920s to her death in 1968.
Segal (Lewis) collection of Dance and Theater Materials 1902-2011; Bulk, 1970-2009
Lewis Segal is a performing arts critic who has written on various topics related to the performing arts, from ballet to contemporary dance and musicals. He began working as a freelance writer in the 1960s for a number of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Performing Arts magazine, the Los Angeles Free Press, Ballet News, and High Performance magazine. He joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times in 1976. From 1996 to 2008 he held the full-time position of chief dance critic, writing full features and reviews on dance companies and performing arts organizations from around the world. Included in the collection are programs Segal collected from the various dance shows, movies, and musicals he has attended, as well as a set of 8mm early film reels, and VHS/DVD recordings of concerts and television features on dance-related topics.
Snyder (Allegra F.) papers, 1960-2010
Research, personal and professional files of Allegra Fuller Snyder, professor emeritus and past chair of UCLA Dance Department and World Arts and Cultures. Her research areas included performance dance, dance ethnology, dance therapy, and film as a method of preserving and documenting dance.
Southern California Folkdance Federation, 1945-1996
The Folk Dance Federation of Southern California was established in 1946; its purposes were to conduct monthly festivals, encourage research in authentic dance forms, and to provide recognized patterns of folk dances.The Folk Dance Federation of Southern California was established in 1946 and continues active up to the present time. The first volume of minutes (Box 1) records the proceedings which led to its setting up and the by-laws adopted March 10, 1946.
Todd (Arthur) Dance collection, ca. 1900-1968
Collection consists of ephemera, photographs, programs, and memorabilia relating to dance in the twentieth century. Includes clippings, programs, fliers, magazines, and posters, as well as letters to Todd.
Vaun (Ted) papers, 1927-1937
Ted Mendenhall danced professionally under the name Ted Vaun. His dance partner in vaudeville was Laurell Gaines, and they danced nationwide in Fanchon and Marco shows. The collection consists of a scrapbook and photograph album related to Vaun's life and career.
West (Andrew) photographs of the Guelaguetza, 1982-1985
Andrew West (1954- ) has worked as a photographer's assistant and as an annual report photographer. His photography of Guatemalan costumes appears in the exhibition catalog, Threads of identity, published by the Fowler Museum at UCLA (1992). The collection is composed of photographic materials including color slides, color prints, and a CD-R disk containing color images from La Guelaguetza and Saints Day Celebration festivals held in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1982 and 1985. Also included is documentation about the materials and Andrew West.
Zeitlin (Jake) papers, ca. 1926-1987
Box 250 contains The Dance of the Sprouting Corn.

Dance Oral Histories

The UCLA Center for Oral History Research has conducted numerous interviews which contain dance related content.

Traditional Asian Arts in Southern California (Series Detail)

Kodani, Masao