The following is a guest post by Denise Gallo, Head of Acquisitions and Processing. Many people may be under the misconception that the Music Division only collects music. Despite our division’s title, the name of our reading room, Performing Arts, actually describes our holdings far more accurately. So, in addition to music, we also boast …
Dancer/ Choreographer Bob Fosse was born on this day in 1927. Among his accomplishments are classics of both stage and screen. He won eight Tony awards for his choreography in shows like The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, and Sweet Charity. The Broadway revival of Chicago, for which Fosse co-wrote the book, holds the record for …
It’s been an especially busy week here in the Music Division, and In the Muse will soon bring you exclusive pictures of last night’s all-star ASCAP concert in the Coolidge Auditorium. But it has come to our attention that Google is paying homage to Martha Graham on her birthday with an animation of the iconic dancer. …
This week’s featured picture is from the Herta Moselsio Collection, a remarkable body of work that can be found in our Martha Graham presentation. In 1939, film maker Moselsio worked with Martha Graham to film her work Lamentation, which premiered in New York in 1930. This iconic work of Graham places the solo dancer on …
Selections from the Martha Graham Collection is a new web presentation now available in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia. Dancer, choreographer, and company director Martha Graham (1894-1991) is considered one of the pioneering founders of American modern dance. In a career spanning over seven decades, Graham developed her own innovative technique and produced an impressive legacy …
The rejuvenative force of spring (or is it hunkering down for the winter?) leads to many an autumn baby. This week In the Muse would like to celebrate the birthdays of two alliteratively named figures whose work can be found in the Music Division’s diverse collections. Vaudeville, Broadway, and film dancer Harriet Hoctor was born September …
The Music Division’s bonnie collections offer a variety of ways to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day. Play an Irish bagpipe from the Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection. Follow along to the reels described in Rinnce na h-Éireann : a simplified work on the performance of the dances of Ireland, from An American Ballroom Companion: Dance Instruction Manuals. Develop …
Katherine Dunham was an American dancer-choreographer who was best known for incorporating African American, Caribbean, African, and South American movement styles and themes into her ballets. The Katherine Dunham Collection at the Library of Congress consists of moving image materials that document the extraordinary journey of a woman who changed the face of American modern …
