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Items O'Donnell

O'Donnell : Master #3, 1983 May 24

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Jerome Robbins Dance Division

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COLLECTION
May O'Donnell and Ray Green Video Archive

This Item

O'Donnell

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Title
O'Donnell : Master #3, 1983 May 24
Additional title: Interview with May O'Donnell
Names
O'Donnell, May, 1906-2004 (Artistic director)
O'Donnell, May, 1906-2004 (Interviewee)
Collection

May O'Donnell and Ray Green Video Archive

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1983-05-24
Place: New York, NY
Table of Contents
Interview with May O'Donnell (51 min.) -- Silent footage with May O'Donnell and Ray Green (3 min.).
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZIDF 3214
Topics
O'Donnell, May, 1906-2004
May O'Donnell Concert Dance Company
Modern dance -- Production and direction
Choreography
Modern dance -- Study and teaching
Genres
Video recordings
Filmed dance
Filmed performances
Interviews
Notes
Statement of responsibility: Robt. Kanter Productions.
Content: Title from original VHS cassette label.
Performers: Interviewee, May O'Donnell.
Venue: Videotaped at dance studio, New York, N.Y., 1983 May 24.
Acquisition: Gift; O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation; 2012.
Physical Description
Videocassette
Extent: 1 videocassette (Umatic) (55 min.) : sound, color ; 3/4 in.
Description
May O'Donnell discusses herself and her driving force, how she began dancing with Martha Graham in New York in 1932, building a dancer and what she passes on, time and preparation needed to become a dancer, incorporating many aspects of technique in each dance class she teaches, working with beginners, seeing the creative performance element in advanced students, differences from dancers in the 1930's to present day, more dancers involved today with a different social scene influencing dance, how to survive as a dancer, how the German dance of Mary Wigman in the 30's influenced May O'Donnell, along with Martha Hill, Louis Horst and Hanya Holm teaching at Bennington College which helped to keep dancers in the U.S. instead of going to Germany, America and the arts trying to get back to the basics, the experience of working with Martha Graham and what O'Donnell loved about dancing with her, most people now start dancing modern dance in college, how students are overencouraged to dance opposed to the 30's when there were far fewer companies and opportunities, the pros and cons of having your own dance company and being responsible for your dancers, problems involved with it and the need for money, events leading up to Joyce Theater performance in 1983 and how it was almost canceled due to financial reasons, what the future looks like to O'Donnell, advice to young dancers, how we must have the arts, how the environment affects O'Donnell and the importance of the open space in the west for her, growing up in Sacramento and taking day trips to San Francisco and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the openness of the first time O'Donnell saw an orchestra, and the need to be careful about watching too much TV and spending too much time with our gadgets instead of thinking about ourselves, and concludes with the influence of music and dance on O'Donnell's life including Mary Wigman.
Type of Resource
Moving image
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 968936537
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21152533
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): e2aaaa60-fb91-0134-de71-19779f424266
Rights Statement
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.

Item timeline of events

  • 1906: Creator Born
  • 1983: Created
  • 2004: Creator Died
  • 2017: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "O'Donnell " The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1983. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/08c2f640-a9ad-0133-9544-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "O'Donnell " New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 30, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/08c2f640-a9ad-0133-9544-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1983). O'Donnell Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/08c2f640-a9ad-0133-9544-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/08c2f640-a9ad-0133-9544-60f81dd2b63c | title= (moving image) O'Donnell , (1983)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 30, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

O'Donnell