Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León

More Details Cite This Item

Library division & collection with this item:

View this item elsewhere:

Title
Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León
Additional title: Interview with Arthur Mitchell
Additional title: Interview with Tania León
Additional title: Dance in America
Names
Mitchell, Arthur, 1934- (Interviewee)
León, Tania (Interviewee)
Collection

Dance Audio Archive

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1977-03-23
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZTO 5-2266
Topics
Mitchell, Arthur, 1934-
León, Tania
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance in America
Ballet in motion pictures, television, etc
Dance, Black -- United States
Racism and the arts
Dance -- Study and teaching
Dance, Black
Genres
Interviews
Television programs
Notes
Venue: Recorded by WNET/13 New York 1977, March 23 New York (N.Y.)
Funding: The processing and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
Physical Description
Audiotape reel
Extent: 2 audiotape reels (approximately 37 min.) : polyester; half-track; 7.5 ips; 5 in.
The sound quality of Mitchell's and León's voices is excellent, but that of the interviewers is fair to poor.
Description
Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León conducted in connection with The Dance Theatre of Harlem, a television program broadcast on the Dance in America series by WNET/13, New York, on March 23, 1977. A recording of the finished television program is in the Library's collection, cataloged as *MGZIDVD 5-5413. An unidentified female (possibly Tobi Tobias, who wrote the script), and an unidentified male (possibly Merrill Brockway, the director) ask Mitchell and León questions. Streaming audio file 1 (approximately 14 minutes). Arthur Mitchell speaks about his reasons for founding Dance Theatre of Harlem; the status of his dance career at the time; his reasons for founding a school (Dance Theatre of Harlem School) and a company; the school's early days and his response to the skepticism he encountered in the black community; his reasons for incorporating various styles of dance in the school's curriculum and the company's repertory [ends abruptly but continues directly on streaming audio file 2]. Streaming audio file 2 (approximately 23 minutes). Arthur Mitchell speaks about the role of the students and dancers of Harlem Dance Theatre in countering stereotypes; the reasons he makes himself and the dancers accessible to the public; the importance of self-esteem for the dancers; his view of his work at the school and the company as his calling; events such as open classes and street fairs that involve the community. [At approximately 17:30 minutes, the Arthur Mitchell segment ends, and an interview of Tania León begins.] Tania León speaks about her early training in music in Cuba; how she came to work with Dance Theatre of Harlem; her first impression of Mitchell; her career as a conductor, including its beginnings, and her work at Dance Theatre of Harlem [ends abruptly].
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 79419550
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b16294998
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): dd3b4230-c802-0135-aacb-0091db0d3d7b
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

  • 1977: Created
  • 2018: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1977. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/17c1ae50-3b72-0134-11d1-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/17c1ae50-3b72-0134-11d1-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1977). Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/17c1ae50-3b72-0134-11d1-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/17c1ae50-3b72-0134-11d1-60f81dd2b63c | title= (sound recording) Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León, (1977)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=March 19, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León