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Items Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960

Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Jerome Robbins Dance Division

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COLLECTION
Dance Audio Archive

This Item

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Title
Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960
Names
St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968 (Interviewee)
Terry, Walter (Interviewer)
Collection

Dance Audio Archive

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1960
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZTO 7-57
Topics
St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968 -- Interviews
Egypta (Choreographic work : St Denis)
O-Mika (Choreographic work : St. Denis)
Radha (Choreographic work : St. Denis)
Modern dance -- United States
Modern dance
Genres
Interviews
Notes
Content: The recording has been edited.
Content: Interview with Ruth St. Denis conducted by Walter Terry in 1960 in Ruth St. Denis's apartment in New York (N.Y.). Barbara Andres and Thomas Andrews were also present.
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.
Content: Title supplied by cataloger.
Venue: Recorded in the New York apartment of Ruth St. Denis 1960 New York (N.Y.)
Physical Description
Audiotape reel
Extent: 1 audiotape reel (approximately one hour and seven minutes) : analog, 3.75 ips, acetate, half-track, 7 in.
The sound quality ranges from poor (in the first three minutes of streaming audio file 1) to good. At times the recording is marred by "tape hiss".
Description
Streaming audio file 1 (approximately 52 minutes). [The first approximate three minutes contain fragmentary conversation and testing of the recording device.] Ruth St. Denis speaks with Walter Terry about the tremendous creative stimulus that an Egyptian Deities cigarette poster had on her; earlier influences and inspirations including the dancing of Genevieve Stebbins; her ability to copy others' movements; the process of transforming the inspirational stimulus of the poster into her dance, Egypta including her extensive research; her dance Radha; her choreographic process including her typically starting with an idea rather than music; the use of the spoken word in her dance O-Mika and in her dances Cobras and Nautch dance; working with her brother, Buzz, on a dance in which she wielded a spear; Klarna Pinska including her work with St. Denis to create a technical basis for teaching [ends abruptly but continues on streaming audio file 2]. Streaming audio file 2 (approximately 15 minutes). Ruth St. Denis speaks with Walter Terry about working with Klarna Pinska to create a technical basis for teaching; Martha Graham's adapting and improving of certain movements that St. Denis originated; her approach to music when choreographing and teaching music visualization; her definition of dance.
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 51088470
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12117234
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 1c8a4d00-fe6e-0137-10bd-3d8e97e3db8b
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

  • 1880: Creator Born
  • 1960: Created
  • 1968: Creator Died
  • 2019: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1960. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/3be18510-3b73-0134-c5a2-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/3be18510-3b73-0134-c5a2-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1960). Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960 Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/3be18510-3b73-0134-c5a2-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/3be18510-3b73-0134-c5a2-60f81dd2b63c | title= (sound recording) Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960, (1960)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 24, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Interview with Ruth St. Denis, 1960