Interview with Eugenia Delarova, December 6 and December 17 or 18, 1978

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Title
Interview with Eugenia Delarova, December 6 and December 17 or 18, 1978
Names
Delarova, Eugenia (Interviewee)
Conway, Peter, 1929 July 18- (Interviewer)
Collection

Dance Oral History Project

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1978-12-06
Date Created: 1978-12-17
Date Created: 1978-12-18
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZT 5-597 (former)
Shelf locator: *MGZTO 5-597
Topics
Balanchine, George
Massine, Leonide, 1896-1979
Delarova, Eugenia -- Interviews
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballets russes de Monte Carlo
Présages (Choreographic work : Massine)
Genres
Oral histories
Interviews
Notes
Content: Interview with Eugenia Delarova conducted by Peter Conway on December 6 and December 17 (or 18), 1978, in New York City for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division Oral History Project. The interviewer states, at the beginning of the second session, that the date is December 17. However a handwritten note on the original container of the original recording indicates that the date of the second session is December 18.
Bibliographic history: Title supplied by cataloger.
Source characteristics: Sound quality is fair. The recording is marred by "tape hiss" and occasional short gaps, but the speakers' voices are easily intelligible.
Venue: Recorded for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 1978, December 6 and December 17 or 18 New York (N.Y.)
Funding: The conservation 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: 1 audiotape reel (approximately 3 hours) : analog, 1.875 ips, half-track, polyester; 5 in.
Description
Streaming file 1 (approximately one hour and 34 minutes), December 6, 1978. Eugenia Delarova speaks with Peter Conway about her life and career, in particular the years with Leonide Massine at the Ballets russes de Monte Carlo [headed by Colonel W. de Basil] and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo [headed by Sergei Denham]; topics, many treated very briefly, include her early training in Russia and Paris; reminiscences about George Balanchine; the circumstances of her moving to Paris and her marriage to Massine; working with Albertina Rausch, in New York and California; Massine as a person; working for Roxy [Samuel Lionel Rothafel]; more on Albertina Rausch; her impressions of Ida Rubenstein; Martha Graham in Massine's Rite of spring; an anecdote about Massine and [Leopold] Stokowski; Rosella Hightower; Massine and the Ballets russes de Monte Carlo; Balanchine's working methods compared with Massine's; Massine's choreography including Présages and his symphonic ballets; some of the dancers in the company including the "baby ballerinas" [Tatiana Riabouchinska, Irina Baronova, and Tamara Toumanova]; Massine's ballet Beau Danube; character dancing today; Massine's Scuola di ballo; his Choreartium; his Les matelots; her strengths and weaknesses as a dancer; Massine's Union Pacific; or The golden spike; an anecdote about her role in Massine's Jardin public; touring with the company; Massine's roles; Diaghilev's views on ballerinas wearing tights in rehearsal; how ballerinas' body types have changed; George Zoritch. Streaming file 2 (approximately one hour and 26 minutes), December 17 or 18, 1978. Eugenia Delarova continues to speak with Peter Conway about her years with Leonide Massine at the Ballets russes de Monte Carlo and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo; topics, many treated very briefly, include: Nina Verchinina; her relationship with the other dancers in the company; her roles in various ballets including Massine's Union Pacific; or The golden spike; Massine's Gaîté parisienne; leaving Col. du Basil's company [Ballets russes de Monte Carlo] in 1938 and joining Sergei Denham's company [Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo]; how she exerted artistic influence on Massine; more on Rosella Hightower; Mia Slavenska; character dancing then and now; Boris Kochno, Colonel de Basil, and Sergei Denham; George Skibine; Massine's collaboration with Salvador Dali [Bacchanale]; her work in musical comedy including The lady comes across; her marriage [to Henri George Doll] and subsequent retirement; her favorite roles; Freddie [Frederick Franklin]; dancers today including ballerinas she admires; Lorca Massine; her personal life with Leonide Massine and their artistic and social circles; the audience in England before World War II; life on tour, in particular the opening night parties; Sol Hurok; her continuing involvement with the dance world; [Natalia] Makarova and other dancers active today; Lucia Chase.
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 80728630
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12118391
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 45292530-b2aa-0133-382e-60f81dd2b63c
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

  • 1978: Created
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Eugenia Delarova" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1978. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/493d0870-b2aa-0133-aeac-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Eugenia Delarova" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/493d0870-b2aa-0133-aeac-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1978). Interview with Eugenia Delarova Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/493d0870-b2aa-0133-aeac-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/493d0870-b2aa-0133-aeac-60f81dd2b63c | title= (sound recording) Interview with Eugenia Delarova, (1978)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=March 19, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Interview with Eugenia Delarova