Interview with Anton Dolin, December 16, 23, and 31, 1976 and December 8, 1977

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Title
Interview with Anton Dolin, December 16, 23, and 31, 1976 and December 8, 1977
Names
Dolin, Anton, 1904-1983 (Interviewee)
Hunt, Marilyn, 1937- (Interviewer)
Collection

Dance Oral History Project

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1976-12
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZT 5-473 (former)
Shelf locator: *MGZTO 5-473
Topics
Diaghilev, Serge, 1872-1929
De Valois, Ninette, 1898-2001
Duncan, Isadora, 1877-1927
Dolin, Anton, 1904-1983 -- Interviews
Fracci, Carla
Ballets russes
Sleeping beauty (Choreographic work : Nijinska after Petipa, M)
Giselle (Choreographic work)
Sleeping beauty (Choreographic work : Nijinska after Petipa, M)
Genres
Oral histories
Interviews
Notes
Biographical/historical: Interview with Anton Dolin conducted by Marilyn Hunt on December 16, 23, and 31, 1976, and December 8, 1977 in New York City for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division Oral History Project. John Gilpin is also present and can be heard contributing a few remarks in parts of the recording.
Bibliographic history: Title supplied by cataloger.
Source characteristics: Sound quality is good. There is extraneous noise including "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 December 16, 23, and 31, 1976, and December 8, 1977 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: 3 audiotape reels (approximately 2 hr., 56 min.) : analog, 1.875 ips, (reel 1) and 3.75 ips (reels 2-3), half-track, polyester; 5 in.
Description
Streaming file 1, December 16, 1976 (approximately 1 hour and 38 minutes). Anton Dolin speaks with Marilyn Hunt about his time with Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets russes beginning in 1921; the London production of The sleeping princess [the title used for The sleeping beauty] including Diaghilev's hiring of Igor Stravinsky as the conductor; Diaghilev's and Bronislava Nijinska's changes to the choreography as staged by Nikolaĭ Sergeev; the origin of the lifts known as the fish dives in the final act; an anecdote about the planned revival of Michel Fokine's Daphnis and Chloe for Dolin's Paris debut and how Maurice Ravel thwarted this plan; Dolin's Paris debut in Nijinska's ballet Le train bleu; acrobatic lifts and what were known as adagio dances; Nikolaĭ Sergeev and his lack of imagination; the ballet Giselle; briefly, Alicia Markova; briefly, Carla Fracci; men dancing on point including his own experience in Nijinska's Les fâcheux; his thoughts on Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo including their parody of Les biches; [end of December 16 session and beginning of December 23 session]; Dolin speaks with Hunt about Diaghilev; topics include Arnold Haskell's biography [Diaghileff, his artistic and private life]; Prince Serge Wolkonsky; Diaghilev's female friends including Gabrielle Chanel; his extraordinary aesthetic judgment and memory including an anecdote about Le spectre de la rose; ballets produced in the Ballet russes's last season including Diaghilev's revival of Rite of spring [ends abruptly but continues on streaming file 2]. Streaming file 2, December 23, 1976 (approximately 34 minutes). Anton Dolin speaks with Marilyn Hunt about his reasons for leaving the Ballets russes in 1925; Diaghilev's last summer, including his plan to revive Giselle for Dolin; Diaghilev's nickname Chinchilla; Diaghilev's temperament; an anecdote about Diaghilev, Lubov Tchernicheva, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and Le spectre de la rose; briefly, Ninette de Valois. Streaming file 3, December 31, 1976 (approximately 29 minutes). Anton Dolin speaks with Marilyn Hunt about Ninette de Valois including as a dancer; Diaghilev's view of her stage name; her time in the Diaghilev ballet [Ballets russes]; De Valois as a ballet company director; her extensive knowledge of ballet and her tendency to make apocryphal statements; De Valois as a choreographer; Igor Stravinsky as a ballet conductor; the circumstances of Dolin's and Alicia Markova's leaving [the Vic-Wells Ballet] including Dolin's relationship with Robert Helpmann; Marilyn Burr. Streaming file 4, December 8, 1977 (approximately 15 minutes). Anton Dolin speaks with Marilyn Hunt about his memories of Isadora Duncan including seeing her perform when he was a boy; meeting Duncan in Berlin in 1924; meeting Duncan, in 1927 in Nice, France where he also saw her dance; more on the meeting in Berlin in 1924.
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 77674504
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12118276
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 4c531e40-b2a8-0133-7c68-60f81dd2b63c
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

  • 1904: Creator Born
  • 1976: Created
  • 1983: Creator Died
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Anton Dolin" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1976. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/503cf520-b2a8-0133-7471-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Anton Dolin" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/503cf520-b2a8-0133-7471-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1976). Interview with Anton Dolin Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/503cf520-b2a8-0133-7471-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/503cf520-b2a8-0133-7471-60f81dd2b63c | title= (sound recording) Interview with Anton Dolin, (1976)|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 Anton Dolin