Interview with Alicia Alonso

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Title
Interview with Alicia Alonso
Names
Alonso, Alicia (Interviewee)
Terry, Walter (Interviewer)
Collection

Dance Audio Archive

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1978 (Questionable)
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZTCO 3-857
Topics
Alonso, Alicia
Ballet Nacional de Cuba
Ballet Alicia Alonso
Ballet dancing
Genres
Interviews
Notes
Content: Title supplied by cataloger.
Venue: Recorded by Walter Terry 1978? Havana, Cuba
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.
Acquisition: Gift Walter Terry
Physical Description
Audiocassette
Extent: 1 audiocassette (approximately 1 hr., 7 min.) : quarter-track; 1.875 ips
Sound quality is good overall. The recording is marred by occasional extraneous noise, but the speakers' voices are clear and easy to understand.
Description
Interview with Alicia Alonso conducted by Walter Terry Havana, Cuba, probably in 1978, as research for his book, Alicia and her Ballet Nacional de Cuba (Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1981). Streaming audio file 1 (approximately 47 minutes). Alicia Alonso speaks with Walter Terry about the status of ballet when she was young; her early dance and acting training in Cuba; her first attempt to form a ballet company, with Nora Kaye and others; the formation of Ballet Alicia Alonso, a predecessor of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba; formation of a professional ballet school in Cuba, in 1953; continuing to dance as a guest artist while developing the company and school; her approach to directing, as for example, regarding the Wilis in Giselle; the influence of Antony Tudor on her work; training dancers to understand the distinctions in style and characterization appropriate to different classical ballets; her portrayal of Giselle over the years [ends abruptly but continues on streaming audio file 2]. Streaming audio file 2 (approximately 20 minutes). Alicia Alonso speaks with Walter Terry about encouraging the expression of personality within the classical style; reminiscences about dancing in the corps of Ballet Theatre [now American Ballet Theatre] including anecdotes about her and Nora Kaye in the operas Aida and Il trovatore; the iinfluence of George Balanchine on her work including an anecdote about her dancing his Theme and variations; the objectives of what is called "psycho-ballet'; her continued enjoyment of dancing herself and watching others dance.
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 958936536
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12118716
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 02d5f6c0-7958-0136-6143-03b574cad9a8
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
  • 2018: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Alicia Alonso" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1978. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7bdc7ab0-c31c-0133-c62d-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Alicia Alonso" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 18, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7bdc7ab0-c31c-0133-c62d-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1978). Interview with Alicia Alonso Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7bdc7ab0-c31c-0133-c62d-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7bdc7ab0-c31c-0133-c62d-60f81dd2b63c | title= (sound recording) Interview with Alicia Alonso, (1978)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 18, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Interview with Alicia Alonso