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Lewis Segal Collection of Dance and Theater Materials, 1902-2011; Bulk, 1970-2009
1890  
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Description
Lewis Segal is a performing arts critic who has written on various topics related to the performing arts, from ballet to contemporary dance and musicals. He began working as a freelance writer in the 1960s for a number of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Performing Arts magazine, the Los Angeles Free Press, Ballet News, and High Performance magazine. He joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times in 1976. From 1996 to 2008 he held the full-time position of chief dance critic, writing full features and reviews on dance companies and performing arts organizations from around the world. Included in the collection are programs Segal collected from the various dance shows, movies, and musicals he has attended, as well as a set of 8mm early film reels, and VHS/DVD recordings of concerts and television features on dance-related topics.
Background
Lewis Segal was born in Los Angeles in 1941. He attended UCLA and graduated with a BA in Language/Arts, an MA in Theatre History and Criticism, and an MFA in Theatre Directing. After graduating, he began working as a freelance writer for a number of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Performing Arts magazine, the Los Angeles Free Press, Ballet News, and High Performance magazine. During the first half of the 1970s, he worked as a music publicist, first at Mercury Records, and later at ABC and Capitol Records. In 1976, he joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times as an assistant editor in the Book Review section, while continuing his freelance work for Calendar, the arts and entertainment section. In 1984, he was promoted to the position of Dance Writer, eventually becoming the chief dance critic for the newspaper in 1996. Regarding his professional accolades as a writer, he was one of two American critics participating in the 1990 India International Dance Festival, one of five American critics dubbed “Lord of the Dance” in Brills Content magazine in 2001, and the only American critic invited to submit a critical essay to Nina Alovert’s exhaustive study of Bolshoi Ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze, published in Moscow in 2010.
Extent
24 record cartons (24 linear ft.)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Availability
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.