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Guide to the Donald McKayle Papers
MS.P.023
MS.P.023
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Table of contents
Title: Donald McKayle papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS.P.023
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
19.1 Linear feet
(19 document boxes, 5 record cartons, 1 shoe box, 6 flat boxes, and 3 oversized folders) and 12.1 unprocessed linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1930-2009
Abstract: Photographs, programs, production notes, music scores, audio and video recordings, costume designs, reviews, and other printed
and graphic materials illustrate the eclectic career of world-renowned choreographer and University of California, Irvine
Professor of Dance Donald McKayle. Early materials pertain to his youth in Harlem and his performance career in New York City
in concert dance, theater and television. The bulk of the collection documents McKayle's career as the choreographer of over
fifty concert dance pieces between 1948 and 1998 and as a director or choreographer for theatrical productions both off and
on Broadway, including
Raisin and
Sophisticated Ladies. The materials illustrate the development of individual choreographic pieces, the evolution of McKayle as an artist, and
his career as a dance educator.
Creator:
McKayle, Donald, 1930-
The collection is open for research. Unprocessed negatives in box 25 are restricted from researcher use.
Donald McKayle Papers. MS-P 23. Special Collections and Archives, The UCI Libraries, Irvine, California.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.
Gifts of Donald McKayle in 1997 and 1998.
The collection was processed by Laura Clark Brown and Emma Kheradyar in 1998. The finding aid was prepared by Laura Clark
Brown and edited by William Landis in 1998; the finding aid was edited and updated by Audra Eagle Yun in 2012.
A world-renowned choreographer, Donald McKayle began his career in New York City, initially studying dance with the New Dance
Group and dancing professionally for noted choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Sophie Maslow, and Anna
Sokolow. In the 1950's he founded and directed Donald McKayle and Company, creating such landmark works as
Games,
Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder, and
District Storyville between 1951 and 1962. Although originally created for McKayle's own company, these works are now found in the repertories
of major modern dance companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. McKayle's career has taken him to and beyond
Broadway, where he choreographed
Golden Boy, directed and choreographed
Raisin, and conceived and choreographed
Sophisticated Ladies. He has worked in film and television as well, choreographing dance sequences in
Bedknobs and Broomsticks and
The Minstrel Man and directing the first episodes of the television series
Good Times.
Donald McKayle was born in New York City on July 6, 1930. A first-generation American and the son of Jamaican parents, he
grew up in Harlem. The McKayles, a tightly knit, loving family, were part of the New York West Indian community which offered
social interaction and cultural awareness to a young boy. McKayle first danced in public at a West Indian social activity.
He attended DeWitt Clinton High School and graduated in 1947. While in high school, McKayle showed a passion for both folk
music and American and African-American history. He belonged to a high school chapter of the Frederick Douglass Society and
a youth group called Club L'Ouverture which held folk dances and "sings," and on weekends he went to hootenannies and danced
Latin at the Grand Plaza. His choreography later drew from these early experiences and interests.
McKayle's early years in New York City and his interests in the performing arts and folk music were a prelude to his dance
career, which began in his senior year in high school when he won a scholarship to New York's New Dance Group in 1947. Pearl
Primus, a Trinidad-born dancer, choreographer and scholar of African studies, drew McKayle into a life in dance. Her powerful
performances of pieces such as
African Ceremonial and
Hard Time Blues were watershed moments for the young McKayle. Primus, regarded by many as the "Mother of African-American Dance," was his
first exposure to a dancer who "wedded African rhythms and themes to modern training."
After winning a scholarship to the New Dance Group, McKayle surrendered his life to dance. The Group was a large, democratic
artists' organization with first-generation disciples of modern dance pioneers Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Hanya Holm and
Charles Weidman. He had the opportunity to study under established choreographers, including Sophie Maslow, Pearl Primus and
Jean Erdman.
McKayle danced in several of Maslow's masterworks, including
Folksay,
The Village I Knew and
Champion. The choreography and mentoring of Sophie Maslow and Pearl Primus had an enormous influence on McKayle's creative life. He
adopted and adapted a similar approach to his own artistic work, whereby he translated both folk and African-American themes
in his choreography.
In McKayle's second year of formal dance training, the New Dance Group embarked on a concert season which thrust him into
performance. He danced in Sophie Maslow's
Folksay and
Champion and Jean Erdman's
Four Four Time. The New York City dance world in the 1950's was fluid and McKayle moved easily within it, dancing with and for such masters
as Anna Sokolow and Merce Cunningham. He won a scholarship to study at Martha Graham's School of Contemporary Dance and had
the opportunity to work personally with this pioneering choreographer. Graham created a solo for him in her piece
Ardent Song. He joined and traveled with the Martha Graham Company on a State Department-sponsored tour of East Asia in 1955 and 1956,
a tour comprised of both performances and lecture demonstrations by Graham. It was his first experience with world travel
and foreign cultures and it both impressed him and influenced his creative work.
While developing a busy professional dance career, McKayle began to choreograph first for himself and later for groups. In
1951 he founded Donald McKayle and Company. In 1969 he left New York and moved to California. He continued to perform, teach
and create on the West Coast as artistic director of the Los Angeles Inner City Repertory Dance Company in the early 1970's.
McKayle has not directed his own company since 1973.
In 1963 McKayle won the Capezio award, his first major award for choreography, and he has continued to receive recognition
for his art ever since that time. Other prestigious honors include the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award in
1992. In 1997 McKayle became the first creative artist to receive the UC Irvine Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for
Research.
As Donald McKayle gained a solid reputation in the concert dance world as a choreographer, influential people in other theatrical
realms took notice. The acclaim of his "jazz ballet" in pieces such as
District Storyville drew the attention of Broadway producer Hillard Elkins, who asked McKayle to choreograph the dance sequences in his production
of
Golden Boy, starring Sammy Davis, Jr. Elkins was successful in enticing McKayle to choreography for Broadway, where
Golden Boy premiered in 1964. The production was a success and McKayle earned a Tony nomination for his choreography, thus beginning
another aspect of his career. In earlier years McKayle had danced on Broadway in
Bless You All,
House of Flowers, and
West Side Story, and he had directed and choreographed musical theatre off Broadway.
He later directed and choreographed a musical version of the hit play
Raisin in the Sun, entitled simply
Raisin. The production, starring newcomer Debbie Allen, became a success in its own right and won the Tony for best musical in 1974.
McKayle has earned five Tony nominations for his work on Broadway.
Donald McKayle conceived the Tony-nominated Broadway hit
Sophisticated Ladies based on the life and writings of Duke Ellington. The show was originally titled "Duke," but was later given the "sexier"
title
Sophisticated Ladies before the show opened.
Sophisticated Ladies premiered on Broadway in 1981 and starred Gregory Hines and Judith Jamison, who later became the director of the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theatre. McKayle's original concept and staging of musical numbers had undergone a plethora of changes, but
the "choreo-musical" that he conceived in 1978 received numerous Tony nominations. He won the NAACP Image Award for writing
and an Outer Critics Circle Award for choreography in 1981.
Sophisticated Ladies in 1981 was McKayle's last endeavor on Broadway. He has also directed and choreographed numerous regional theater productions
before and since his stint on Broadway; other credits include
Emperor Jones in 1986 and
Evolution of the Blues from 1978 to 1979.
Hollywood has also enlisted McKayle's talents. He choreographed dance for films, including
Bedknobs and Broomsticks,
The Great White Hope and
The Jazz Singer, and for television films and shows including
The Minstrel Man,
Free to Be You and Me,
The Strolling Twenties, and
The Ed Sullivan Show.
Teaching remains a vital part of Donald McKayle's dance career. He has taught master classes for professional companies in
Moscow, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv and Köln and has served on the faculty of numerous schools, including the American Dance Festival,
Bennington College and the Juilliard School. He has served as artistic director of the UCI Department of Dance since 1989.
As an artist and professor, Donald McKayle continues to direct musical theater, teach dance and create new works for dance
companies around the world, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, and Limón Dance
Company. He has also created works for the UCI Department of Dance.
Note: A more extensive choreology of Donald McKayle's concert dance pieces follows this chronology.
| 1930 | Born on July 6th in New York City. |
| 1947 | Graduated from De Witt Clinton High School. |
| Received work scholarship to the New Dance Group. | |
| 1947-1949 | Attended City College of New York. |
| 1948 | Professional debut with the New Dance Group. |
| Saturday's Child | |
| 1948-1952 | Performed with the Mary Anthony Dance Company. |
| 1948-1953 | Performed with the Jean Erdman Company. |
| 1948-1955 | Performed with Dudley, Maslow and the New Dance Group. |
| 1950 | Bless You All. |
| Performed with Contemporary Dance Company. | |
| 1951 | Games |
| Guest artist at Daniel Nagrin Dance Company. | |
| 1951-1969 | Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer for Donald McKayle and Company. |
| 1952 | Her Name Was Harriet. |
| Fred Waring Show | |
| 1952-1954 | Performed with the New York City Opera Ballet. |
| 1952-1955 | Performed with Anna Sokolow Dance Company. |
| 1954 | Married Esta Beck. |
| American Folk Suite. | |
| House of Flowers. | |
| 1955-1956 | Joined Martha Graham Company for the American National Theatre Academy tour of the Near and Far East, sponsored by the State Department of the United States. |
| Daughter Gabrielle born. | |
| 1957 | West Side Story</title> and <title ns2:type="simple">Copper and Brass |
| 1958 | Daughter Liane born. |
| 1959 | Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder. |
| 1960 | Stepson Guy born. |
| The Dance Has Many Faces | |
| 1962 | District Storyville. |
| 1963 | Won the Capezio Dance Award. |
| 1964 | Golden Boy |
| Daughters of the Garden. | |
| 1965 | Married Lea Vivante. |
| Workout. | |
| The Modern Dance: Seven Statements of Belief | |
| 1966 | The Strollin' Twenties</title> and <title ns2:type="simple">The Ed Sullivan Show |
| A Time for Singing for Broadway. | |
| 1967 | The Ed Sullivan Show</title> and <title ns2:type="simple">The Bill Cosby Special |
| Black New World | |
| 1968 | The Motown Special |
| 1969 | Moved to California. |
| The Great White Hope. | |
| Hollywood Palace | |
| The Bill Cosby Special | |
| Dick Van Dyke Special | |
| 1970 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks. |
| 1970-1973 | Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of Inner City Repertory Dance Company. |
| 1972 | Charlie and the Angel. |
| 1974 | Raisin |
| Nominated for Tony Awards for Best Choreography and Best Direction. | |
| Good Times | |
| 1975 | Minstrel Man |
| Dr. Jazz | |
| Nominated for Tony Award for Best Choreography. | |
| 1976 | Blood Memories. |
| 1977 | Choreographed the 49th Annual Academy Awards for television (ABC). |
| 1978 | The Last Minstrel Show |
| 1978-1980 | Sophisticated Ladies |
| 1981 | Sophisticated Ladies. |
| Sophisticated Ladies. | |
| N'Orleans, | |
| 1984 | Emperor Jones |
| Dancing in the Streets | |
| 1986 | Emperor Jones. |
| 1989 | "Present Vision/Past Voice: A Salute to Donald McKayle," a retrospective by the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in Columbia, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois. |
| 1989 | Became a Professor of Dance at the University of California, Irvine. |
| 1990 | Stardust |
| 1991 | "All McKayle Program," a retrospective by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, staged at City Center Theatre in New York City. |
| 1992 | House of Tears |
| Sombra Y Sol (Images of Frieda Kahlo) | |
| Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award. | |
| 1994 | Living Legends Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement from the National Black Arts Festival. |
| Lehman Award "for the advancement of dance in our society." | |
| American Dance Guild Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement. | |
| Blood Memories. | |
| 1995 | "Trailblazers: Dancers of Change," a retrospective by the Los Angeles Dance Theatre, staged at Ford Theatre in Los Angeles, California. |
| Shimmy | |
| 1995 | Became Artistic Mentor and Resident Choreographer of the José Limón Dance Company. |
| 1997 | City and County of Denver proclaim "Masterworks: A Tribute to Donald McKayle Days." |
| Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for Research from the University of California. | |
| Balasaraswati/Joy Ann Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching at the American Dance Festival. | |
| 1998 | "Infinite Journey: Donald McKayle's Life in Dance," an exhibit of materials from McKayle's archive, mounted in the Muriel Reynolds Gallery at the UCI Libraries. |
Note: The following choreology (a chronology of a choreographer's work) indicates the years of creation and premiere of concert
dance pieces. It does not include McKayle's choreography in other genres such as theater and film. Unless otherwise noted,
the pieces are ensemble dances.
| 1948 | Saturday's Child, |
| 1950 | Creole Afternoon, |
| Songs of the Forest, | |
| 1951 | Games |
| 1952 | Her Name Was Harriet |
| Nocturne | |
| 1953 | Four Excursions |
| They Called Her Moses | |
| 1954 | American Folk Suite |
| Prelude To Action | |
| The Street | |
| 1957 | Muse In The Mews |
| 1958 | Out Of The Chrysalis |
| 1959 | Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder |
| 1960 | One, Two, Three Follow Me |
| 1961 | Legendary Landscape |
| 1962 | District Storyville |
| 1963 | Arena |
| Blood of The Lamb | |
| 1964 | Cross-town |
| Daughters of the Garden | |
| 1965 | Incantation |
| Wilderness | |
| Workout | |
| 1966 | Burst of Fists |
| 1967 | Black New World |
| 1972 | Migrations |
| Songs of the Disinherited | |
| 1973 | Sojourn |
| 1974 | Barrio |
| 1976 | Album Leaves |
| Blood Memories | |
| Recuerdos, | |
| 1977 | Argot |
| Mountain of Spices | |
| 1982 | Ricochet |
| 1983 | Solaris |
| 1984 | Avatar |
| Collage | |
| Vévé (Vever) | |
| 1985 | Looking for Jerusalem |
| 1986 | Beneath the Baobab |
| 1987 | Apsaras |
| Twilight, solo for Gregg Lizenbery | |
| 1990 | Distant Drum |
| Ring-a-levio | |
| 1991 | Infinite Journey |
| Sombra Y Sol (Images of Frida Kahlo) | |
| 1992 | House of Tears |
| 1993 | Mysteries and Raptures |
| Ring-a-levio | |
| 1994 | Blood Memories |
| Gumbo Ya-Ya | |
| Vigils | |
| 1995 | When I Grow Up ...When I Was A Child |
| 1996 | Rainbow Etude |
| 1997 | Delicious Obsession |
| Heartbeats | |
| In the Deep Dreaming of My Hands | |
| Seven Deadly Sins | |
| 1998 | Supplication |
Photographs, programs, production notes, music scores, audio and video recordings, costume designs, reviews, and other printed
and graphic materials illustrate the eclectic career of world-renowned choreographer and University of California, Irvine
Professor of Dance Donald McKayle. Early materials pertain to his youth in Harlem and his performance career in New York City
in concert dance theater and television. The bulk of the collection documents McKayle's career as the choreographer of over
fifty concert dance pieces between 1948 and 1998 and as a director or choreographer for theatrical productions both off and
on Broadway, including
Raisin and
Sophisticated Ladies. The materials illustrate the development of individual choreographic pieces, the evolution of McKayle as an artist and his
career as a dance educator.
Photographs and printed items, including programs, reviews, and clippings, constitute the vast majority of the McKayle Papers.
In general, these materials pertain to Donald McKayle's concert dance choreography and his work in theater. Night club acts,
television specials and films on which he worked are also represented in the collection. Other significant materials include
drafts of his currently unpublished autobiography, provisionally entitled
I Will Dance with You; his curriculum vitae; a complete choreology; videotapes of performances and interviews; and musical items such as recordings,
scores, and lyrics. A few production notes and notebooks and research materials are in the collection, but these notes do
not provide comprehensive documentation of McKayle's production career.
The collection is organized in eleven series based on format and genre of the materials. The collection begins with biographical
items that illustrate McKayle's early life and career in dance, as well as published items and an autobiography that elaborate
on his entire career. Programs, scripts, photographs, videos, scores and lyrics document his careers in choreography and dance
performance. Graphic materials, including costume designs and posters, illustrate only a few theatrical productions and dance
pieces. Critical reviews, clippings and various publicity materials provide nearly comprehensive documentation of McKayle's
life in dance. The remainder of the collection is comprised of a smattering of correspondence from colleagues and students
and items pertaining to his life as a UCI professor of dance and a professional artist active on national advisory boards
and various committees.
Within each series, materials are arranged by the genres of performing arts McKayle worked in, including concert dance, film,
nightclub acts, television, theatre and recordings. Under those headings, the items are generally arranged in alphabetical
order by the title of the piece. Dates, when known, are provided after the title of the piece. Most choreographic works have
been and continue to be performed numerous times, thus the creation date of a piece does not necessarily correspond to the
date of a particular item about the piece. For example, there are numerous reviews of McKayle' definitive work
Games, spanning from 1960 to 1995. Frequently, a single performance encompassed several of McKayle works. These multiple bills
and retrospectives follow the single dance performances and are arranged either by the title of the first piece or by the
dance company giving the retrospective.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
McKayle, Donald, 1930- -- Archives.
Online Archive of California.
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty -- Archives.
University of California, Irvine. Dept. of Dance -- Archives.
African American dancers.
Choreographers.
Choreography--United States -- History -- Sources
Costume design drawings.
Dance -- Archives
Dance cards
Dance in motion pictures, television, etc. -- United States
Dance teachers.
Dancers.
Modern dance -- United States -- History -- Sources
Negatives.
Photographic prints.
Scores.
Sound recordings.
Video recordings.