Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Collection Scope and Content Summary
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Eugene Loring papers,
Date (inclusive): 1925-1986
Date (bulk): (bulk 1933-1979)
Collection number: MS-P002
Creator:
Loring, Eugene, 1914-
Extent:
14.6 linear feet (26 boxes)
Repository:
University of California, Irvine. Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
Irvine, California 92623-9557
Abstract: The Eugene Loring Papers are comprised mainly of production photographs, scrapbooks, programs, and ephemera from the various
stages of Loring's career, which culminated in a position as the founding chairman of the University of California, Irvine
Dance Department (1965-1978). The collection contains rich documentation of Loring's early career, particularly in scrapbooks
documenting the road tours of the dance companies Ballet Caravan and Ballet Theatre, and also broadly documents his directorship
of Dance Players. Materials in this collection provide information on two important threads in Loring's diverse career in
dance: his choreographic abilities as a leading developer of an American style of dance and his pedagogical skills (the latter
first surfaced through his association with the American School of Dance). Additionally, the collection includes numerous
performance and portrait photographs of dancers and dance companies collected by Loring and others.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research. Scrapbooks are extremely fragile and require close supervision by Special Collections staff
during use.
Publication Rights
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 Archives.
Preferred Citation
Eugene Loring Papers. MS-P02. Special Collections and Archives, The UCI Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Eugene Loring, 1975 and 1980.
Processing History
Preliminary processing by Roger Berry in 1975 and 1980. Processing completed by Emma Kheradyar in 1996-1997. Guide edited
by Laura Clark Brown in 1998 and completed by William Landis in 2000.
Biography/Organization History
Biography
Born on August 2, 1914 as Le Roy Kerpestein in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Eugene Loring studied gymnastics, music, acting and performing
as a young man with the Wisconsin Players. He also studied dance to improve his movement qualities as an actor. He decided
in his early twenties to pursue dance full time.
Loring was admitted in 1934 to the American School of Ballet, founded by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. They chose
a group of students, including Loring, to perform as the American Ballet Company. This company also performed divertissement
ballets choreographed by Balanchine for the Metropolitan Opera. During this time Loring also danced in the corps de ballet
and as a soloist with the Fokine Ballet.
When the American Ballet and Metropolitan Opera seasons ended each year, a group of dancers including Loring joined Lincoln
Kirstein's independent company Ballet Caravan. Instead of following classical ballet traditions, dancers choreographed pieces
about life in America. The group shared equally in all decision making. Ballet Caravan spent spring and summer caravaning
to small towns across America to perform in small venues. At summer's end they returned to New York for the American Ballet
and Metropolitan Opera seasons.
Eugene Loring's first original ballet was
Harlequin for President. While a dancer/choreographer with Ballet Caravan, he choreographed
Billy the Kid at the suggestion of Lincoln Kirstein, collaborating with Aaron Copland, who composed the musical score.
Billy the Kid became Loring's most famous piece and is in the permanent repertoire of American Ballet Theatre. The Australian Ballet and
the Oakland Ballet also have performed
Billy as part of their repertoire.
Loring choreographed
The Great American Goof, a ballet-play with spoken words (libretto by William Saroyan), for Ballet Theatre in 1940. The work was a compilation of
dance, music, speech, and sliding stage screens. In the same year, Loring appeared on Broadway as an actor in Saroyan's
The Beautiful People.
Loring created his own dance company named Dance Players in 1941, which continued in the same vein as Ballet Caravan. He choreographed
Man From Midian and
Prairie and the company performed
Billy the Kid, along with many of his earlier works such as
Yankee Clipper and
Harlequin for President. The company disbanded in 1942, but Loring reused the name later for other student dance companies.
In 1943 Loring was contracted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to work as a dance director and actor in films. It was a productive period
for Loring as he choreographed dance sequences for the films
Ziegfeld Follies,
Funny Face, and
Silk Stockings, as well as several Broadway shows, including
Carmen Jones,
Kismet,
Park Avenue, and
Silk Stockings. Loring also choreographed extensively for the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera.
Loring founded the American School of Dance (not affiliated with American School of Ballet) in Hollywood in 1947. The school
remained in existence for over 25 years from the time Loring first arrived in California until a few years before his death.
His goal for the school was to give students training in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, composition and notation. Loring developed
his own dance technique at this time which was known as the "Free-Style Technique," combining ballet and jazz. Its purpose
was to allow students to make easily the technique changes that were required of them professionally. The school had a sizable
faculty roster and actively advertised guest teachers and lecturers. In the 1950s the school was home to the 15-member, semi-professional
dance troupe Dance Players, led by Loring. The company gave over 300 performances to high schools, colleges and civic groups.
Loring was invited to the White House in 1962 to present
Billy the Kid. He was awarded Dance Magazine's Annual Award in 1968. One year later, he was the founding director of the Los Angeles Dance
Players. At the same time, he developed his lecture series "Dance As a Language." Loring's goal was to educate the audience
about dance in a way that paired narrative with dance. During the same year, he received a creative writing grant from the
University of California to write
Kineseography, about his form of dance notation. Loring worked with the Oakland Ballet in 1976 to stage
Billy the Kid, and in 1978 he re-staged a ballet titled
The Sisters, which had originally premiered with the San Diego Ballet in 1966.
Loring's careers as a choreographer and teacher intertwined for three decades before he became the founding chairman of University
of California, Irvine's Dance Department in 1965. He developed an instructional program for the department with a focus similar
to his American School of Dance. Examinations for technique classes were adjudicated like professional auditions, and students
had different teachers for technique each day. The department's goal was to prepare students for professional jobs immediately
after graduation. Loring used his position as an opportunity to mount new works that were not financially possible using a
professional dance company.
Eugene Loring died in Kingston, New York on August 30, 1982.
Chronology
Refer to the Choreology for dates of Loring's choreographic activities and works.
1914 |
Born Le Roy Kerpestein in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 2nd. |
1934 |
Professional stage debut with Michel Fokine. |
1934 |
Danced in Corps de Ballet and as a soloist with one year of concentrated ballet training. |
1934 |
Performed in
Sorcerer's Apprentice and
Prince Igor.
|
1935-1938 |
Dancer in Corps de Ballet, then soloist for Balanchine and Kirstein's American Ballet. |
1935 |
Danced in his first professional productions as Photographer in
Alma Mater and as Brighella in
Reminiscence.
|
1936 |
Joined Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Caravan as a soloist and choreographer (through 1939). |
1936 |
Danced Harlequin in his own
Harlequin for President and Satyr in
Promenade (choreographed by William Dollar) for Ballet Caravan (Bennington, Vermont).
|
1937 |
Danced Farm Boy in his own
Yankee Clipper and Saltarello in
Folk Dance (Saybrook, Connecticut).
|
1938 |
Danced Ray, a Truck Driver in
Filling Station (choreographed by Lew Christensen) for Ballet Caravan (Hartford, Connecticut).
|
1938 |
Danced title role in his own
Billy the Kid for Ballet Caravan (Chicago).
|
1940 |
Danced title roles in his own
The Great American Goof and in
Peter and the Wolf.
|
1940 |
Danced Devil in
Three Virgins and a Devil for Ballet Theatre (New York).
|
1940 |
Cast in Saroyan's
The Beautiful People on Broadway.
|
1941 |
Founder, choreographer, and principal dancer for Dance Players. |
ca. 1942 |
Dance Players disbanded. |
1943 |
Signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and contracted to work as a dance director and actor. |
1945 |
Appeared in the film
National Velvet.
|
1948 |
Founder and teacher for the American School of Dance. |
1953 |
Appeared in the film
Torch Song.
|
1962 |
Directed
Under the Sycamore Tree at the Pasadena Playhouse.
|
1965 |
Became first chairman of the Dance Department at the University of California, Irvine. |
1965 |
Staged ballets for San Diego Ballet. |
1967 |
Recipient of Dance Magazine award. |
1980 |
Left UCI. |
1982 |
Died in Kingston, New York on August 30th. |
Choreology
Includes major works choreographed by Loring and is not exhaustive.
1934 |
First choreography credit for production of
Credentials.
|
1936 |
Harlequin for President (music by Scarlatti) for Ballet Caravan (Bennington, Vermont).
|
1937 |
Yankee Clipper (music by Bowles) for Ballet Caravan (Saybrook, Connecticut).
|
1937 |
Billy the Kid (music by Copland) for Ballet Caravan (Chicago).
|
1939 |
City Portrait (music by Brant) for Ballet Caravan (New York).
|
1940 |
The Great American Goof (music by Brant) for inaugural performance of Ballet Theatre, New York.
|
1942 |
The Man From Midian (music by Wolpe),
Prairie (music by Dello Joio), and
The Duke of Sacramento (music by Dello Joio) for Dance Players.
|
1943 |
Choreographed shows on Broadway. |
1953 |
Capital of the World (music by Antheil) and
Omnibus for American television (also staged for American Ballet Theatre, New York).
|
1954 |
The Legend of the Handsome Stranger (music by Johnson) for Santa Monica Ballet (California).
|
1956 |
Worked as a choreographer in collaboration with Fred Astaire in
Funny Face.
|
1958 |
Choreographed for the Ice Capades. |
1961 |
A Portrait of a Woman and
Quotations for Idyllwild Arts Foundation (California).
|
1966 |
T
he Sisters (music by Ruggles) for San Diego Ballet and Jacob's Pillow Festival (Lee, Massachusetts).
|
1966 |
These Three (music by Steinman) for Joffrey Ballet at the City Center (New York).
|
1968 |
Prisms, Pinions, Paradox for University of California, Irvine (UCI).
|
1969 |
Catulli Carmina (music by Orff) for UCI.
|
1970 |
Polyphonica (music by Mendelsohn) for UCI.
|
1971 |
Folk Dances of a Mythical Country (music by Allard, Loring, Beaver, Krause) for UCI.
|
1973 |
Who Am I ? Where Do I Come From ? What Am I Doing Here? (music by Copland and Badings) for UCI.
|
1976 |
The Voice (music by Crumb) for UCI.
|
1978 |
Celebration for UCI.
|
1978 |
The Tender Land (music by Copland) for Oakland Ballet (California).
|
1979 |
American Gothic (music by Copland) for UCI.
|
1980 |
Time Unto Time (music by Bartok) for Oakland Ballet (California).
|
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Eugene Loring Papers are comprised mainly of production photographs, scrapbooks, programs, and ephemera from the various
stages of Loring's career, which culminated in a position as the founding chairman of the University of California, Irvine
Dance Department (1965-1978). The collection contains rich documentation of Loring's early career, particularly in scrapbooks
documenting the road tours of the dance companies Ballet Caravan and Ballet Theatre, and also broadly documents his directorship
of Dance Players. Materials in this collection provide information on two important threads in Loring's diverse career in
dance: his choreographic abilities as a leading developer of an American style of dance and his pedagogical skills (the latter
first surfaced through his association with the American School of Dance). Especially well documented are numerous productions
of Loring's signature piece,
Billy the Kid. Additionally, the collection includes numerous performance and portrait photographs of dancers and dance companies collected
by Loring and others.
The collection is organized in the following nine series:
- Series 1. Early years, 1925-1933. 0.1 linear ft.
- Series 2. Early ballet companies, 1934-1939. 0.5 linear ft.
- Series 3. Choreography, 1933-1980. 4 linear ft.
- Series 4. Dance company directorships, 1941-1973. 3.3 linear ft.
- Series 5. American School of Dance, 1947-1971. 1.9 linear ft.
- Series 6. University of California, Irvine, 1965-1986. 0.6 linear ft.
- Series 7. Biographical files, ca. 1930-1979. 0.5 linear ft.
- Series 8. Clugston and Maudlin dance scrapbooks, 1936-1947. 3 linear ft.
- Series 9. Topical files, 1932-1977. 0.7 linear ft.
Removed or Separated Material
Related Collections
A collection of Loring's papers is located at the New York Public Library.
Separated Materials
Approximately 2 linear feet of dance programs unrelated to Loring's choreography or career as a performer, teacher, and dance
company director have been removed to the Dance Programs Collection (MS-P26) in Special Collections and Archives.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Loring, Eugene, 1914- --Archives.
University of California, Irvine--Faculty--Archival resources.
American School of Dance (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Archival resources.
University of California, Irvine. Dept. of Dance--Archival resources.
American Ballet (Dance company)--Archival resources.
Ballet Caravan (Dance company)--Archival resources.
American Ballet Caravan (Dance company)--Archival resources.
Ballet Theatre (New York, N.Y.)--Archival resources.
Dance Players (Dance company)--Archival resources.
Los Angeles Dance Theatre (Dance company)--Archival resources.
Billy the Kid (Choreographic work : Loring)--Archival resources.
Dance--Archival resources.
Ballet--United States--Archival resources.
Modern dance--United States--Archival resources.
Choreography--United States--Archival resources.
Dance in motion pictures, television, etc.--United States--Archival resources.
Dance schools--California--Archival resources.
Genres and Forms of Material
Photographic prints.
Scrapbooks.
Dance programs.
Costume design drawings.
Scores.
Oral histories.
Occupations
Choreographers.
Dance teachers.
Dancers.
Other Index Terms Related to this Collection
Clugston, H. N., former owner.
Maudlin, Mildred Ann, former owner.