Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Historical note
Scope and Content
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Title: AMAN International Folk Ensemble. Administrative files.
Identifier/Call Number: University Archives Record Series 762
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
6.5 linear ft.
(5 cartons, 1 half-carton, and 1 oversize box)
Date: 1953-2004
Abstract: Record Series 762 contains the administrative files of the AMAN International Folk Ensemble.
Creator:
Aman Folk Ensemble.
Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the UCLA University Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from the
records must be submitted in writing to the University Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCLA
University Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright
holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], AMAN International Folk Ensemble. Administrative files (University Archives Record Series 762).
UCLA Library Special Collections, University Archives.
Historical note
AMAN was founded on the UCLA campus in 1964 by Leona Wood, Anthony Shay, and Philip Harland to encourage and pursue the research,
preservation, and performance of traditional music and dance. Named for the Eastern European and Middle Eastern pronunciation
of the biblical affirmative ‘amen,’ the ensemble performed for student groups and ethnic dance and music festivals. University
Vice Chancellor Dr. Norman Miller served as an early campus advisor and later as AMAN’s first Board of Directors’ Chairman.
As the ensemble attracted a community of skilled dancers and musicians, performance opportunities grew.
Highlights of AMAN’s accomplishments included the establishment of the AMAN Institute (offering workshops in music and dance);
statewide, national, and international tours; and the initiation of a comprehensive multicultural arts education program.
AMAN was the subject of an Emmy Award-winning documentary produced by Los Angeles PBS station KCET in 1977, performed as the
featured entertainment attraction at the opening of EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World in Florida in 1982, served as official
cultural ambassadors to the Middle East and North Africa in 1983, and participated in the Opening Ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic
Games. The ensemble was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts - Dance Touring Program, the California Arts Council,
the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and other private funding institutions.
In later years AMAN focused more heavily on multicultural arts education, touring Southern California schools with performances
and workshops that offered curriculum instruction to educators, and engaging educational experiences to children, their parents,
and communities. More than 100,000 students and educators were reached each school year through a comprehensive program of
narrated performances and residency activities, with more than 50 cultures represented in various aspects of the education
program from such countries as the former Yugoslavia, Japan, Romania, China, Tahiti, New Zealand, Israel, Ghana, India, Mexico,
Zimbabwe, Scotland, Morocco and the United States.
AMAN ceased operations in 2004, ending an acclaimed forty year run. Many members of AMAN continue to engage in ethnic arts
through classes, workshops, reunions, and social dance events throughout California and the United States.
Scope and Content
Record Series 762 contains the administrative files of the AMAN International Folk Ensemble. Files include administrative
and publicity materials, information about folk dance in California, scrapbooks, photographs, letters from school children
to AMAN, and various ephemera.
Administrative files regard grant funding, activities of the Board of Directors, costumes, and touring. Publicity materials
include clippings, programs, fliers, brochures, and press releases. Information about folk dance in California documents dances
and music performed and taught at California folk dance and music events between 1953-1960. Scrapbooks contain publicity materials,
correspondence, and ephemera from events. Both professional photography taken of AMAN performances and candid snapshots of
ensemble members performing, on tour, and socializing are included, as well as photographs of AMAN's costume collection and
costume exhibits. Art and letters sent to AMAN from school children who participated in art education programs display the
impact of AMAN's educational programs, and ephemera such as exhibit labels, postcards, and pins reflect activities and events.
This is an inactive record series; no additional University records are expected to be added.
UCLA Catalog Record ID