Finding Aid of the Grell/Colefax Collection on Russian Ballet
0315
Sue Tyson
USC Libraries Music Library
2013 October
Doheny Memorial Library, G-24
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-1822
music@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Music Library
Title: Grell/Colefax Russian Ballet Archive
Creator:
Grell, Dwight
Identifier/Call Number: 0315
Identifier/Call Number: 36
Physical Description:
202 Linear Feet
207 boxes
Date (inclusive): circa 1950s-2000s
Abstract: The collection consists of films, books, photographs, sound recordings, posters, costumes, and artwork related to Russian
ballet, chiefly the Bolshoi Ballet Company. Collected by Los Angeles resident Dwight Grell from the early 1950s through the
2000s. Many of the materials are in Russian. This collection represents a broad range of subjects: Russian and Soviet Dance;
choreography and costume design; and Russian and Soviet culture, including popular culture, as reflected in programs, print
materials, and photographs.
Physical Location: The following items were borrowed by the donor, Dwight Grell, on February 8, 2010: 1. Photo album of Dwight Grell's Russian
Ballet exhibit in Anaheim, 2000. 2. Photo album of Dwight Grell's Russian Ballet exhibit at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
in Los Angeles, 2000. 3. Three bound 10 1/2 x 14 autograph albums.
Language of Material:
English
, Russian
.
Historical Note
The Bolshoi Ballet, founded in 1776 and established at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1825, made its first appearance in the West
in 1956, at the Royal Opera House in London; 1959 marked its first tour to the United States. The time frame that forms the
focus of the Grell/Colefax Collection on Russian Ballet, 1950-2000, has seen three chief choreographers: Leonid Lavrovsky
(1944-1964), Yuri Grigorovich (1964-1995), and Vladimir Vasiliev (1995-2000); in 2000, Boris Akimov took on this role, which
he held until 2003. Grigorovich also succeeded Lavrovsky as artistic director of the company, a position he held until his
replacement by Vasiliev. Important dancers in the company include Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, Raisa Struchkova, Yuri
Zhdanov, Nikolai Fadeyechev, Vladimir Vasiliev, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Maris Liepa, Natalia Bessmertnova, Ekaterina Maximova,
Nina Timofeyeva, Nina Sorokina, Nina Ananiashvili, Irek Mukhamedov, Andris Liepa, Ludmila Semenyaka, Nadezhda Pavlova, and
Nina Semizorova, among others.
The company known in the West as the Kirov Ballet was originally named the Mariinsky Ballet in association with its home at
the Mariinsky Theater. Renamed the Kirov Ballet in 1935 and then again as the St. Petersburg Maryinsky Ballet in 1991, it
is still known outside of Russia as the Kirov Ballet. Dancers associated with the Kirov have been Galina Ulanova, Natalia
Makarova, Anna Pavlova, Rudolf Nureyev, Yuri Soloviev, Vakhtang Chabukiani, Natalia Dudinskaya, Ninei Kurgapkina, Askold Makarov,
Vaslav Nijinski, Marina Semyonova, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Early director: Marius Petipa. Teacher Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951)
trained the Kirov's principal dancers; her work "became the foundation of ballet instruction in the Soviet Union" (Columbia
Encyclopedia).
Both the Bolshoi and the Kirov Ballet companies made their first appearances in the West in 1956, the Bolshoi Ballet in London,
at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The Bolshoi first toured the United States in 1959; for the time frame that is the
focus of this collection (1950-2000), Grell lists performances in Los Angeles as having taken place in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1966,
1968, 1975, 1975, 1979, 1987, 1990, 1996, and 2000. Along with materials pertaining to these and other companies, the Archive
also contains materials concerning International Ballet Competitions, for which Grell played a liaison role. These Competitions
began in Varna, Bulgaria, in 1964, and began a rotation with Moscow and Tokyo; the first Competition in the United States
took place in 1979. The current rotation includes Jackson, Varna, New York, Shanghai, and Helsinki. Winners of 1986 competition
in Jackson were dancers Nina Ananiashvili, Vadim Pisarev, and Andris Liepa; Yuri Grigorovich and Vladimir Vasiliev have served
as judges.
Sources: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012; The International Encyclopedia of Dance (Cohen,
Selma Jeanne, ed., Oxford University Press. 1998; online via Oxford Reference, 2005).
Biographical Note
Dwight Grell was born in Los Angeles, California to a family of modest means. A music lover as a youth, he was 17 years old
when he attended his first ballet--a performance of Sleeping Beauty with Margot Fonteyn at the Shrine Auditorium--and subsequently
saw ballet films in 1957 featuring Russian dancers, including Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya, in performance. His interest
sparked, especially by the Bolshoi Ballet, whose work he prized for what he describes as their "dynamic" and "powerful" style
of dance, Grell went to see the company during its first U.S. tour in 1959, an event that was to change his life. Even as
he worked in a button factory, Grell attended every performance he could, and began collecting programs, posters, and photographs,
as well as asking for autographs; indeed, as he states, the Grell/Colefax Russian Ballet Archive began in 1959 when Grell
acquired a small autographed photograph of Plisetskaya dancing the role of Zarema in the Fountain of Bakchisirai. In 1962,
he began creating his first rudimentary exhibitions, and in 1963, Raisa Struchkova gave Grell an autographed pair of her ballet
slippers--his first. From that point on, Grell began asking performers if he could have slippers from various performances.
In 1966, Russian expatriate Sonia Colefax [1896-1991] opened her Hancock Park home to Grell, providing the collection with
a place in which to grow; that same year, Grell acquired American ballet presenter Sol Hurok's ballet-related materials. Grell
began to assemble exhibitions, with the aim of both promoting Russian ballet and of educating audiences about Russian theatre
and ballet. He created his first exhibit in the lobby of the Regent Theatre in Westwood, to accompany a screening of the film
"Bolshoi '67". Shortly thereafter, seeking to create what he termed a "cultural bridge," he wrote a letter to the periodical
Soviet Life, in which he expressed his admiration and gratitude for the Bolshoi Ballet; his mailing to the magazine included
also photos from this first exhibition.
When Soviet Life published the letter in 1968, long after Grell had sent it, Grell's fledgling Archive gained an international
dimension, when Roger L. Stevenson, a ballet enthusiast from New Zealand, read it and began sending Grell reels of 16- and
35-mm film concerning the Bolshoi Theatre and its ballet company. Stevenson sent commercial as well as non-commercial films:
films and documentaries made by the Bolshoi and newsreels about its artists. Continuing in his educational mission, Grell
purchased a 16-mm projector, and began to show these films in ballet schools and university classes; his first screenings
occurred around 1970 and continued into the 1980s. Screenings included a 1974 screening, Two Hours of Film from the Bolshoi
Ballet and the Leningrad-Kirov Ballet; screenings in 1976 and 1977 at the Vanguard Theatre (Los Angeles) of The Ballet of
the Bolshoi Theatre, programs I and II (film drawn from the Archive and from footage taken by William P. Merriman and Grell
during 1976 Bolshoi trip); and screenings in other locations, including at the Arizona Alliance for Arts Education (1976);
Town Hall of California (1985); and the Long Beach Ballet (1986). Featured dancers included Maya Plisetskaya, Nadzehda Pavlova,
Nina Sorokina, Ludmilla Semenyaka, Alexander Godunov, Vyacheslav Gordeyev, Vladimir Vasiliev, and others, in performances
and rehearsals from Swan Lake, Giselle, La Rose Malade, and other ballets.
Grell continued to build the collection, buying or being sent all sorts of ballet-related materials; in 1969, he embarked
on his first trip abroad, to see the Bolshoi Ballet perform the Western premiere of Spartacus at the Royal Opera House in
London; he traveled in 1972 to see them in Paris. Todd Lechtick became the Archive's official photographer, capturing images
in the Soviet Union, the United States, and elsewhere in Europe. In 1975, Grell took his first trip to Moscow, on the occasion
of the Bolshoi's 200th Jubilee (1975-1976), and he met many of the Bolshoi's leading dancers. He requested, and was granted,
permission by the ministry of culture to film ballet classes and rehearsals; he was the first Westerner to receive permission
to do so for educational, noncommercial purposes. He filmed luminaries from both the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets, including
Galina Ulanova, Marina Semyonova, Nadia Pavlova, Asaf Messerer, Alexander Pushkin, Natalia Dudinskaya, Ninella Kurgapkina,
and many others. His intent was to show students in the United States what it took to be a dancer of their caliber and that
they were "normal everyday human beings, not something that you'd wind up and turn on" (Dwight Grell, His House, 7/23/87).
Once again in the United States, Grell traveled to many states to show the Archive's films, and continued to create exhibits
for venue lobbies for ballet tours. He wrote articles on events surrounding ballet and the Bolshoi and gave lectures, held
screenings, and showed exhibitions from the Archive; he studied dance for two years in order to understand it better from
a technical perspective. In 1985, Grell became active in founding the International Association of Friends of Soviet Ballet,
serving as Vice President and Permanent Curator; Mikhail Lavrovsky and Vladimir Vasiliev served as Honorary Presidents; and
Gennady Alfarenko (USSR), Olga Smoak (US), Gordon Partridge (US) as Acting Presidents. In January 1986, Grell founded the
Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre Archive as a nonprofit organization, with its major goals being to secure a permanent facility
capable of supporting research and to create a master teacher program based in the Vaganova training syllabus (the training
program established by Agrippina Vaganova). He also served on the Advisory Council for the International Dance Alliance, Ltd.,
and on the Advisory Board of the International Association of Friends of the Soviet Ballet. Supplementing his purchases of
ballet-related materials, including films, dancers, teachers, choreographers, artists, and people from various venues sent
brochures, booklets, photographs, books, artwork, scores, cassettes and other items; for exhibits, Grell framed the Bolshoi
photographs in red and gold, and Kirov photographs in blue for exhibits. Grell attended International Ballet Competitions
in 1985 and 1986, and served as liaison for the Russian contingent there. He expressed a desire that the Ballet Archive be
sent to wherever the Bolshoi Ballet was performing in the United States, and purchased flowers to throw to principals after
every performance.
In 1987, Grell organized a major exhibition in the foyer of the Grand Hall of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center
in Los Angeles, so that the audience could see the collection and then see the performances during the Bolshoi's three-week
engagement there. The Archive's second major exhibition was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1990; both of
these exhibitions coincided with Bolshoi appearances and focused on the dancers appearing and on the repertoire being performed
at the time. Grell organized a third exhibition, for the La Muse Eternelle tour in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995. A fourth exhibition
in 2000 covered the Bolshoi from 1956-2000, starting with the company's first appearances at Covent Garden, London, in 1956,
and its first US tour (1959).
Sources: Press Bulletin for the International Ballet Competition, Moscow 1989 and from document accompanying the video; from
an exhibition text panel; from LA Times article, 8/12/87: The Bolshoi Ballet: One Man's Hobby, by Julie Wheelock
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of planning documents; articles by Grell; approximately 7,000 photographs; correspondence; approximately
600 programs; exhibition materials, including text panels and titles; costumes; autographed ballet slippers; posters; fliers;
brochures; noncommercial and commercial videotapes; original and noncommercial films; commercial DVDs; books; serials; newspaper
and magazine clippings; original artwork, including sketches, drawings, paintings, and costume designs; sculptures; scores
and librettos; scrapbooks; long-playing records; cassettes; commemorative medallions and buttons; portions of stages on which
companies danced; jewelry boxes; postage stamps; ephemera including ticket stubs, backstage passes, calendars, and invoices
and receipts; and handwritten notes. Materials are from all over the world where the Bolshoi, Kirov, and other ballet companies
traveled and performed; countries and continents represented include the United States, Soviet Union and Russia, Europe, Japan,
Latin America, Cuba, and Canada.
Included are materials that elucidate the Archive's history and purpose, including writings by Grell, a video and accompanying
script (entitled For the Love of Art: The Story of Dwight Grell and His Ballet Archives), various statements issued by the
Archive; and letters reflecting the appreciation civic and cultural organizations had for Grell and the Archive's work. The
photographs provide extensive coverage of Soviet and Russian ballet and its leading figures from the perspectives of performance,
portrait and candid shots, and rehearsal and instruction; in particular, the photographs provide a great opportunity to study
the work, costuming, and staging practices of Russian and Soviet ballet and of principal dancers and directors including Maya
Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Galina Ulanova, Yuri Grigorovich, and many others. Included also are rare programs from the
Soviet Union from early and mid-20th century, and rare recordings of ballets, including on Soviet record labels. The collection
contains paintings and drawings of artists such as Valery Kosorukov and Nancy Fontaine, whose works were shown in the Archive's
exhibitions. The Archive's audiovisual materials contain unique coverage of Soviet dancers learning, practicing, and discussing
their art, while its thousands of clippings, arranged by year and sorted into English and other languages, provide an opportunity
to trace critical reception of Soviet and Russian ballet.
This collection represents a broad range of subjects: Russian and Soviet Dance; choreography and costume design; and Russian
and Soviet culture, including popular culture, as reflected in programs, print materials, and photographs.
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access. Consult finding aid for additional information.
Conditions Governing Use
The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers
on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers
when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish,
quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], Grell/Colefax Russian Ballet Archive, Collection no. 0315, Music Library, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California
Acquisition
Gift of Dwight Grell, 2003.
Processing Note
Sue Tyson processed the collection in 2013, with assistance from Crispin Brooks and Libet Chang Stanhope as Russian-English
translators, and Daniel Nguyen. For those materials that were labelled and placed together or in a particular order upon
arrival, original order was maintained. Most of the collection was not in order. Sue Tyson analyzed the collection's contents
and created series based on their contents and subject matter. Those photographs that were not found together under a particular
topic or theme were arranged by subject (Performance, Portraits and Candids, and Rehearsal and Instruction), by ballet company
(Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Other Companies, and Unidentified Companies), by ballet, and by year, depending on what information
was available on the photographs; where photographs included no identifying information, they were arranged by subject.
Processing Information
The USC Libraries Special Collections unit transferred custody of the Grell/Colefax Russian Ballet Archive to the USC Libraries
Music Library on January 20, 2022. Most of the collection's box labels still list Special Collections as the holding repository.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence
Photographs
Publications
Costumes (character dress)
Ballet -- Soviet Union -- Archival resources
Videotapes
Audiotapes
Ballet dancers -- Soviet Union -- Archival resources
Ballet -- Costume
Clippings
Ephemera
Ballet -- Soviet Union -- Photographs
Ballet companies -- Soviet Union -- Archival resources
Vasilʹev, Vladimir Viktorovich -- Archives
Pliset︠s︡kai︠a︡, Maĭi︠a︡ -- Archives
Leningradskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ akademicheskiĭ teatr opery i baleta imeni S.M. Kirova -- Archives
Grell, Dwight -- Archives
Bolʹshoĭ teatr SSSR. Balet -- Archives
Administrative 393560
Scope and Content
This series contains materials concerning the purpose, functions, and activities of the Grell/Colefax Collection on Russian
ballet. Major topics in the Administrative series include documents providing an overview of the Archive and its goals; the
Archive's interactions with other civic and cultural institutions; planning documents for tours and exhibits; documents relating
to Grell's work as President of the Archive and as production assistant and liaison on various tours; writings by Grell, including
articles he wrote for the newsletter
Danceletter and the letter he wrote to Soviet Life, "To the Bolshoi Ballet from an American Admirer," and associated notes; materials
supporting various film screenings and listing the contents of various films; meeting agendas; documents concerning Sonya
Colefax; a script for a video about the Archive, entitled For the Love of Art:The Story of Dwight Grell and His Ballet Archives;
biographical information about Grell; research on ballet; and notes. A subseries, Exhibitions, contains materials concerning
the administration of exhibitions.
Box 1, Folder 1
Ambassador International Cultural Foundation Presentation of Kirov Ballet, Shrine Theatre 448261
1986
Box 1, Folder 2
American Ballet Theatre--Swan Lake 448262
1988
Box 1, Folder 3
The Bolshoi -- Big Ballet: A Company Like No Other 448263
1980
Box 1, Folder 4
Bolshoi Ballet--London Performances--Clippings, Venue Information, Itineraries 448264
1986
Box 1, Folder 5
Bolshoi Ballet--1975 Tour 448265
1975
Box 64
Bolshoi Ballet--Rehearsals 448946
1975-1977
Scope and Content
Box contains a calendar, with text in Russian, originally found in a mailer labeled "Rehearsal Sheet Paris '77 Information
Sheet Bolshoi Tour '75."
Box 1, Folder 6
Bolshoi Ballet--2000 Tour 448266
2000
Box 1, Folder 7
Bolshoi Ballet--2002 Tour 448267
2002
Box 1, Folder 8
Bolshoi Ballet--The Bolshoi on Home Video: 1953-1987 (Clipping) 448268
1987
Box 1, Folder 9
Bolshoi Ballet Documentary, WYES-TV, New Orleans 448269
1976
Box 1, Folder 10
Bolshoi Ballet Letters 448270
1985
Box 1, Folder 11
Bolshoi Photo ID Re: Soviet Weekly 448271
Undated
Box 1, Folder 12
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion--Seating Chart and Floor Plan 448272
1989; Undated
Box 1, Folder 13-15
Civic and Cultural Affiliations 448273
1985-1994; Undated
Scope and Content
Contains one program from the World Cultural Alliance. Also contains a folder from the City Hearts Performing Arts program,
which offered free "dance, music, mime, and movement classes to the children of Skid Row, the city's heart" (from the Statement
of History and Purpose included in the folder).
Box 1, Folder 16
Colefax, Sonya 448274
1939-1997; Undated
Box 1, Folder 17
Computer Files 448275
Undated
Box 1, Folder 18
Donations--Programs and Clippings 448276
1981
Scope and Contents
Contains donations to collection from Olga Smoak
Box 1, Folder 19-26
Exhibitions--Notes and Planning 448277
Undated; 1983-1990
Box 1, Folder 27
Exhibitions--Pointes of Light Student Cultural Program 448278
1990
Box 1, Folder 28
Exhibitions--Text Panels 448279
Undated
Box 113
Exhibitions--Text Panels 449047
Undated
Box 64, Box 61b
Exhibit Labels and Banners 448871
Undated
Scope and Content
Box 61 contains exhibit labels, including for the Kirov Ballet's Firebird and Scheherezade performances. Box 64 contains a
banner announcing a film screening from the film collection of Dwight Grell. See also the banners listed in Box 75.
Box 1, Folder 29
Expenditures and Receipts 448281
1994
Box 1, Folder 30
Film Screenings--From the Film Collection of Dwight Grell 448282
1970
Scope and Contents
Contains a notebook with screening dates and guest lists.
Box 1, Folder 31
Film Screenings--From the Film Collection of Dwight Grell--Theatre Vanguard 448283
1974-1977; Undated
Box 1, Folder 32
Film Screenings--Introduction of Films in Soviet Union 448284
1975
Scope and Contents
Text in English, with Russian translation.
Box 1, Folder 33
[Film Screenings?]--Title Designs 448285
[1976?]
Box 1, Folder 34
Film Screenings--Title Designs, Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre--For Film Presentation--Taken in Moscow 1976 448286
1976
Box 1, Folder 35-37
Films (Contents) 448290
Undated
Scope and Contents
Folder 1:35 lists contents of Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, Highlights A & B and of The Kirov Instructional Film. Folder
1:36 contains contents and an overview of the series The Golden Age of Russian Ballet, five films featuring clips and choreography.
Folder 1:37 contains synopses of the series Stars of the Russian Ballet, seven films dated 1976-1988.
Box 1, Folder 38
For the Love of Art: The Story of Dwight Grell and His Ballet Archives (Script) 448291
1997
Scope and Contents
Script for video by Karen M. Ziegle, for Professor Joe Saltzman, for a USC documentary class.
Box 1, Folder 39
Fundraising--Bolshoi Theatre Archive Collection 448292
1987
Box 1, Folder 40
Grell, Dwight--Appointment Book 448293
1975; Undated
Box 1, Folder 41-42
Grell, Dwight--Articles By 448295
Undated; 1974-2009
Scope and Content
Folders contain articles, clippings, and photographs.
Box 1, Folder 43
Grell, Dwight--Biography Original 448296
1986
Scope and Contents
Contains programs, an article in Russian, and correspondence found together in folder with this label.
Box 1, Folder 44
Grell, Dwight--Certificate of Appreciation 448297
Undated
Scope and Content
Contains Certificate of Appreciation for Grell's support of the Arizona Dance Guild.
Box 1, Folder 45
Insurance Appraisal--Nancy Fontaine 448298
Box 1, Folder 46
International Ballet Competition 448299
1986
Box 2, Box 154
Invoices and Receipts 448332
1986-2000
Scope and Contents
Contains a sampling of the scores of receipts and invoices originally included with the collection.
Box 2, Folder 2
Kirov Ballet Instructional Film 448333
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains material found together in bag labeled "Vaganova School Leningrad-Kirov Ballet."
Box 2, Folder 3
Kirov Ballet--Materials Concerning 448369
1999-2002; Undated
Box 2, Folder 4
Loans--Documentation 448370
2002
Box 2, Folder 5
Los Angeles Classical Ballet "Rep" Deck Cues 448387
1992-1993; Undated
Scope and Contents
Deck dues, rail cues, program
Box 2, Folder 6
Meetings--Agendas 448389
1993
Scope and Contents
Nureyev celebration.
Box 2, Folder 7-12
Notes and Planning 448390
1987-1977; Undated
Box 154, Box 2
Overview and History of the Archive 448391
1985-2000; Undated
Scope and Content
Folder contains documents that describe the purpose, mission, and history of the Archive. The folder also contains the videotape,
For the Love of Art:The Story of Dwight Grell and His Ballet Archives, a profile of Grell and the Archive. Also contains two
pictures of Dwight Grell with Sonia Colefax.
Box 66
Overview and History of the Archive--Albums 448956
Undated
Scope and Content
Box contains an album with copies of letters dating from 1974-1986; images of programs; copies of newspaper and magazine clippings;
copies of Grell's articles; signed photographs; photos of exhibitions; and other materials. The box also contains one unused
guestbook, and drafts of text, for a visit of Maya Plisetskaya and other dancers to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in
1988, and an album with photos costumes and of Grell with various dancers.
Box 149, Box 2
Photographs 448392
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains photocopies of photographs sent by Dwight Grell to Nancy Fontaine to document the Archive's holdings.
Box 2, Folder 15
Maya Plisetskaya--List of Materials Loaned to Ambassador Foundation and Brief Career Outline 448393
Undated
Box 2, Folder 16
Program of the Performance--Coronation of Nicholas & Alexandra, May 17, 1896--Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow 448394
Undated
Scope and Contents
Folder does not contain a program for this event; instead, it contains handwritten notes about a performance, an encyclopedia
article, and an envelope stating that it contained the 1896 program. This envelope was found empty.
Box 2, Folder 17
Proposal for a Museum of Russian Ballet in Culver City 448395
Undated
Box 2, Folder data_value_missing_108c7664706bb36de6e597a0654b8b3d
Research on Ballet 448396
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains encyclopedia article in Russian and text of the Corsair.
Box 2, Folder 19
Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet 448397
2001
Box 2, Folder 20
Stationery 448398
Undated
Box 2, Folder 21
Tour Schedule--Bolshoi Ballet 448403
1999
Box 154, Box 2, Folder 22
Travel Documents 448404
1994
Box 2, Folder 23
US-USSR General Exchanges Agreement 448405
1985
Box 7, Folder 3
Personal Journals 444790
Undated
Scope and Content
Contains two personal journals presumably written by Dwight Grell.
Correspondence 393611
Scope and Content
This series contains mostly correspondence written to and by Dwight Grell; also included are letters or notes to or from other
parties. Any clippings, photos, or other materials sent with the correspondence have been retained with it. Much of the correspondence
has to do with the Grell and the Archive's exhibitions, film screenings, and educational lectures; many letters are from civic
and cultural organizations thanking Grell and the Archive for their contribution. This series also contains scores of greeting
cards sent by dancers, friends, and associates. While most of these do not contain much handwritten text, some of them contain
short letters.
Box 4, Folder 3-7
1960s 431823
1966-1969
Scope and Content
Folder 4:3 contains letters and pictures found together and dated 1966-1967. Folder 4:4 contains materials dated 1967-1969.
Folder 4:5 contains greeting cards addressed to Sonya Colefax, dated 1967. Folder 4:6 contains correspondence dated 1968.
Folder 4:7 contains correspondence dated 1969.
Box 4, Folder 8-18
1970s 444576
1970-1979
Scope and Content
Folder 4:8 contains letters from 1970-1986 found clipped together. Letters are from civic and cultural organizations, including
the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center Library and Museum of Performing Arts, the Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, the Anna Pavlova Memorial Museum, the Joffrey Ballet, Sangamon State University, and others; the focus of the letters
is appreciation for the work of Grell and of the Archive. Folder 4:9 contains correspondence from 1970; Folder 4:10 from 1971;
Folder 4:11 from 1973; Folder 4:12 from 1974; Folder 4:13 from 1975; Folder 4:14 from 1975-1976; Folder 4:15 from 1976; Folder
4:16 from 1977; Folder 4:17 from 1978; and Folder 4:18 from 1979.
Box 4, Folder 19-33, Box 5, Folder 1-2
1980s 444439
1980-1989
Scope and Content
Folder 4:19 contains correspondence from 1980; Folder 4:20 from 1981; Folder 4:21 from 1982; Folder 4:22 from 1983; Folder
4:23 from 1984; Folders 4:24-4:27 from 1985; Folder 4:28 for 1986; Folders 4:29-4:31 for 1987; and Folders 4:32-4:33 from
1988. Folder 4:25 contains a set of letters from various organizations that were originally found in an envelope labeled "complete
set in exact order!" Folder 4:27 contains materials originally found in a folder labeled "Intl. Assoc. Friends of Soviet Ballet."
Folder 4:29 contains materials concerning the Moscow Ballet American Debut Tour. Folder 4:33 contains materials found in an
envelope labeled "Maya--Boston USA Tour '88." Folders 5:1-5:2 contain correspondence from 1989.
Box 154, Box 5, Folder 3-18
1990s 444430
1990-1999
Scope and Content
Folders 5:3-5:4 contain correspondence from 1990; Folders 5:5-5:6 contain correspondence from 1991; Folder 5:7 contains correspondence
from 1992; Folder 5:8 from 1993; Folder 5:9 from 1994; Folder 5:10 from circa 1994; Folder 5:11 from 1994-1995; Folder 5:12
from 1995; Folder 5:13 from 1995-1997; Folder 5:14 from 1995-2001; Folder 5:15 from 1996; Folder 5:16 from 1997; Folder 5:17
from 1998; and Folder 5:18 from 1999. Folder 5:6 contains material concerning actor Reggie Nalder, found together. Folder
5:10 includes contact sheets from photographer Nina Alovert for ballets including Chopiniana, Les Sylphides, Scherezade, and
Firebird. Folder 5:11 contains correspondence and materials concerning La Muse Eternelle. Folder 5:14 contains materials concerning
the Bolshoi/UNESCO project.
Box 5, Folder 19-24
2000s 444435
2000-2008
Scope and Content
Folder 5:19 contains correspondence from 2000; 5:20 from 2001; 5:21 from 2002; 5:22 from 2003; 5:23 from 2005; and 5:24 from
2008.
Box 154, Box 4, Folder 1-2
Undated 448495
Undated
Scope and Content
Contents of Folder 4:2 were originally included together in an envelope labeled 1968-1973; letter accompanying these is undated.
Box 7, Folder 1-2, Box 6, Folder 1-4
Greeting Cards 444577
Scope and Content
Folders 6:1-6:4 and 7:1-7:2 contain greeting cards, most of which were sent to Grell.
Photographs 393541
Scope and Content
This series contains approximately seven thousand photographs, many of which have been mounted for exhibition and many of
which are autographed. This series is divided into several subseries: Performance; Portraits and Candids; Rehearsal and Instruction;
Other Subjects; and Photographs Mounted for Exhibition. The Performance category has been divided into subseries, for Bolshoi
Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Other Companies, and Unidentified Companies. The Photographs Mounted for Exhibition subseries includes
scores of mounted photographs and photograph collages, many of them autographed, that were framed for exhibition (Grell used
gold frames and red mounting for Bolshoi Ballet images, and blue mounting and black frames for Kirov).
While many of the photographs lack identifying information, dates and/or names of dancers, ballets, choreographers, and photographers
appear on many photos. Dancers and choreographers named include Yuri Grigorovich, Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Irina
Kolpakova, Galina Mezintseva, Yuri Soloviev, Nadia Pavlova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marina Semyonova, Vakhtang Chabukiani, Galina
Ulanova, Alexander Radunsky, Asaf Messerer, Ludmila Semenyaka, Marina Semyonova, Alexander Godunov, Natalia Bessmertnova,
Raisa Struchkova, Ekaterina Maximova, Irek Mukhamedov, Nina Timofeyeva, Maurice Bejart, Maris Liepa, Andris Liepa, Natalia
Makarova, Gediminas Taranda, Leonid Lavrovsky, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Nina Anianshvili, Yuri Zhdanov, and many others. Photographers
named include Todd Lechtick, Judy Cameron, Nina Alovert, Francette Levieux, Jennie Walton, Snowden, Vladimir Pcholkin (also
known as Pchalkin), Edward Griffiths, Jane Stephen, Janet O'Keeffe, Susanne Richelle, Branco Gaica, David Sandberg, Beverly
Gallegos, Rosemary Winckley, Bliokh, John Mahoney, Sasha Gusov, A. Lidov, Dina Makarov, Judy Rogg, and Mike Humphrey.
Box 8, Folder 1
The Bolshoi Ballet (Film) 448601
1958
Scope and Contents
Contains one photograph, from The Fountain of Bakhchisarai.
Box 8, Folder 2
Bolshoi Ballet '67 (Film) 448602
1963-1967
Scope and Contents
Folder contains promotional stills as well as candid shots; it also contains a flier for a screening of the film.
Box 8, Folder 3-6
Multiple Ballets 448603
Undated; 1968-2000
Scope and Contents
Folder 8:3 contains pages from a binder with photographs from several different ballets; these contents are undated. Folders
8:5-8:6 contains a 1968 booklet of postcards featuring various dancers.
Box 8, Folder 7
Plisetskaya Dances (Film) 448604
1960
Box 8, Folder 8
Bolshoi Ballet Stars--Slides 448605
Undated
Box 8, Folder 9-28
Unidentified Ballets 444154
Undated; 1959-2005
Scope and Content
Folders 8:9-8:18 contain undated photographs featuring dancers in solo and ensemble shots. Folder 8:19 contains photographs
from 1959; 8:20 from the 1960s; 8:21-8:22 from the 1970s; 8:23-8:26 from the 1980s; 8:27 from the 1990s; and 8:28 from 2005.
Box 8, Folder 29
AIDS Hospice Benefit, Pasadena, California 448610
[1990-1991]
Box 8, Folder 30
Angara 448611
1976; Undated
Box 8, Folder 31
Anna Karenina 448612
1974; Undated
Scope and Contents
Includes numerous stills from the film featuring Maya Plisetskaya.
Box 8, Folder 34-36
Assorted Smaller Pieces 448615
Undated; 1932-2000
Scope and Contents
Folder 8:34 contains undated photographs. Folder 8:35 contains photographs dated 1932-1969. Folder 8:36 contains photographs
dated 1972-2000.
Box 8, Folder 37
Ballet School 448617
1962-1974; Undated
Box 8, Folder 38
La Bayadere 448618
1982-circa 1999
Box 8, Folder 39
Biographies of a Life / Fragments of a Life/ Fragments of a Biography 448619
1983-1984; Undated
Box 8, Folder 41
The Bronze Horseman 448621
1950-1958
Box 8, Folder 43-44
Carmen Suite 448624
1968-circa 1980
Scope and Content
Along with photographs from performances in 1968 and 1969 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Gardens, choreographed by Alberto
Alonso, Folder 8:43 includes an article from After Dark magazine entitled Two Carmens: Russian and Cuban Style, comparing
Maya Plisetskaya and Alicia Alonso in the role. Folder 8:44 contains photographs and postcards from performances from 1970-circa
1980.
Box 8, Folder 45
Chopiniana 448630
circa 1960
Box 8, Folder 46-47
Cinderella 448633
1956-1977; Undated
Scope and Contents
Folder 8:46 contains undated photos and photos from 1956-1959. Folder 8:47 contains photos from 1973-1977.
Box 8, Folder 48
Coppelia 448634
Undated; 1972
Box 8, Folder 49-50
Le Corsaire 448636
Undated; 1967-circa 1970
Scope and Contents
Folder 8:49 contains undated photographs. Folder 8:50 contains photographs dated from 1967-circa 1970. Some photographs are
dated "mid-1960s."
Box 8, Folder 51-55, Box 9, Box 155
Don Quixote 448640
Undated
Box 9, Folder 11-13
The Dying Swan 448645
1958-1987
Scope and Contents
Folder 9:11 contains an undated photograph [of Maya Plisetskaya]. Folder 9:12 contains photographs of Maya Plisetskaya in
performances dating from 1958-1974, the latter at the Shrine Theatre. Folder 9:13 contains one photograph of Alla Mikhalchenko
performing the role.
Box 9, Folder 14
Esmeralda 448646
1957-1961
Box 9, Folder 15
Etude (Liszt) 448647
1960
Box 9, Folder 16
La Fielle Mal Gardee 448648
1973
Box 9, Folder 17
The Firebird 448649
1964-1966
Box 9, Folder 18
The Flames of Paris 448650
1933-1950; Undated
Box 154, Box 9
The Fountain of Bakhchisarai 448652
Undated; 1950-1965
Box 9, Folder 21-30
Giselle 448655
Undated; circa 1950-2000
Scope and Contents
Folders 9:21-9:22 contain undated photographs. Folder 9:23 contains photographs from circa 1950-1957; Folders 9:24-9:25 from
1967 (from performances and filming in Canada); Folders 9:26-9:27 from circa 1960-1969; 9:28 from 1972-1975; 9:29 from 1986
to circa 1989; and 9:30 for 1994-2000.
Box 9, Folder 31-32
The Golden Age 448656
Undated; 1986
Scope and Contents
Folder 9:31 contains undated photographs; Folder 9:32 photographs from 1986.
Box 9, Folder 33
Hamlet (Film) 448657
1960-1979; Undated
Box 9, Folder 34
Homage to Ulanova 448658
1982-1984; Undated
Box 9, Folder 35-37
Icarus 448659
Undated; circa 1967-1979
Scope and Contents
Folder 9:35 contains undated photographs; Folder 9:36 photos from circa 1967; and Folder 9:37 photos from 1971-1979.
Box 9, Box 149
Isadora 448660
Circa 1970
Scope and Contents
Choreography by Maurice Bejart.
Box 9, Folder 39-41
Ivan the Terrible 448661
Undated; 1975-1986
Scope and Contents
9:39 contains undated photos; 9:40 contains photos from 1975-1979, as well as photos labeled as being from the 1970s; 9:41
contains photos from 1981-1986.
Box 9, Folder 42
Laurencia 448662
1956-1966
Scope and Contents
Folder contains photographs dated 1956, 1962, and 1966 (the latter a postcard).
Box 9, Folder 43-44
Legend of Love 448663
Undated; 1965-circa 1980
Scope and Contents
Folder 9:43 contains undated photographs; 9:44 contains photographs dated 1965 to circa 1980.
Box 9, Folder 45-47
The Little Humpbacked Horse 448664
Undated; 1960-circa 1970
Scope and Contents
Contains photographs from performances in Moscow and in London. Dancers featured include Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev,
Yelena Riabinkina, Boris Akimov, and Alla Shcherbinina; choreographers listed are Radunsky and Gorsky. Contains black-and-white
and color photographs from performances of version Radunksy, Moscow, featuring Tatiana Golikova, Boris Akimov, Maya Plisetskaya,
Vladimir Vasiliev, Victor Smirnov, and Alexander Radunsky, and a signed photographic portrait of Maya Samokhvalova from a
performance in Moscow. Photographer A. Lidov is credited on one photograph. Folder 9:45 contains undated photographs, most
of which appear to be from a magazine; Folder 9:46 contains photos dated 1960-circa 1970; Folder 9:47 contains undated stills
from a film version of this ballet.
Box 9, Folder 48
MacBeth 448665
Undated; 1980-1983
Box 10, Folder 1-5
The Nutcracker 448667
Undated; circa 1940-circa 1980
Scope and Contents
Folder 10:1 contains undated photos; Folder 10:2 photos dated circa 1940-1959; Folder 10:3 photos dated 1960-1969; Folder
10:4 photos dated 1970-1979; Folder 10:5 photos dated 1980.
Box 10, Folder 6
The Old Tango (Television Show) 448668
1979
Box 10, Folder 7-8
Paganini 448670
Undated; 1960-1999
Scope and Contents
Folder 10:7 contains undated photos, and Folder 10:8 contains photos dated 1960 and 1999.
Box 10, Folder 9-10
Phaedra 448673
Undated; 1973
Scope and Contents
Folder 10:9 contains undated photos; Folder 10:10 contains photos from 1973.
Box 10, Folder 11
Pharaoh's Daughter 448675
2000
Box 10, Folder 12
Porgy and Bess 448676
1984
Box 10, Folder 13
Preludes and Fugues 448677
1971-circa 1975; Undated
Box 10, Folder 14
Pro and Contra 448678
1972
Box 10, Folder 15-19
Raymonda 448679
Undated; circa 1958-
Scope and Contents
Folder 10:15 contains undated photographs; Folder 10:16 contains photos dated circa 1958-1959; Folder 10:17 photos dated 1960-1966;
Folder 10:18 photos dated 1985-1987; Folder 10:19 photos dated 1999, plus one photo dated 1990s.
Box 10, Folder 20-21
The Red Poppy 448680
Undated; circa 1950
Scope and Contents
Folder 10:20 contains undated photographs. Folder 10:21 contains one photograph dated circa 1950.
Box 10, Folder 22
The Rite of Spring / Le Sacre du Printemps 448683
Undated; 1965-circa 1972
Box 155, Box 10
Romeo and Juliet 448687
Undated; 1940-circa 1998
Scope and Contents
Folders 10:23-10:25 contain undated photographs; 10:23 holds photos signed by Vladimir Vasiliev. Folder 10:26 contains photographs
from 1940-1959, including from a filmed version. Folder 10:27 includes photos from 1960-1969, including from a 1968 film;
and Folder 10:28 contains photographs from 1973-1979, including from television and film productions in 1976 (a press release
accompanies the television shots, from a CBS Broadcast entitled The Bolshoi Ballet: Romeo and Juliet). Folder 10:29 contains
photographs from circa 1998.
Box 10, Folder 30
La Rose Malade 448688
Undated; circa 1974-1984
Scope and Content
Along with photographs, the folder also contains a sheet with quotes by Maya Plisetskaya about this piece.
Box 10, Folder 31-34
The Sleeping Beauty 448690
Undated; 1950-1975
Scope and Contents
Folders 10:31 and 10:32 contain undated photos. Folders 10:33-10:34 contain photos dated 1950-1975 (Folder 10:34 from version
Grigorovich, New York City).
Box 10, Folder 35-41
Spartacus 448693
Undated; 1962-1975
Scope and Contents
Folders 10:35-10:38 contain undated photographs. Folder 10:39 contains photos from 1962-1969; this folder also contains a
magazine article with numerous photos, entitled "Spartacus" and Plisetskaya (Ralph Parker, Dance Magazine, September 1962).
Folder 10:40 contains photographs from Paris, 1972, and 10:41 from Los Angeles, 1975.
Box 11, Folder 1-6
Spartacus 448697
1971-1989
Scope and Contents
Folder 11:1 contains photos dated 1977, taken in New Orleans; Folder 11:2 contains photographs dated 1971-1979, taken at various
locations; Folders 11:3-11:4 contain photos from performances in New York City from 1975-1979; and Folder 11:5 contains photographs
taken from 1986-1989 (some are labeled "1980s.") Folder 11:6 contains photographs from a film version; these are undated or
bear the date 1977.
Box 11, Folder 7
La Spectre de la Rose 448698
Undated; circa 1968-circa 2000
Box 11, Folder 8
Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet / Les Etoiles du Bolchoi 448699
Undated
Box 11, Folder 9
The Stone Flower 448701
Undated; 1954-1964
Scope and Contents
Some photos are dated "1960s."
Box 11, Folder 10-15
Swan Lake 448704
Undated; 1901-2000
Scope and Contents
Folders 11:10 and 11:11 contain undated photos. Folder 11:12 contains photos dated 1901-1969; the photo dated 1901 was issued
in 1965. Folder 11:13 contains photos dated 1972-1975; Folder 11:14 contains photographs dated 1977-1979; Folder 11:15 contains
photos dated 1980-2000.
Box 11, Folder 16
Les Sylphides 448706
Undated; circa 1958-1995
Box 11, Folder 17
These Enchanting Sounds 448707
Undated; 1978
Box 11, Folder 18
Tristan and Isolde 448708
Undated
Box 11, Folder 19
Walpurgis Night 448710
Undated
Box 11, Folder 20
The Bolshoi Classical Collection 448711
1999
Scope and Contents
Contains ten contact sheets of photographs taken by Todd Lechtick for September 11-12, 1999 engagement.
Box 11, Folder 21
Various Ballets 448712
Undated
Scope and Contents
Folder contains fifty-eight contact sheets from various performances.
Box 25, Box 19, Box 24, Box 26, Box 27, Box 22, Box 23, Box 20, Box 21
Mounted and Oversize Photographs 448826
Scope and Content
Boxes contain photographs from a range of ballets and exhibitions; many of these are signed, or have signatures accompanying
them on their mounting. Many of the photos have no identifying information or do not identify dancers or performances; those
in this series have been filed with it because they feature dancers from the company. Box 19 contains photographs dating in
the 1950s; Assorted Smaller Pieces; and photographs from Anna Karenina, La Bayadere, The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet
'67 (Films), Carmen Suite, Cinderella, Don Quixote, The Fountain of Bakhchisirai, and Giselle. Box 20 contains a photograph
of Alexander Godunov from La Rose Malade, as well as photographs from Giselle, The Golden Age, International Ballet Competitions,
Laurencia, Legend of Love, The Little Humpbacked Horse, La Rose Malade, The Nutcracker, Paganini, and The Red Poppy. Box 21
contains a photograph of Maya Plisetskaya in Swan Lake, as well as photos from Raymonda and Romeo and Juliet. Box 22 contains
a photograph from Sleeping Beauty, as well as photographs from Spartacus and the Stone Flower. Among the Spartacus photographs
are some of rehearsals for this ballet. Box 23 contains photographs from Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, and Walpurgisnacht. Box
24 contains mounted collages and photographs from various ballets. Box 25 contains mostly unidentified photographs. It also
contains one photograph of Maya Plisetskaya in a curtain call for Dying Swan, and an exhibit panel featuring Natalia Bessmertnova.
Box 26 contains small mounted photographs from ballets including Paganini, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker,
Spartacus, Giselle, and Swan Lake. Box 27 includes identified and unidentified photos. Ballets named include Swan Lake, Giselle,
Ivan the Terrible, and Sleeping Beauty, and the Legend of Love.
Box 38, Box 154, Box 11
Assorted Ballets 448717
Undated
Scope and Content
Folder 11:22 contains undated black-and-white and color photographs of performances in ballets including Yaroslavna, Sheherazade,
Cinderella, [Nutcracker?], Chopiniana / Les Sylphides, and Knight in the Tiger Skin. Dancers featured include Nileita Dolgyshin,
Sergei Kozodaev, Zhanna Ayupova, Veronika Ivanova, Vyacheslav Samodoruv, Stanislav Belyaevsky, Ilsa Liepa, Victor Eremenko,
Mikhail Lavrovsky, Tatiana Aryskina, Eldar Aliev, Natalia Makarova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alla Sizova, Sergei Vikulov, and
Farukh Ruzimatov. Photographs are by Nina Alovert and by unnamed photographers. Folder 11:23 contains photographs dated 1927-1992;
ballets featured include Le Corsaire, Fountains of Bakchisirai, Icemaiden, Bayaderka, Les Sylphides, Creation of the World,
The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Swan Lake, and Scheherezade. Dancers featured include Altynai Asylmuratova Zobeide, Farukh Ruzimatov,
Alla Sizova, Irina Kolpakova, Galina Mezintseva, Yuri Solviev, Nadia Pavlova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marina Semyonova, Vakhtang
Chabukiani, and Galina Ulanova. The folder also includes a miniature booklet of photographs of Galina Ulanova in various performances.
Box 11, Folder 23
Photocopies of Unidentified Ballets 448718
Undated
Scope and Contents
Photocopies in poor condition.
Box 32, Box 31, Box 38, Box 52, Box 33, Box 34
Mounted and Oversize Photographs 448844
Undated; 1993-1995
Scope and Content
Boxes 31-34 contain photographs mounted with the blue matting that Grell associated with the Kirov Ballet; some of the photographs
are identified, and many are not. Box 31 contains unidentified performance photos. Box 32 contains photographs from performances
of The Firebird at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1993, with photographs by Nina Alovert. The box also contains a sketch for a costume
design for this ballet. Box 33 contains photographs from The Firebird and from Scheherezade from 1993-1995; this box also
contains a sketch for a costume design. Box 34 contains photographs from performances of Scheherezade from 1995-1999, as well
as a sketch for a costume design. Most of the photographs in Box 52 are from Scheherezade; some of from the Firebird.
Box 28, Folder 38
American Ballet Theatre 411212
1990-1999; undated
Scope and Content
Contains one photograph of Vladimir Malakhov in Giselle, 1995; photograph by Nina Alovert. Also contains two photographs of
Alexander Godunov in Giselle, in performance of Giselle with the American Ballet Theatre in the 1990s. Also contains one color
photograph of Godunov after a performance of La Bayadere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Box 13, Folder 8
Young Ballet of Alma Ata 431416
1979; undated
Scope and Content
Contains one black-and-white photograph of B. Ayukhanov, merited artist of Kazakhstan, Young Ballet of Alma Ata, at a rehearsal;
one black-and-white photograph of the foyer of a concert hall in Alma Ata; and one photograph of former Bolshoi Ballet dancers
Leonid Koslov and Valentina Koslova in rehearsal for a 1979 performance in New York with the International Ballet of Caracas.
Box 27, Folder 5
Tbilisi Ballet 414250
1984
Scope and Content
Contains one photograph and one negative of Serenade, by Balanchine, taken by photographer Judy Rogg.
Box 28, Folder 25
Ulanova, Galina 410697
Undated
Box 24, Folder 34
Romen Theatre (Moscow Gypsy Theatre "Romen")--Photographs and Booklet 414484
Undated
Scope and Content
Contains color slides and a booklet about the Romen Theatre, also known as the Moscow Gypsy Theatre, Moscow Gipsy Theatre
"Romen," Romen Theatre, and Romani Theatre. The booklet, entitled The Moscow Gipsy Theatre "Romen," contains text in Russian,
English, French, and German; it was published by the Novosti Press Agency, USSR. The slides show scenes from various ballets,
as well as images of Nikolai Slichenko and other figures from this company and of the Sovetskaya Hotel, where the company
performed.
Box 13, Folder 7, Box 30, Box 31
Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre 431414
1960; undated
Scope and Content
Folder 13:7 contains black-and-white photographs of performances by Larisa Sakhyanova in Angara, Buryat Autonomous Republic;
Bernara Karieva, People's Artist of Uzbekistan, in Timur Malik, Alisher Navoi Theatre, Uzbekistan; and The Flames of Paris,
Novosivirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. Also contains a photograph of Alla Boguslavskaya and German Sitnikov, soloists of the
Bolshoi Theatre, in Russian national costumes, taken in 1960. Box 30 contains unidentified black-and-white photographs of
dancers in performance. Box 31 contains unidentified color photographs of dancers in performance.
Box 28, Folder 9
Moscow School of Choreography 409680
1978
Scope and Content
Contains one photograph from a performance of Coppelia staged at the Kremlin Palace, photograph by A. Makarov; and a photograph
of Marina Leonova and Alexander Bogatyrev in a performance of Pas de Deux in Moscow, 1968. Also contains a photograph from
Boris Akimov's graduation concert in 1965, in a performance held at the Bolshoi Theatre.
Box 28
Moscow Grigorovich Ballet 434943
1994
Scope and Content
Contains one photograph of Dwight Grell presenting flowers to an unnamed dancer onstage after a performance of "The Nutcracker."
The photographer was Todd Lechtick.
Moiseyev Dancers 434967
Undated
Long Beach Ballet 434680
Circa 1989
Box 28, Folder 64
Leningrad Maly Opera Theatre 414237
1962
Scope and Content
Contains one black-and-white photograph from production of Firebird, with soloists L. Markovina and A. Sidorov.
Box 28, Folder 45
Chabukiani, Vakhtang 411252
1965; undated
Scope and Content
Contains black-and-white photographs featuring Vakhtang Chabukianai performing in Othello; also includes a studio portrait
from Le Corsaire (information taken from post-it note affixed to back of photograph; the note was removed) and a photograph
of Chabukiani answering stage calls taken by E. Pesov, Novosti Press Agency, 1965.
Box 27, Folder 10
Bolshoi Theatre Choreographic School 414264
Undated
Scope and Content
Contains one black-and-white photograph by D. Sholomovich of a class held by this school in Moscow. Also contains a photograph
by L.Zhdanov of Marina Leonova and Alexander Bogatyrev in "Pakhita," from a then-upcoming tour of the Bolshoi Theatre Choreographic
School to London (1967).
Box 3, Folder 26
Ballet of the 20th Century / Bejart Ballet 421368
Circa 1975
Scope and Content
Folder contains black-and-white photographs featuring Maya Plisetskaya in rehearsal for "Bolero," Ballet of the 20th Century,
Paris, choreography by Maurice Bejart.
Box 13
[Ballet Nacional de Cuba] 434966
Undated
Scope and Content
Contains one photograph of Alicia Alonso and Azari Plisetsky in a performance of Giselle.
Box 3, Folder 63
American Ballet Theatre 431889
Undated
Scope and Content
Photographs include a portrait of Natalia Makarova, American Ballet Theatre, taken by Ken Duncan, and a photograph of an unidentified
man by a statue.
Unidentified Companies 433787
Scope and Content
Most of the photographs in this set do not have captions or any identifying information. Photographers named on some of the
photos include Edward Griffiths, Jennie Walton, Francette Levieux, Mike Humphrey, Susanne Richelle, Jane Stephen, Vladimir
Pcholkin, [A. Makarova], Janet O'Keeffe, and Judy Cameron.
Box 11, Folder 25-26
Identified Ballets 448723
Undated
Scope and Content
Folder 11:25 contains undated photographs of performances of Chippolino, Don Quixote (featuring Gennade Malhasyants in a performance
in Perm), Giselle (featuring Anna Pavlova), Ivan the Terrible, and Macbeth. Folder 11:26 contains undated photographs clipped
from magazines; ballets include Bacchante and The Firebird.
Box 11, Folder 27-34
Unidentified Ballets 448722
Undated
Scope and Content
Folders 11:27-11:33 contain undated photographs. Folder 11:34 contains photographs dating 1972-1987.
Box 29
Unidentified Ballets 448864
Undated
Scope and Content
Box contains rolled-up photographs from various unidentified performances.
Box 54, Box 55, Box 51, Box 53, Box 42
Mounted and Oversize Photographs 448865
Undated; 1974-1986
Scope and Content
Some of the photographs in Box 54 are dated 1974-1986.
Box 11, Folder 35
Mixed Subject Matter--Slides 431892
1965-1972; undated
Scope and Content
Contains color slides of unidentified dancers in performance; three slides are labeled "Ivan Sussanin." The folder also contains
slides labeled "Bolshoi Theatre" and "Hollywood Bowl" from 1965-1966, title slides from unspecified exhibitions, and proof
sheets of dancers.
Portraits and Candids 433634
Box 12, Folder 1
Bolshoi Theatre 448725
1899; Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains one black-and-white photograph of Lyubov Roslavleva in 1899, from the Moscow Press Agency, 1965, plus two undated
photographs of dancers.
Box 12, Box 154
Bolshoi Ballet 448726
1900-circa 2003, Undated
Scope and Contents
Most of the photographs in this set, picturing Bolshoi Ballet dancers and affiliates, have at least two people pictured; solo
shots have been included here in cases where the photo is the only one found in the collection of this particular person.
Folder 12:2 contains undated photographs; Folder 12:3 contains photos dated 1900-1949; Folder 12:4 photos dated 1950-1959;
12:5 dated 1960-1969; and 12:6-12:7 dated 1970-1979. Folder 12:7 contains a photo of Grell's filming partner, William Merriman.
Folder 12:8 contains photos dated 1980-1989. Folder 12:9 contains photos from the 1989 United Kingdom and Ireland tour. Folder
12:10 contains photos dated 1990-1999, and Folder 12:11 contains photos labeled "program photos," dated 1999. Folder 12:12
contains a photo of Ilse Liepa in a 2000 film. Folder 12:13 contains photos dated circa 2000-2003.
Box 12, Folder 14-15
Bolshoi Ballet--Assorted Ballets 448727
1899-1989
Scope and Contents
Folders 12:14-12:15 contain photos, often described as "posed photographs," that were taken in association with various ballets.
These include: Don Quixote, Giselle, The Little Humpbacked Horse, Icarus, The Golden Age, Raymonda, The Nutcracker, Sleeping
Beauty, La Spectre de la Rose, The Stone Flower, and Swan Lake.
Box 16, Folder 1
Bolshoi Ballet--Negatives 448804
Undated
Scope and Content
Contains one negative, of Maya Plisetskaya and Dwight Grell in Pasadena.
Box 12, Folder 16
Anianshvili, Nina 448728
1987-circa 1989
Box 12, Folder 17
Bessmertnova, Natalia 448729
Undated; 1966-1975
Box 12, Folder 18
Chabukiani, Vakhtang 448730
Undated; 1926-1935
Box 12, Folder 19
Colefax, Sonya 448731
Undated
Scope and Contents
Folder includes two copies of a print and its corresponding negative.
Box 12, Folder 20
Dimitrieva, Larissa 448732
1966
Box 12, Folder 21
Fokine, Mikhail 448733
1906
Box 12, Folder 22-23
Godunov, Alexander 448734
Undated; 1974-1988
Box 12, Folder 24
Grigorovich, Yuri 448735
Undated; 1986
Box 12, Folder 25
Lagunov, Valery 448736
Undated; 1955-1972
Box 12, Folder 26
Lavrovsky, Leonid 448737
1956-1967
Box 12, Folder 27
Lavrovsky, Mikhail 448738
Undated; 1955-1969
Box 12, Folder 28
Levashev, Vladimir 448739
1966-1969
Box 12, Folder 29
Liepa, Maris 448740
Undated; circa 1960-1981
Box 12, Box 154
Makarova, Natalia 448741
Undated
Box 12, Folder 31
Malakhov, Vladimir 448742
Undated
Box 12, Folder 32
Maximova, Ekaterina 448743
Undated; 1957-1977
Box 12, Folder 33
Messerer, Asaf 448744
Undated
Box 12, Folder 34
Mukhamedov, Irek 448745
Undated; 1987
Box 12, Folder 35
Nureyev, Rudolf 448746
Undated
Box 12, Folder 36
Pavlova, Anna 448747
1901
Box 12, Folder 37
Pavlova, Nadezhda 448748
Undated; 1973
Box 12, Folder 38-48
Plisetskaya, Maya 448749
Undated; 1955-2006
Scope and Content
Folders 12:38-12:39 contain undated photographs. Folder 12:40 contains photos from circa 1955-1958; Folders 12:41-12:43 from
1960-1969; and Folder 12:44 from 1970-1979. Folder 12:45 contains an article featuring photos of Plisetskaya entitled "Maya:
Action Portraits of Maya Plisetskaya, a Russian with a Difference" (Horizon magazine, February 1978). Folder 12:46 contains
photos from 1985-2001; those from 2001 are promotional postcards for the release of Plisetskaya's book, I, Maya Plisetskaya.
Folder 12:47 contains photos from Plisetskaya's 75th birthday jubilee (2000), and Folder 12:48 photos and programs from her
80th birthday tribute (2006). Folder 12:47 contains photographs of Plisetskaya solo and with Vladimir Putin together onstage,
at the Bolshoi Theatre. The folder also contains a photograph of Putin speaking onstage for the occasion.
Box 12, Folder 49
Semenyaka, Ludmila 448750
Undated; 1975-1986
Box 12, Folder 50
Sorokina, Nina 448751
Undated; 1960-1975
Box 12, Folder 51
Struchkova, Raisa 448752
Circa 1940-1988
Box 12, Folder 52
Timofeyeva, Nina 448753
1967-1968
Box 12, Folder 53
Ulanova, Galina 448754
Undated; 1946-1986
Box 12, Folder 54-55
Vasiliev, Vladimir 448755
Undated; 1958-1999
Scope and Contents
Folder 12:54 contains undated photos and photos from 1958-1968. Folder 12:55 contains photos from 1970-1999.
Box 12, Folder 56
Zhdanov, Yuri 448756
1950-1986
Box 12, Folder data_value_missing_b195c4007788040d4093977571e84e6f
Kirov Ballet 448757
Undated; 1899-circa 1990
Scope and Contents
Folder 12:57 contains undated photos; Folder 12:58 photos from 1899-1959; Folder 12:59 from 1960-circa 1980; and Folder 12:60
from circa 1990. Folder 12:59 also contains negatives.
Box 13, Folder 1-3
Grell, Dwight--Solo 448758
Undated
Box 13, Folder 4-15
Grell, Dwight--With Dancers and Others 448759
Undated; 1966-1999
Scope and Contents
Folders 13:4-13:8 contain undated photographs; Folder 13:9 contains photos dated 1966-1969; Folder 13:10 contains photos dated
1972-1979; Folder 13:11 photos dated 1972-1977 (and undated); Folder 13:12 dated 1985-1989; and Folder 13:13 circa 1980-1989.
Folder 13:14 contains photos dated circa 1995; and Folder 13:15 photos dated 1995-1999. Most of the photos provide no captions
or other identifying information. The photos in Folder 13:7 were originally found in a folder labeled Covent Garden. The photos
in Folder 13:8 are of Grell with Maya Plisetskaya. The photos in Folder 13:11 were found together; many of these have extensive
commentary on the back, and one mentions Grell's first exhibit, at the Regent Theatre in Westwood.
Box 16, Folder 2-3
Dwight Grell--With Dancers and Others--Slides 448805
[1971]-[1995]
Box 13, Folder 16
Multiple Solo Photographs 448760
Undated; 1926-1972
Scope and Contents
These photos were contained in an envelope with correspondence (included in this folder). Images include portraits of Marina
Semyonova, Vakhtang Chabukiani (graduation photo), and other unnamed dancers.
Box 13, Folder 17
Other or Unidentified Companies 448761
Undated; 1964-1965
Box 13, Folder 18-19
Unidentified Solo 448762
Undated; 1970-2001
Scope and Contents
Folder 13:18 contains undated photos; Folder 13:19 photos dated 1970-2001.
Box 13, Folder 20-22
Unidentified Group 448763
Undated; 1970-[1999]
Scope and Contents
Folders 13:20-13:21 contain undated photos. Folder 13:22 contains photos dated 1970-[1999].
Box 13, Folder 22
Solo/Group With Captions or Signatures 448764
Undated; 1964-1981
Box 13, Folder 41-42
Russian and Soviet 448815
Undated; 1917-1941
Box 28, Box 39, Box 40, Box 30
Mounted and Oversize Photographs 448832
Scope and Content
Box 28 contains photographs of Maya Plisetskaya. Box 30 contains a mix of indentified and unidentified photos. Identified
dancers include Marina Semyonova, Yuri Grigorovich, Galina Ulanova, Margo Fonteyn, Vladimir Vasiliev, Maris Liepa, Ekaterina
Maximova, Leonid and Mikhail Lavrovsky, and Raisa Struchkova. The box also contains photos associated with The Fountain of
Bakhchisirai. Box 39 contains photographs of Kirov and Bolshoi Ballet company dancers including Maya Plisetskaya, Galina Ulanova,
Natalia Bessmertnova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Yuri Grigorovich, and many others. Box 40 contains some portraits taken in rehearsal
and instruction settings, as well as many other photos, some identified and some not. Identified dancers include Alexander
Godunov, Vladimir Vasiliev, Yuri Grigorovich, Irek Mukhamedov, and Maya Plisetskaya; the box also contains a photo of Sonya
Colefax.
Rehearsal and Instruction 433635
Box 13, Box 154
Bolshoi Ballet 448765
Undated; 1955-circa 2000
Scope and Contents
Folders 13:23-13:24 contain undated photos. Folder 13:25 contains photos dated 1995-1959; Folder 13:26 photos dated circa
1960-1967; Folder 13:27 photos dated 1972-1979; Folder 13:28 dated 1972 (from an envelope labeled Paris '72 Francette); Folder
13:29 dated 1975; Folder 13:30 dated 1985-1989; and Folder 13:31 dated circa 1990-circa 2000.
Box 13, Folder 32-36
Bolshoi Ballet--Identified Ballets 448766
Undated; circa 1954-1986
Scope and Contents
Folder 13:32 contains photos dated circa 1960-1986; rehearsals are for Icarus, The Golden Age, Giselle, Anna Karenina, and
Ballet School. Folder 13:33 contains photos of rehearsals of various versions of Don Quixote; some photos are undated, while
others are dated circa 1967-1970. Folder 13:34 (undated, 1959-1986) contains photos from rehearsals of Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda,
The Nutcracker, Macbeth, Ivan the Terrible, Paganini, Pro and Contra, and Melody (Dvorak). Folder 13:35 (undated, 1954-1986)
contains photos from rehearsals of Spartacus, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides/Chopiniana, The Stone Flower, and Waltz (Strauss).
Folder 13:36 contains negatives from rehearsal for Swan Lake (undated).
Box 13, Folder 37
Maya Plisetskaya Conducting Master Classes in New York 448767
1987
Box 13, Folder 38
Maya Plisetskaya Conducting a Master Class, California 448768
Circa 1990
Box 13, Folder 39
Kirov Ballet 448769
Undated; 1969
Scope and Contents
Dancers featured include Yuri Soloviev, Tatiana Vecheslova, Galia Miezentseva, Igor Zelinsky, and Kaleria Fedicheva.
Box 13, Folder 40
Other or Unidentified Companies 448770
Undated; 1972-1986
Scope and Contents
One photo, dated 1972, identified then-Perm Choreographic School pupils Nadezhda Pavlova and Yuri Petukhov in rehearsal. The
rest of the photos in the folder do not identify dancers or companies.
Box 41, Box 149
Mounted and Oversize Photographs 448833
Undated; 1960-1999
Scope and Content
Box contains identified and unidentified images of rehearsal and instruction. Most are undated.
Box 14, Box 155
Assorted Figures 448789
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains a photo of Marcel Marceau and a booklet of photos featuring composer A. G. Rubinstein (1829-1894).
Box 154
Autographed Photographs 450862
Box 14, Folder 24
Costumes and Artifacts 448790
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains photographs of flowers, costumes, and artwork.
Box 14, Folder 25
Godunov, Alexander 448791
Undated; 1979-1995
Scope and Contents
Contains photographs, clippings, and other materials concerning Godunov's life and death. The folder also contains signed
photographs of Jacqueline Bissett.
Box 14, Folder 26
House on the Road (Television Film) 448792
Undated
Box 16, Folder 11
Moscow USSR Exhibition of Economic Achievement--Slides 416403
Undated
Scope and Content
Contains images of key sites and examples. Text on slide matting is in English and in Russian.
Box 14, Folder 27
Anna Pavlova Memorial Museum 445280
1974-1975
Scope and Content
Folder also contains a magazine clipping about the museum, a Pavlova Society newsletter, and text written by the museum's
curators.
Box 14, Folder 28-30
Russian and Soviet Dancers 448814
Undated; 1899-1963
Scope and Content
Folder 14:28 contains portraits and images from performances; some are undated, and others are dated 1915-1919. Folders 14:28-14:29
contain postcards with images of pre-and -post-Revolution dancers; photographs are dated 1899-1963 or are undated. Some of
the postcards have handwriting on the front or back, but most do not. Captions and handwriting are in Russian.
Box 16, Folder 12
Russian and Soviet Dancers--Slides 448810
Undated
Scope and Content
Folder contains professionally produced slides.
Box 14, Folder 31
Stars of the Russian Ballet (Film) 448795
Undated; 1955
Box 16, Folder 13
Swan Lake (Film)--Film Titles 446050
Undated
Scope and Content
Folder contains two glass slides of publicity for Maya Plisetskaya in Swan Lake, plus a wooden block naming their contents.
Box 155, Box 14
Travels and Tourism 448796
Undated; 1976-1995
Scope and Contents
Folder 14:32 contains undated photos. Folder 14:33 contains photographs dated 1976. Folder 14:34 contains photographs dated
1995, from travel in Japan.
Box 16, Folder 14-15
Travels and Tourism--Slides and Negatives 446051
Undated; 1972-1983
Box 16, Folder 16-17
Venues--Negatives and Slides 448813
Undated; 1983
Scope and Content
Folder 16:16 contains undated slides with images of the Bolshoi Theatre. Folder 16:17 contains negatives with images of the
Mariinsky Theatre; it also contains a portrait of Pavlova and a photo of unindentified dancers.
Box 50
Venues--Mounted and Oversize Photographs 448866
Undated; 1959
Scope and Content
Box contains mounted drawings of venues; images include the Bolshoi Theatre, the Old Petrovsky Theatre, the Imperial Bolshoi
Theatre fire; Inauguration Theatre Square; and others. The box also contains an oversize exhibit panel with a newspaper article
about Romeo and Juliet from the Los Angeles Times, dated 1959.
Box 65
Photograph Albums 444410
Scope and Content
Box contains four photo albums with mixed subject matter, including photos of dancers, of exhibitions and exhibition panels,
of artwork, and other topics.
Exhibitions--Photographs Of 444417
Box 14, Folder 49
Bolshoi Ballet '67 448799
[1967]
Box 14, Box 154
Debbie Allen Dance Academy 435743
Undated
Scope and Content
Folder 14:44 features photographs labeled "the collection on display at the Debby Allen Dance Center." The photographs show
the red matting and gold frames that Grell used for exhibiting photographs of the Bolshoi Ballet. Folder 14:45 shows the section
of the exhibition devoted to the Kirov Ballet, specifically their productions of Scheherezade and The Firebird; note the blue
matting and black frames that Grell used to exhibit photographs concerning the Kirov Ballet. This folder also contains images
for an homage to Galina Ulanova, as well as a note from photographer Nina Alovert.
Box 14, Folder 52
Home of Sonya Colefax 448800
Undated; 1980s
Box 14, Folder 53-54
Theatre Vanguard 448801
Undated; 1975
Box 14, Folder 55
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 448802
2000
Box 14, Folder 56
La Muse Eternelle 414051
1995
Scope and Content
Folder contains color photographs concerning the La Muse Eternelle exhibition, held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995. Several photographs
show Dwight Grell and others in the process of installing the exhibition.
Box 16, Folder 5-8
Slides 448807
Undated; 1966-1987
Scope and Content
Folders contain images of the Bolshoi Ballet, exhibition titles, and various performances and dancers.
Box 16, Folder 9
Negatives 448808
Undated; 1985
Scope and Content
Folder includes images of exhibitions, some of which were originally found in an envelope labeled Long Beach Ballet.
Box 154, Box 14
Assorted Companies 448773
Undated; 1968-1995
Scope and Contents
Contains photographs of Nureyev (Australian Ballet); Alexander Godunov (with the American Ballet Theatre); Antonio and the
Ballets de Madrid; and Maya Plisetskaya as guest performer with the Ballet de Marseilles (in La Rose Malade).
Box 14, Folder 3-8
Ballet of the 20th Century / Bejart Ballet 448774
Undated; 1974-1981
Scope and Contents
Folders 14:3-14:8 contain photographs of Maya Plisetskaya as guest artist for Bolero (14:3) and of Vladimir Vasiliev in Petrushka
(14:4-14:8). Folder 14:8 also contains two photos of Plisetskaya as guest artist in Leda.
Box 14, Folder 9
Ballets Russes 448775
1912-1916
Box 14, Folder 10
Donetsk Ballet 448776
Undated; 1989
Box 14, Folder 11
Leningrad Maly Opera Theatre 448777
1962
Box 14, Folder 12
Long Beach Ballet Company 448778
Circa 1989
Box 14, Folder 13
Moiseyev Dancers 448779
Undated
Box 14, Folder 14
Moscow Classical Ballet 448780
1980
Box 14, Folder 15
Moscow Grigorovich Ballet 448781
1994
Box 14, Folder 16
Moscow School of Choreography 448782
1968-1978
Box 14, Folder 17
Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre 448783
Undated
Box 14, Folder 18
Perm Theatre of Opera and Ballet 448784
1974
Box 14, Folder 19
Petrograd Opera and Ballet Theatre 448785
1922
Box 14, Folder 20
Romen Theatre / Moscow Gypsy Theatre "Romen" 448786
Undated
Box 14, Folder 21
Royal Ballet Company 448787
1979
Box 14, Folder 22
State Ballet of Georgia / Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre 448788
Undated; circa 1950-[1983]
Box 15, Folder 1-19
Multiple Ballets--Slides 448803
Undated; 1959-1974
Scope and Content
Folders contain slides of performances in Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl; Shrine Theatre), London, New York, Montreal, Moscow,
France, and other locations. Slides also include rehearsals and images of titles for exhibitions.
Box 149, Box 114, Box 72, Box 60b, Box 59b, Box 35, Box 36, Box 37, Box 43, Box 44, Box 46, Box 47, Box 48, Box 49, Box 56, Box 57, Box 58b
Mixed Subject Matter--Mounted and Oversize Photographs 448857
Scope and Content
Photographs in this set were mounted for display in various exhibits. They feature Kirov, Bolshoi, and other companies, and
show a range of dancers and subject matter. Some photographs appear as parts of collages, while others are shots of individuals
or groups. Many of the photographs or mounts are signed by the dancers. Box 35 contains photographs from performances by both
the Kirov and Bolshoi Ballet companies. Ballets pictured include Les Sylphides, Walpurgisnacht, the Nutcracker, Giselle, Romeo
and Juliet, La Rose Malade, Swan Lake, and Scheherezade. Boxes 36-37 contain unidentified performance photographs. Box 38
contains photographs (both performance, rehearsal and instruction, and portraits/candids), clippings, articles, proof sheets,
and notes concerning the Kirov Ballet. It also contains costume and scene designs for the Kirov Ballet. The box also contains
photos of performance from the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and from unidentified companies, photos picturing rehearsal and instruction,
and photos from the International Ballet Competition from 1985. Boxes 43-49 contain photos mounted using various materials;
some have cloth frames, while most have red velvet or matting. Many of the photos are signed. Box 43 contains photos concerning
International Ballet Competitions as well as images of the Bolshoi Theatre. Box 44 was found in a container originally labeled,
"Panels for Fadeyechev / Semenyaks, Golden Age (Bessmertnova/Mukhamedov); Panels for Ananiashvili Semizorova "Ivan" (Mukhamedov);
Panels for Mikhalchenko Bylova / Lazarev / Bessmertnova." In additions to mounted photographs from exhibitions, Box 48 contains
mounted letters written by Vasiliev and by Plisetskaya. Box 56 contains a framed newspaper clipping, from the London Times,
featuring Plisetskaya and Nicolai Fadeyechev in a production of Swan Lake at Covent Garden (1963). Box 58 contains signed
mountings that were found without their accompanying photographs attached. Boxes 59-60 contain reproductions of newspaper
articles, panels with information concerning dancers, panels regarding the Archive, and other textual panels. Box 72, which
contains mostly posters, also contains four oversize mounted, signed panels with photographs. Box 114 contains some mounted
and other unmounted photographs. It also contains a photograph with a handwritten caption by Grell: "This photo served as
an inspiration for the creation of my Russian Ballet Collection! -- D. L. G."
Box 207, Folder 2-4
Mixed prints and contact sheets added to the collection in 2021
Scope and Contents
Approximately 200 photographic prints and contact sheets.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Kelly MacLennan, February 25, 2021
Programs 393559
Scope and Content
This series consists of programs from ballet performances by various companies all over the world, in countries and regions
including the United States, Canada, the Soviet Union/Russia, Japan, Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Cuba,
Mexico, Bermuda, Argentina, and others. Materials are mostly in either English or Russian; some materials are in Japanese
or Spanish.
Box 151, Box 152, Box 147, Box 142
Box 148, Box 151, Box 141
Programs-- Non-English 450224
Publicity 444381
Scope and Content
This series consists of fliers, brochures, press releases, and other publicity for ballets, film screenings, and other ballet-related
events.
Box 2, Folder 24
Arabesque 448425
1986-1988
Scope and Contents
Originally found in box labeled "IBC [International Ballet Competition] '89 / London '89."
Box 2, Folder 25
Art Exhibition--Valery Kosorukov 448426
Undated
Box 2, Folder 26
Ballet Nacional de Cuba 448427
1959-1999
Box 2, Folder 35
Bolshoi Theatre 448455
1999
Box 2, Folder 36
Exhibitions 448456
1976-1987
Box 2, Folder 27-34
Bolshoi Ballet 448450
1968-2000; Undated
Scope and Contents
Folders 28-37 contain fliers, press releases, brochures, and other materials in English, Japanese, and Russian. The materials
in Folder 2:28 are undated; those in Folder 2:29 are from 1968-1969; those in Folder 2:30 are from 1974-1976; those in Folder
2:31-2:32 are from 1986; those in Folder 2:33 are from 1987-1989; those in Folder 2:34 are from 1990-1995; and those in Folder
2:35 are from 2000.
Box 2, Folder 37-40
Film Screenings 448457
1961-1986; Undated
Scope and Contents
Most of the publicity contained in these folders refers to screenings of films from teh Grell/Colefax collections. Folder
2:38 contains undated materials. Folder 2:39 contains one flier, for a screening of Cinderella, dated 1961. Folder 2:40 contains
publicity materials for screenings from [1972]-1977. Folder 2:41 contains publicity for screenings in 1980 and 1986.
Box 2, Folder 41
Films 448458
1989
Scope and Contents
Contains fliers for various films, including Plisetskaya Dances, Maya Plisetskaya, and films released by Kultur video.
Box 2, Folder 42
International Ballet Competition, Moscow 448459
1989
Box 38, Box 2
Kirov Ballet 448460
1989-2002; Undated
Box 2, Folder 44
Liepa, Andria 448461
2000; Undated
Box 2, Folder 45
Moscow Classical Ballet 448462
1986-1988; Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains fliers, programs, and clippings concerning this company and it tours.
Box 3, Folder 1
Other Companies 448477
1986-2002; Undated
Box 3, Folder 2
Return of the Firebird (Film) 448478
1997
Box 3, Folder 3
Venues 448479
1983
Scope and Contents
Contains two copies of a promotional card re: the 200th anniversary of the Kirov Ballet / Mariinsky Theatre.
Box 69, Box 70, Box 71, Box 72, Box 67, Box 156-193, Box 68
Posters and Photographs (oversize) 393571
Undated; circa 1960-1989
Scope and Content
Boxes contain a range of materials, including Soviet-era posters for ballets and other arts events; posters for Hollywood
movies and other films, such as Anna Karenina; posters advertising appearances by the Bolshoi, Kirov, and other companies;
posters for International Ballet Competitions; and more. Box 71 also contains oversize signed exhibiton photographs and signs
from an exhibition at Grand Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Moving Images 393675
Scope and Content
This series comprises independent and compilation films, including films made by Grell; commercial and non-commercial videotapes;
and DVDs. The films are mostly in 16-mm and 8-mm format and feature short films, sequences from ballets including Romeo and
Juliet, classroom sequences, clips of dances and of dancers in performance, and interview sequences. Films also include reels
labeled "The Ballet of the Bolshoi Archive (Parts I-III), as well as numerous canisters containing film with very few frames.
The DVDs include several from the Criterion Collection (company); film focusing on the Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet, and other
companies; Ballet Russes; Bolshoi Ballet '67; profiles of dancers; and documentaries. The noncommercial videotapes include
material concerning performances and rehearsals of the Bolshoi and of the Kirov ballets. Videos also contain material on dance
classes and documentary material concerning dancers. Many of the videotapes contain handwritten notes, some of which include
contents of the videos. Most of the videos are in the VHS, T-120 format; others are in formats including Sony L-500. Locations
listed include Moscow, Leningrad, Japan, Los Angeles and other U.S. locations, Paris, Mexico, and Buenos Aires.
Videotapes and DVDs 393553
Box 106
Commercial DVDs 393568
Scope and Content
Included DVDs from the Criterion Collection; film focusing on the Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet, and other companies; Ballet
Russes; Bolshoi Ballet '67; profiles of dancers; and documentaries. Films are mostly in English; a few are in Russian.
Box 96, Box 95, Box 90, Box 98, Box 97, Box 94, Box 99, Box 100, Box 101
Noncommercial videos 393580
1960-2000
1970-1989
Scope and Content
The noncommercial videos include material concerning performances and rehearsals of the Bolshoi and of the Kirov ballets;
videos also contain material on dance classes, and documentary material concerning dancers. Many of the video tapes in these
boxes contain handwritten notes, some of which include contents of the videos. Most of the videos are in the VHS, T-120 format;
others are in formats including Sony L-500. Locations listed include Moscow, Leningrad, Japan, Los Angeles and other U.S.
locations, Paris, Mexico, and Buenos Aires.
Box 101: Text on lid: "Bolshoi, Maryinsky beta tapes." Box contains 43 tapes. Contents include various performances from both
the Bolshoi and Kirov ballets. Several tapes concern Academy Award presentations in the 1980s. Topics also include dance classes
and rehearsals; documentary materials concerning the Bolshoi Ballet's 1959 U.S. tour; and documentary materials concerning
dancers including Ulanova.
Box 99: Contains 40 video tapes. Contents include materials concerning both the Bolshoi and the Kirov ballets. Material includes
a performance of Romeo and Juliet recorded from Japanese television in 1983. Several of the tapes focus on Maya Plisetskaya.
Box 95: Box contains 35 video tapes. Contents include tapes labelled "Fokine ballets -- Film"; tapes with handwritten titles
in Russian; tapes from various performances; and tapes whose contents are unidentified. Locations listed include Moscow, Los
Angeles, Trenton, Buenos Aires, and Mexico. Contents also include one tape entitled, "25th Olympiad Barcelona, Spain, 1992."
Box 100: Contains 29 video tapes. Performances of various ballets; tapes of classes and rehearsals; 1989 Moscow ballet competition;
a gala featuring Maximova; tapes with documentary material on Maris Liepa; a film entitled, "The Glory of the Kirov," and
one entitled, "The Glory of the Bolshoi."
Box 94: Box contains 33 video tapes. Contents include materials concerning both the Bolshoi and the Kirov ballets; locations
listed include Moscow, Japan, and the United States.Videos feature choreographers including Asaf Messerer and Yuri Grigorovich;
a UNESCO gala; clippings of dancers and performances from television shows in the United States and Japan; various performances
and rehearsals in Japan and other locations; a master class featuring Maya Plisetskaya; an exhibition tape from the 1985 International
Ballet Competition; and material from another ballet competition.
Box 96: Note left inside stated, "Gifts to Archive from Alex Stetson!" Box contains 38 video tapes. Contents include materials
concerning both the Bolshoi and the Kirov ballets. Videos feature Galina Ulanova; various ballets; and ballet competitions.
Some of the video tapes contain unidentified documentaries or other material. Locations listed include Moscow, Los Angeles,
Trenton, and Ottawa; most locations are not identified on the videotape cases.
Box 97: Contains 38 tapes in Sony L-500 and L-750 formats. Some are identified and some are not. Box cover says "Bolshoi Maryiinsky
Beta Tapes." Contents include tapes of materials featuring the Bolshoi and Kirov ballets; a tape entitled, "Alexander Godunov";
a tape entitled, "1987 Exhibition at Music Ctr."; and more.
Box 90: Contains 41 tapes. Contents include rehearsals; performances; galas; and ballet competitions (International Ballet
Competitions in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1980s; Moscow ballet competition). Box also contains boxes labelled, "Dance Collection
NYPL"; a tape labelled "Carmen w/ Maya Plisetskaya / Alexander Godunov Tribute Russian TV "; "Bolshoi Documentary from Andris
incl. Paris 1972"; and several tapes labelled with individual people's names (including Plisetskaya; Sokolov - Umrehin - Semonov;
Cvetkov - Garbouz - Desnitsky; and more). Several of the tapes bear no identifying information.
Box 98: Contains 32 tapes. Contents include a documentary about Dwight Grell entitled "The Button Maker Who Saved the Bolshoi"
and related materials; a tape entitled, "Dwight Grell Documentary 1998 by Karen Ziegler"; Parts I and II of "Ballet of the
Bolshoi Theater: A Documentary Film by Dwight Grell -- 1975"; assorted clips of performances and material on galas; and unidentified
tapes.
Box 81
Videos 449053
Scope and Content
Box contains four video tapes, one of which is unidentified. Titles on containers are: "Spartacus, Pt. I, Oct. 21, 1980";
"Spartacus, Pt. II, Oct. 21, 1980--Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow"; "Master Tape: Nadeyzhda Pavlova; Vyochislav Gordeyev: Giselle,
Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 1976." It is not clear from an inspection of the containers whether these videos are commercial or
non-commercial.
Box 200, Box 201, Box 202, Box 203
Commercial Videotapes
Scope and Contents
Box 201 : Katla et Volodia, Oratorio Ballet, True Prince, Vasiliev and Maximova Master Class, A lady with a Lap-dog lap dog,
Nina Ananiashvili One Moment in My life, Vaganova Ballet Academy, bolshoi (Russian), bolshoi theatre productions (Russian),
Variations from Ballets by Russian Choreographers Classical Heritage
Box 202 : Romeo and Juliet Bolshoi Theatre (Russian), Bold Steps A Portrait of the national ballet of Canada, Resurrection
Choreographed by Oleg Vinogradov, The Magic of the Kirov Ballet, Prince Igor (Russian)
Box 203 : The Ballet company of la scala in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Ivan The Terrible, Carmen, A great professor a great
student, Anna Karenina Ballet Series, The nutcracker, The sleeping Beauty, The nutcracker The sleeping Beauty, Chaconne Prodigal
Son, Nina Ananiashvili and international Stars Vol Nina Ananiashvili & international Stars Vol 1, Giselle, The Kirov's Ninel
Kurgapkina, Romeo and Juliet, Yuri Grigorovich, Classic Kirov Performances, Tchaikovsy's The sleeping Beauty
Box 204 : Margot Fonteyn, Backstage at the Kirov, The Bloshoi Ballet, Shostakovich's The Golden Age The Bloshoi Ballet, Ludmila
Sakharova's Class
Box 121, Box 107, Box 117, Box 122, Box 111, Box 110, Box 116, Box 115, Box 144, Box 109, Box 108
Assorted Films and Supplementary Materials 449050
Undated; circa 1970-1985
Scope and Content
Box 107: The materials in Box 107 were originally housed in one container; contents have been placed in three boxes (107:A
- 107:C). Within these boxes, reels have been numbered A-E. Boxes 107:A and 107:B contain a total of seven reels of Super
8 film; text on containers lists contents as "Shopping downtown"; "Interview Press"; "[Test] Exhibit & Shopping"; "Natasha
in Street Clothes"; "Press luncheon"; and "TV Interview Natasha." Some of the writing on the containers is illegible. The
contents of Box 107:C, a 7" 8 mm reel, are unidentified. Reels 107:A and 107:B were originally found in the same canister;
these are 12.5"-reels of 16 mm film. Note accompanying Reel 107:A has text, "Nadia-Giselle-Wings. Front. Beauty - K & V. Cinderella
- K & V. Ivan - Wings. Spartacus - Wings." This note is now in Folder 107:1, Sleeve 1. Note accompanying Reel 107:B has text,
"[Cpartak?] - Nadia & Yuri. Stone Flower." This note is now in Folder 107:1, Sleeve 2. Inferring from the note accompanying
Reel 93:B, "K & V" refer to "Katya and Volodia"; the latter note is in Folder 107:1, Sleeve 2. The text on the original canister
for Reel 107:C (16-mm film) identified its contents as "Ballet Miniatures Reel I 1960." Reel 107:D (16-mm film)'s original
canister contained a portion of a mailing envelope with the text, "Lutinent Rije, Vasiliev & Struchkova, Tania Papko"; this
document is included in Folder 107:1. The original container for Reel 107:E (16 mm) included a label identifying its contents
as "Romeo and Juliet II"; it also contained a slip of paper with handwritten text in Russian, presumably identifying the film.
Both supplementary materials are included in Folder 107:1, Sleeve 3. Reels 107:F and 107:G were originally found together
in one canister; the contents of these 12.5", 8mm reels are unidentified.
Box 108: In Box 108, Reel A is a 16 mm film entitled, "Bolshoi Ballet - 'America Applauds Soviet Ballet"; duration circa 35
minutes. See also Folder 1, which contains a mailing envelope contained in the original film canister and photocopies from
the original film canister's label. Reels B and C were are 16-mm films that were originally contained in one canister. One
reel is 15" in diameter and is labeled, "Reel I: Ballet Miniatures." The second reel has no identification. See also Folder
2 for a note included in the original canister from Larisa Alekseycluik to Dwight Grell, dated 1987; the note mentions that
choreographer Leonid Jakobson's spouse [Trina?] had requested that she send the films to Grell. The original canister identified
the contents of this 14", 16-mm film as "Romeo and Juliet I"; the card with this information has been included in Sleeve 1,
Folder 3. The reel also includes a short strip of 16-mm film with "Kirov Ballet Noir" written at its head. Reels E, F, and
G are 16-mm films that were included in the same container as Reel D; however, it is not known whether these reels are continuations
of Reel D. Reel E was accompanied, in its original container, with a sheet with text reading "Reels 13-14-15-16"; Reel F was
accompanied by a sheet identifying its contents as "reels 17-18-19-20"; and Reel G with one identifying its contents as "Reels
21-22-23-24." These sheets are now included in Folder 3.
Box 109: Reels A-G are 16-mm films. Reels A and B were originally contained in one canister. Contents listed on an index card
accompanying the canister are: "Silver Reel. 1. Swan Lake color clips from the old film -- Maya and Kolya. 2. Bolshoi Theatre
Swan Lake performance preparations -- no dancing. Glimpses of Cherkasskaya, Levashev, Tomofeyeva, Ulanova, Bessmertnova &
Zureatias." The index card is now housed in Sleeve 1, Folder 1, which also contains a photocopy of the original canister.
Reel C was originally contained in a box with writing on the cover: "Excerpts from Swan Lake, Bolshoi Ballet, Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow. With Prima Ballerina Assoluta Maya Plisetskaya." Reel D has the following text written on its header: "William Merriman
'Ballet'." Reels 94:E-94:G contain reels labelled "1-2-3-4"; '5-6-7-8"; and "9-10-11-12" respectively; the latter reel was
accompanied by an invoice identified as, "When the Spirit Soars in Flight." These identifications are included in with the
supplementary materials in Folder 1. These reels may or may not belong with reels numbered "13-14-15-16" (Reel E), "17-18-19-20"
(Reel F) and "21-22-23-24" (Reel G) in Box 108. Boxes 1 and 2 contain unidentified 16-mm films; Box 1 contains one 4.5" film
and Box 2 contains one 6.5" film. Boxes 3 and 4 contain a total of six 3" 8-mm films. One is identified as "Intermission T.E.";
one as "Spartacus T.E."; one as "Fin T.E."; one as "Sleeping Beauty T.E."; and one as "Bolshoi Int. Romeo."
In Box 111: Boxes A-C and F-H each contain four 3-inch reels of 8 mm film. Most of these reels provide no identifying information,
some have only letters of the alphabet on their cases, and many contain strips consisting of very few frames. Contents named
on reel cases include Cinderella (A); "Nut -- good" [Nutcracker?] (B); "Bolshoi Interior," "Bolshoi Exterior," and "New Titles"
(F); "Credit -- good" (G); and "Prologue Extra" (H). Box D contains two 3-inch 8 mm film reels, one of which contains the
text "Nut -- bad" on the cover. This box also contains one four-inch reel of 16 mm film labelled as "H.V.F.L w/o #2056-010
16 mm mag copy / heads." Box E contains one 3" reel of 16 mm film entitled, "Bolshoi Class Footage -- Vlasova -- 1 1/2 min.
-- Color -- No Sound." Box I contains three 3-inch 8 mm film reels. Text on cases includes "Cinderella TV"; "Don Q -- Bessmertnova
& Gordeyev"; and "Beauty Curtain Call Nina." Box J contains two 3-inch 8 mm film reels, one with the text "Collection Here"
on its case; this box also contains several loose strips of 8 mm film. Reel K consists of very few frames of 16-mm film. According
to an index card found in the film's original container, the reel contains black-and-white clips, with contents described
as, "1. Maya -- Humpbacked Horse; 2. Spartacus Old Version Ryzhenko - Vasiliev - Plisetskaya; 3. Laurencia - V. Chabnukiani;
4. Spartacus - Grigorovich - Vasiliev - Lavrovsky; 5. Finale - Competition Film." This index card is contained in Folder 2.
The contents of Boxes A-E and for F-J were originally housed in separate film canisters, each with address labels containing
brief instructions for film production tasks; photocopies of these labels are contained in Folders 1 (Boxes A-E) and 2 (F-K).
Folder 1 also contains the original box identifying the contents of Box E.
Films 115A, 115B, and 115C were originally contained together in one suitcase. Films 115A and 115B were contained together
in another suitcase. All are 16-mm films. The original canister for Film 115A, a 16-mm film approximately 9" in diameter,
contained an index card listing the reel's contents as follows:
"1. Competition Film -- with Break. Balance -- Original Prints. 1. Makarova -- Sylphides. 2. Maya -- Carmen. 3. Volodia -
Spartacus. 4. Bessmertnova - Giselle." This card is now located in Folder 91:1, Sleeve 1.
Written on the Reel 115B's header is the text, "Ballet" "Head B-Wind S. O. F. B & W Pos. Print." Film has a number, covered
by tape. 16-mm film, 370 ft., approximately 10 minutes long. The film's original canister also contained an index card with
the text, Yeleana Yanson-Manizer. Sculptress. The Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre. From the collection of Dwight L. Grell";
this card is now filed in Folder 115:1, Sleeve 2. An index card accompanying Reel 115C contains the following text: "Maya
-- Continued. Raymonda & Prokofiev Ballets." This card is contained in Folder 115:1, Sleeve 3.
Box 116 contains 8-mm films that were originally housed together. The reels' containers identified the films as Elmo 360 m.,
1200 ft. Folder 90:1 contains photocopies of the boxes that originally contained Film Reels A-F and H. The contents of the
reels are as follows: Reel A -- "I. Sleeping Beauty -- Katya & Volodia II. Cinderella -- K & V III. Spartacus -- Katya
& Volodia." Reel B -- "The Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, Part Three -- Bolshoi Ballet Pas de Deux Sequences & Copy of Messerer
Class #2." Reel C -- "The Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, Part Two -- copy"; note: "Copy 'Giselle' rehearsal -- Nadya & [Slova]"
Reel D "The Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, Part One -- copy" Reel E -- "Don Quixote" 1. Nadya 2. Katya & Volodia. Reel F
-- "The Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, Part Four -- Giselle -- Luda and Volodia." Reel G -- no identification. Reel H -- "Ivan"
Paris '77 Opera House -- Luda & Volodia"
Films 117A and 117B are approximately 15" in circumference, for a running time of 50 minutes. The films are unidentified;
the original canisters had cards taped on the front with text, "Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre." These reels are now housed
together in one canister.
Box 121 contains twelve films that were originally contained together in a large plastic tub. Boxes A-B, D-G, and I-K contain
16-mm films on 7" reels; some of these films were accompanied by identifying information, which is reproduced in this Note.
The original container for film A contained an index card identifying its contents as " 'Spirit Soars in Flight ' 1. Classroom
sequences. 2. Maximova - 'Nutcracker.' 3. Maximova - 'Giselle' 4. Riabinkina - 'Queen Swan'." This card is now contained in
Folder 1, Sleeve 1. Film 66B was originally accompanied by a note from Temple University identifying it as "... the 'original
print' of 'Swan Lake." The original canister for this film identifies the contents as "Fragments Act II 'Swan Queen Variation,'
Marina Semyonova"; "U.S.S.R. 'Swan Lake' original print." The note and a photocopy of Film B's original canister are contained
in Folder 1. The original container for Film D contained an index card identifying its contents as "1. Interview - PBS Dwight
- New Orleans re: Natasha & Misha 2. Scene de ballet - 'Angara' Bessmertnova - Vasiliev 3. Scene de ballet - with '[Siberova]'."
The film reel itself is marked, "#3." The index card, along with photocopies of the front and back of the original film canister,
are included in Folder 1. Film E is marked "#4"; a photocopy of the front of its original canister is contained in Folder
1. Film F is identified by writing on the film itself as "Russian Winter (colour)"; an index card accompanying the film's
original canister identifies the film as "Russian Winter - clip of Maximova 'Don Q'." This index card is included in Folder
1, Sleeve 1. Film G is identified on the head of the reel as "Ballerina Bibisara Beishenalieva. A Phoenix Film"; a note found
in the film's original container further identifies Beishanalieva as "Prima Ballerina, Kerghiz [sic] Opera & Ballet Theatre,
[Frunzl?], People's Artist of the U.S.S.R."; this note is included in Folder 1. Film I was accompanied by a mailing label,
included in Folder 1, Sleeve 1, identifying its contents as "The Ballet Spartacus." Film K was originally contained in a canister
identifying it as "Yanson Manizer, The Sculptress. Withdrawn. from stock." This reel consists of very few frames of film.
Folder 66:1 contains the mailing label and photocopy of the front of the original canister. Box C contains one 35-mm film.
The film was found in a package with the text "Trailer for 'The Little Humpbacked Horse'" and "1x 35mm short safety film 'Ballet'
for educational purposes (school)"; this textual material is now located in Folder 1. Box H contains one 3" reel of 16-mm
film identified as "Ballet," and one 2.5" reel of unidentified 8-mm film. Along with the supplementary materials already listed,
Folder 1 contains two index cards and portions of two mailing labels that also were found along with the films in Box 121;
presumably, these materials accompany the films. One card has the text, "1. Spartacus - Old - Maya & Bejak - color. 2. 'Swan
Lake' - Maya - B&W from documentary on 1959 Bolshoi first tour of U.S.A." The other card has the text, "3. 'Dying Swan' incomplete
Alla Ossepenko - Kirov 4. Unknown ballet dancers in color clip, a gavotte?" The cards are included in Sleeve 1. One of the
mailing labels describes the contents as "sound film 16 mm 'Bolshoi Ballet'"; the other includes the text, "Katchaturian Rome
- Liepa Kastkina Ryzhanko" on the back.
The film in Box 122 was originally housed in a box with the text "Filmove Laboratore Zavod Gottwaldov Zvukova Kopie" and "The
Bolshoi Ballet" on it; this 12.5", 16-mm film is otherwise unidentified. The box carried the barcode 31275049130546.
Most of the the following reels are undated; several reels are dated in the 1970s.
Box 110 contains assorted 400-foot 8-mm and Super 8 films. Where identifying information was available on film reels or their
containers, it has been included, either in sleeves accompanying individual film boxes or on the containers themselves. Titles
listed include Cinderella (two reels); Ivan the Terrible (Acts I and II, Bolshoi Ballet, undated, three reels); Giselle (rehearsal
and dressing room scenes, Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow, 1976-1977, two reels); Sleeping Beauty (Act II, Bolshoi Ballet, one reel);
Spartacus (one reel); Messerer Class I (one reel); The Bolshoi Ballet, Paris '72 (one reel); Class--E. Gerdt and Fragments
from Asaf Messerer's Ballet School (one reel); Bayadurka / Fragments--Pas de Deux, Swan Lake / Pas de Deux Class / Pas de
Six -- The Nutcracker (one reel); Fragment -- Giselle and Complete Le Corsaire (Leningrad-Kirov Ballet School on stage Kirov
Theatre, Leningrad, one reel); and three unidentified reels. Films also include one entitled "All Maya" with material from
performances of Don Quixote and of Raymonda at the Metropolitan Opera and of Swan Lake at the Hollywood Bowl, both in 1966.
One film reel was identified on its container as "Giselle, Act II" but as "Spartacus" elsewhere on the box and on a slip inside
the container (Bolshoi Ballet). Box also contains one film entitled "Bolshoi Museum, Moscow" (one reel) and four film container
boxes that had only empty reels in them; these were retained because they had identifying information that may apply to materials
found elsewhere in the collection.
Box 120 contains 19 Super 8 and 8-mm films, 18 of which are 200-foot reels. Titles include Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker,
Samokhvalova Class, Flames of Paris, and Don Quixote; box also includes reels with footage from classes, scenes from Giselle,
and more.
Box 118 contains 15 Super 8 films, many of which are minimally identified. Titles on containers include Bolshoi Theatre exterior
Winter Season '81-'82; Rosarukov; Maya [Exuirix?]; Spartacus; Coronation Boris; and Gavotte -- R & J.
Box 119 cpntains nine 3-inch Super 8 films and 4 short 16-mm films that were found together in a bag. The 16-mm films were
not enclosed in containers and have no identification; one of these was found severly bent out of shape. Titles on the Super
8 containers include Maya exhibit, Bolshoi Museum, Bolshoi int. Ivan c[urtain] call, Misha Mom Rep Paris '77, Gavotte Original,
Anna K. Exhibit, and Coronation Boris.
Box 144 contains a 7-inch reel whose original box was labelled
The Bolshoi Ballet: Excerpts from Swan Lake with Prima Ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.
Box 125
Filmstrips 433998
1975; undated
Scope and Content
Contains eight filmstrips concering the Bolshoi Ballet and some of its dancers, including Maris Liepa and Maya Plisetskaya.
Text is in Russian.
Serials 393673
Scope and Content
This series includes extensive runs as well as individual issues of various periodicals. Well-represented in the collection
are titles including Danceletter, Soviet Weekly, and Soviet Life.
Box 145
Arthur Rubinstein 450664
n.d.
Box 145
Ballet Folklore of Mexico 450666
n.d.
Box 145
Children's Films 450670
n.d.
Box 145
I Am A Dancer - Nureyev 450659
n.d.
Box 145
About the House 450660
1987; 1988;
Box 145
American Ballet Theatre 450662
1947; 1950; 1973; 1976; 1978; 1983; 1989;
Box 145
The Australian Ballet 450663
1970
Box 145
Ballet Review 450668
1975-1976
Box 145
Bolshoi Ballet 450669
1980
Box 145
Coast - FM 4 Fine Arts 450671
1971
Box 145
Dance Australia 450675
1986; 1989; 1990
Box 145
Dance & Dancers 450673
1967; 1972
Box 146, Box 145
Dance Magazine 450679
1968; 1970; 1971; 1973; 1974; 1976; 1978; 1979; 1983-1989; 1990-1994; 2004-2005
Box 146
Dance News 450698
1968; 1970; 1973; 1974; 1976; 1977
Box 146
Dance Perspectives 52 450701
1972
Box 146
English National Ballet 450702
1989
Box 146
Entertainment the Tribune 450706
1988
Box 146
Greek Theatre 450707
1978
Box 146
The Hollywood Reporter 450710
1974; 1981
Box 146
International Ballet Competition - USA 450711
1980
Box 146
Los Angeles Times 450718
1984; 1988
Box 147, Box 195, Box 196, Box 197
Miscellaneous Serials 450840
Box 146
National Ballet of Canada 450719
1974
Box 146
National Geographic 450722
1978
Box 146
National Magazine of Entertainment 450723
1973
Box 146
The Newsletter of the International Dance Alliance Ltd. 450694
1987
Box 146
The Old Couple 450726
1993
Box 146
The Paris Opera Ballet 450727
1988
Box 207, Folder 1
Performances Magazine
2012-06
General
"Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center." Bolshoi Ballet - Swan Lake.
Box 27
Playbill 414487
1959
Scope and Content
Contains one issue from 1959, focusing on the Bolshoi Ballet.
Box 146, Box 147, Box 27
Performing Arts 408423
1970-1971; 1972; 1974; 1975; 1987; 1988; 1989; 1991; 1992; 1993;
Scope and Content
San Francisco/Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Southern California editions. Cover of 1986 edition is signed.
Box 147
The San Diego Union 450736
1988
Box 147
Saturday Review 450732
1968, 1975
Box 147
Soviet Era Magazine 450733
1969-1970
Box 42, Box 22
Soviet Weekly 421365
Scope and Content
Folder 3:22 contains a greeting written by Maya Plisetskaya to the Soviet Weekly's readers in London; text is in Russian.
Box 42 contains issues of Soviet Weekly.
Box 147
Sports Illustrated 450735
1998
Box 147
Time Magazine 450737
1965; 1985; 1988; 1989
Box 148, Box 147
Theatrical Pages 445045
1994-1996
Box 148
Interview Only 450789
1980
Box 150
Serials -- Non-English 450776
Books 393551
Scope and Content
The collection contains several published books concerning Russian and Soviet Ballet, with a focus on the Bolshoi Ballet and
including titles by Maya Plisetskaya, Valery Lagunov, Sol Hurok, and George Zoritch. This series also includes scores, librettos,
and scrapbooks, and materials concerning and excerpts from George Zoritch's autobiography, Ballet Mystique.
Box 75
Scrapbook 393610
Scope and Content
Box contains one scrapbook with newspaper clippings, photographs, and other materials. The box also contains two textiles:
A banner for La Muse Eternelle, and one for the Bolshoi Ballet's 200th anniversary.
Box 91
Scores and Librettos 393556
Scope and Content
One of the items in this box is a handwritten libretto by R. K Schedrin [Plisetskaya's spouse], found together with a program
for Gogol's Dead Souls.
Artifacts, Memorabilia, and Ephemera 393536
Scope and Content
This series includes pieces of stages on which ballets have been performed; commemorative medallions and coins; postage stamps;
jewelry boxes; ticket stubs; buttons (information artifacts); and calendars.
Box 78
Pieces of Stages 393562
Scope and Content
Note on Box Lid states, "Bolshoi Ballet closed -- the old met in '66." Box contains an autographed section of the Bolshoi
Theatre stage; floor boards from the Old Metropolitian Opera House, New York City; and a piece of a proscenium arch [Old Metropolitan
Opera House, New York City].
Box 153, Box 194
Statues 393612
Scope and Content
One statue is approximately two feet high, with patina. Inscribed on it is the text, "CCCP 1974." The statue in Box 194 is
a white ceramic ballerina with an acrylic base which has been broken off from the statue.
Box 48, Folder 29
Postage Stamps, Soviet Union 421813
1961-1962
Scope and Content
Contains twenty-six Soviet postage stamps from 1961-1962.
Box 155
Ephemera-- Hawaii and Polynesia 450868
Box 55
Jewelry Boxes 421869
undated
Scope and Content
Contains five Russian jewelry boxes of varying sizes. The boxes are in the Khokhloma style, each with some Russian-language
writing on the artwork on their lids.
Box 92, Box 73
Coins, Medallions, and Jewelry 431307
1981; undated
Scope and Content
Box 73 contains a commemorative medal honoring Yuri Grigorovich; medallions; and several buttons (informational artifacts).
Box 92 contains six commemorative coins, medallions, and jewelry. Three coins feature an image of Maya Plisetskaya (one of
these is a duplicate); one medallion features an image of the Bolshoi Theatre, with the dates 1776-1976 on one side; one brooch
features images of three dancers; one medallion is dated Moscow, 1981. Text on all of these pieces is in Russian. Box 18,
Folder 2 has a certificate for a commemorative medal honoring Yuri Grigorovich.
Box 64
Calendars--Oversize 434964
1987-2002
Box 18, Box 17
Assorted Items 448818
Undated
Scope and Content
Box 17 contains a conductor's baton, a feather (perhaps from a costume), buttons (informational artifacts), and numerous backstage
and other passes. It also contains a wall decoration. Box 18 contains bookmarks, postcards, small calendar pages, book covers,
a folder with illustration, business cards, ticket stubs, a certificate for a commemorative medal honoring Yuri Grigorovitch
(1994), and a scrapbook page with photographs.
Box 74
Slide Viewer 449036
Undated
Scope and Content
Box contains a slide viewer, projector, and splicer.
Box 124
Slide projector and carousel 449052
Costumes, Costume Accessories, and Textiles 393537
Scope and Content
This series includes costumes worn by dancers; autographed ballet slippers and toe shoes; and wall hangings and banners. Many
of the ballet slippers and toe shoes are in very poor condition.
Box 88, Box 82, Box 89, Box 83, Box 86, Box 87, Box 84, Box 85
Costumes 393561
Scope and Content
Boxes contain costumes worn by dancers. Box 82 contains two unidentified jackets. Box 84 contains a pink costume worn by Maya
Plisetskaya in La Rose Malade. Box 83 contains a two-piece outfit consisting of a shirt/leotard and skirt. Box 85 contains
a purple dress worn by Plisetskaya. Boxes 86, 87, and 89 contain unidentified dresses (one per box); Box 88 contains one unidentified
jacket.
Box 199, Box 205, Box 61a, Box 60a, Box 58a, Box 59a
Ballet slippers 393565
Scope and Content
Boxes contain men's and women's ballet slippers and toe shoes, almost all of which are autographed by the dancers. Most of
these are in very poor condition. Many of the boxes contain notes stating the names of the dancer who wore them and the ballet
for which they were used.
Box 45
Wall hanging commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Bolshoi Theatre, 1976. 393576
Box 45
Banner, La Muse Eternelle exhibit, 1995 393577
Audio 393676
Scope and Content
This series comprises approximately 120 commercial long-playing records covering a range of ballets; many of these were produced
in the Soviet Union. This series also includes cassettes and compact discs with ballet-related content; some of these appear
to be commercial and many do not. Some recordings include interviews.
Box 104, Box 103, Box 105, Box 102, Box 107
Commercial LPs 393574
Scope and Content
Recordings include various ballets; some of the records were produced in the Soviet Union. Along with other albums, Box 107
contains two recordings of "The Ballet"; these lps were originally included with the films in Box 93.
Box 93, Box 81
Cassettes and Compact Discs 393583
Scope and Content
Box 81: Box contains audio tape of Bolshoi Theatre performance; one tape with unidentified content; and two with portions
of Swan Lake.
Box 93: Some of these recordings appear to be commercial, and some do not. Recordings also include interviews. Contents include:
[Side A] Tais/Flames of Paris; [Side B] "Documentary"--Cassette tape; Side A: Gisele--Conclusion #3; Side B: no title--Cassette
tape; Side A: Bolshoi Theatr and Dwight at the Bolshoi Museum / Side B: no title--Cassette tape; Sides A and B: Ivan the Terrible
/ Ecole de Ballet / Don Quixote / Gypsy Dance and Rose Malade--Cassette tape; Side A: Ivan the Terrible / Bolshoi Ballet /
Metropolitan, New York [May 5, 1975]; Side B: Ivan the Terrible -- Conclusion / Rose Malade / Ecole du Ballet -- Don Quixote.
[September 17, 1974]--Cassette tape; Side A: Bessmertnova and Lavrovsky Interview for Figaro, Oct. 26, 1977, Part I; Side
B: Part II--Cassette tape
Side A: Sleeping Beauty, Bolshoi, Metropolitan, New York. Semenyaka, Part I. Side B: Part II--Cassette tape
Side A: Sleeping Beauty -- Conclusion; Gisele -- Bolshoi, Metropolitan, New York. Bessmertnova, Lavrowski, Sorokina. Part
I. Side B: Gisele, Part II.--Cassette tape
Side A: Dwight Grell -- Interview of Trip to Moscow and Leningrad, Xmas 1983/1984; Side B: no title--Cassette tape
Side A: Interview with Dwight Grell re: Archives; Side B: no title--Cassette tape
Side A: Interview in Paris, April 20, 1977, Vladimir Vassiliev (Olga Smoak); Side B: continued--Cassette tape
Side A: Ivan the Terrible, Bolshoi, 5-1-76; Side B: no title--Cassette tape
Live from the Bolshoi: Raymonda. Aleksandr Glazunov. Complete Perfornance. The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra conducted by Algis
Zhuraitis.--Compact Disc
Le Corsaire. Adam. English Chamber Orchestr. Richard Bonynge--Compact Disc
Red Giselle. Eifman Ballet Production Soundtrack--Compact Disc
Ballet Suites: The Seven Beauties. The Path of Thunder. Kara Karayev. Moscow Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. Rauf Abdullayev--Compact
Disc
Bolshoi Theatre. Black Swan--Pas de Deux--Complete. Swan Lake--Act II--Complete. Walpurgisnacht--Complete--Compact Disc
Bolshoi Theatre. Compilation --Don Quixote, Acts I, II, III. Le Corsaire, Pas de Deux -- Complete--Compact Disc
Bolshoi Theatre. Bayadereka -- Act III. Sleeping Beauty -- Act III--Compact Disc; and four compact discs identified only with
the designations "No. 4," "No. 5," "No. 6," and "#7th."
Box 200: The Swan Lake (Complete), Leon Minkus Don Quijote, Schitschedrin The Lady With The Lapdog Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Moscow, Kachaturian Gayaneh Complete Ballet, Nikolay Tcherepnin Le Pavillon d'Armide, Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, Shchedrin
Carmen Suite, Minkus/Lanchbery La Bayadere, Tchaikovsky the nutcracker, Spartacus, Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, Schedrin Anna
Karenina,Prokofiev The Tale of the Stone Flower, Prokofiev Ivan The Terrible, Tebaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty, Scheherazade
Borodin Polovtsian Dances Beecham, Shostakovich the golden age, Giselle
Subject Files 444377
Scope and Content
Subjects include Art and Artwork Concerning Dancers, which contains drawings, sketches, paintings, sculptures, and photographs
of artworks by artists including Nancy Fontaine and Valery Kosorukov; documents concerning Alexander Godunov's life and death;
mixed materials concerning International Ballet Competitions;
Artwork About Ballet and Dancers 393550
Scope and Content
See also Folder 27:20 for artwork by Nancy Fontaine depicting dancers, including Maya Plisetskaya. See also Box 64 for photographs
of statues of dancers; of an unnamed sculptor at work; and of sculptures in various stages of completion.
Box 76, Box 77, Box 45
Drawings and Sketches 410670
Undated; 1984-1999
Scope and Content
Box 45 contains line drawings and sketches of Maya Plisetskaya that were found together, some of which were signed and dated,
mostly by an artist with initials [BW]. The box also contains undated, rolled-up drawings of Plisetskaya and of [Mikhail Lavrovsky].
Boxes 76 contains an oversize drawing of Plisetskaya, and Box 77 contains an oversize drawing of Vasiliev by Nancy Fontaine.
This box also contains drawings of Ulanova, Semenyaka, and Bessmertnova by Kosorukov.
Photographs 410671
Undated
Scope and Content
Folder 3:3 contains five color slides of portraits of Maya Plisetskaya. The folder also contains the box that originally housed
these slides, with text, "Maya Portraits Docktorman." Folder 3:69 contains photographs of figurines depicting female dancers
and one photograph of a bust of Maris Liepa. Folder 27:4 contains color photographs of artwork depicting dancers. The folder
also contains a photograph of a statue of a dancer. Folder 28:15 contains twelve negatives.
Box 63, Box 62
Mixed Materials 448874
Undated; 1997-1999
Scope and Content
Box 62 contains drawings, sketches, art postcards, and photographs featuring various dancers, including Plisetskaya and Natalia
Bessmertnova. The folder also contains textual material accompanying some of the artwork. Some of the materials werer originally
found together in a leather portfolio labeled Portfolio I. The box also contains children's drawings. Where items were originally
batched together, they have been placed in individual folders. Box 63 contains production sketches for Don Quixote; a sketchbook
with facsimiles of Sergei Eisenstein's sketches for film (1967); and sketches and drawings of dancers.
Box 3, Folder 4
Academy Awards 448480
2001-2004
Box 3, Folder 4-5
Art Festivals, USSR 448481
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains booklets concerning art festivals.
Box 3, Folder 7-9
Artwork about Ballet and Dancers 448482
1966; 1984-1985; Undated
Scope and Contents
Folder 3:7 contains a flier for a show featuring Valery Kosorukov, as well as signed sketches by other artists. Folder 3:8
contains signed drawings. Folder 3:9 contains photographs of a painting and then sculptures.
Box 3, Folder 10
Ballets Russes Celebration--New Orleans, Louisiana 448483
2000
Box 3, Folder 11
Choreography and Choreography Instruction--United States 448484
1994-2000; Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains fliers, business cards, and clippings.
Box 3, Folder 12
A Conversation with Bolshoi Dancer Vladimir Vasiliev 448485
Undated
Scope and Contents
Unedited transcript of interview to be included in the book In Good Company by Salli Stevenson.
Box 3, Folder 13
Godunov, Alexander 448486
1995
Scope and Contents
Contains a program of a performance of Giselle dedicated to "Sasha" Godunov. Text is in Russian and English.
Box 3, Folder 13-25
International Ballet Competitions 448487
1977-2001
Scope and Contents
Folders contain brochures, clippings, photographs, programs, fliers, notes, writings, and other materials concerning International
Ballet Competitions. Folder 3:14 contains materials from the 1977 Moscow competition; Folder 3:15 materials from the 1980
competition in Varna, Bulgaria; Folder 3:16 materials from the 1985 Moscow competition; Folder 3:17 materials from the 1986
Jackson, Mississippi competition; Folder 3:18-3:19 materials from the 1989 Moscow competition; Folder 3:20 from the 1990 Jackson,
Mississippi competition; Folders 3:21-3:22 from the 1994 Jackson, Mississippi competition; and Folder 3:23 materials from
the 1995 Helsinki competition. Folder 3:24 contains programs and publicity materials from the International Ballet Competition
"Maya" from the years 1994-1997; one of the programs is signed. Folder 3:25 contains an introduction to the Moscow, 2001 International
Ballet Competition,sent to Dwight Grell by George Zoritch.
Box 3, Folder 26
Mariinski Theatre 448488
1983
Scope and Contents
Contains fliers and brochures in honor of this theatre's 200th Anniversary.
Box 3, Folder 27
Nureyev, Rudolf 448489
1989-1993
Scope and Contents
Contains clippings, programs, and other materials concerning Nureyev's life and death.
Box 3, Folder 28
Photographers 448490
2001
Scope and Contents
Contains a brochure and press release concerning the work of Russian photographer Sasha Gusov.
Box 3, Folder 29
Soviet Ballet [Overview]--by the Photo Service of the Union of Soviet Socialist Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations
with Foreign Countries
448491
1974
Scope and Contents
Contains a typewritten document outlining the history of Soviet Ballet; folder also includes a photograph of an exhibition
panel featuring Yuri Grigorovich, found with the document.
Box 3, Folder 30
Supplementary Materials Concerning Ballet and Ballets 448492
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains a photocopied encyclopedia article; a transcription of Le Spectre de la Rose from Berlioz's Les Nuits d'Ete; and
unidentified notes, in Russian and in English, concerning various ballets.
Box 3, Folder 31
Ulanova, Galina 448493
Undated
Scope and Contents
Contains Part II and the concluding "Chapter" of Notes from My London Diary by Galina Ulanova, a serialized recounting of
Ulanova's experience with the Bolshoi in London for an unidentified periodical.
Box 3, Folder 32
Zhdanov, Yuri--Catalog for Exhibition in Czechoslovakia 448494
1978-1979
Scope and Contents
Contains a brochure for an exhibition of his artwork, with text in Czech.
Clippings 393552
Scope and Content
This series consists chiefly of newspaper and magazine clippings collected since the 1950s; many of these are reviews or profile
pieces concerning dancers and ballet companies. Clippings have been arranged by decade and by year where this is known, but
have otherwise been minimally sorted. This series also includes hundreds of press releases, sent to Grell from clippings bureaus
all over the world, concerning the illness and death, in 1993, of Rudolf Nureyev.
Box 126
Clippings, 1950s-1960s 431446
Box 127
Clippings, 1971-1975 431445
Box 128
Clippings, 1976-1979 431444
Box 129
Clippings, 1979 oversize 393572
Box 130
Clippings, 1980-1986 393570
Box 131
Clippings, 1987-1989 431890
Box 132
Clippings, 1990-1993 393573
Box 133
Clippings, 1994-1999 450206
Box 149, Box 134
Clippings, 2000s--Oversize 450208
Scope and Content
Box 149 contains tear-sheet and photocopies of a letter from Dwight Grell to the editor of
Soviet Life, undated.
Box 149, Box 140, Box 136
Clippings, Miscellaneous and Undated 450210
Box 137, Box 139, Box 138
Clippings, Rudolf Nureyev 450212
Box 206, Folder 13
"Longtime superfan of Russian ballet" - obituary for Dwight Grell
2015-03-03
Creator: Los Angeles Times (Firm)
Box 206, Folder 1-12
Signed programs and ephemera, television and radio serials, performance photographs, and other material [minimally processed]
1969-1982
Language of Material: Russian.
Scope and Contents
Material in this box includes a notebook/sketchbook, a signed 25th anniversary performance program (with film negatives of
the performance), signed programs and ephemera for various dance and theater performances and events, Soviet television and
radio serials with signed photographs of performances, newspapers, press releases regarding televised ballet performances
in the USSR, "Theatrical Life" magazines, and photographic prints picturing ballet practice and performances with handwritten
captions on verso.
Processing Information
This material had been separated from or added to the collection. It was described as part of the Grell/Colefax Russian Ballet
Archive in 2019.
