Boehm/de Leon Collection
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Museum of Performance and Design, Performing Arts Library
2022
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Title: Boehm/de Leon Collection
Dates: 1930-1953
Collection Number: 990.112-3
Creator/Collector:
de Leon, Marissa
Boehm, Leah Marie
Extent: 1 Box. 0.5 linear feet.
Repository:
Museum of Performance and Design, Performing Arts Library
San Francisco, California 94124
Abstract: Marissa de Leon and Leah Marie Boehm were dance teachers during the 1930s and 1950s who focused on studying and collecting
information on South American dance. This Collection includes news clippings, notated scores, dance diagrams, brochures, pamphlets,
reports, illustrations, photos, songbooks, notes, and sound recordings focused on dance forms of various Central and South
American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
Language of Material: English
Entire Collection is open for research.
Reproduction of these materials can occur only if the copying falls within the provisions of the doctrine of fair use. Copyright
varies by item.
[Identification of item]. Boehm/de Leon Collection. Collection Number: 990.112-3. Museum of Performance and Design, Performing
Arts Library
The Boehm/de Leon collection was donated to the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum by Marissa de Leon and Leah
Marie Boehm in December 1990.
Biography/Administrative History
Marissa de Leon, born in 1911 in Uruguay, was a dance teacher who studied folk dances of South America at the College of Industrial
Arts (now Texas’ Women’s University) before returning to Montevideo to teach folk dance at the YWCA. She was given a scholarship
from the University of California at Berkeley where she participated in ethnic festivals and taught folk dancing. After marrying
Frank de Leon, she was able to open the first Uruguayan school for disabled children, the Franklin Roosevelt School. Leah
Marie Boehm, born in 1911 in San Francisco, was also a dance teacher who studied at San Francisco State University where she
was introduced to folk dance. In the early 1930s she became a member of Mama Gravander’s Folk Dance Group, one of few folk
dancing organizations in the Bay Area. In 1937, she was invited to join the Berkeley Choreography Group, pioneers of the modern
dance movement in the Bay Area. After returning to teach at Everett Junior High School, she created the first modern dance
group in the San Francisco Public School system. Then, at Lowell High School, she ran another modern dance group and encouraged
learning folk dancing through trips to Mexico. In 1946, she and Margaret Poole were granted sabbatical leaves to investigate
art, music, and dance in Latin America where they took eight millimeter color movies of performers, which they used to teach
the students of Lowell High School. In 1986 she was inducted into the Physical Education and Athletic Hall of Fame.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Boehm/de Leon Collection was assembled by Marissa de Leon and Leah Marie Boehm during the 1930s-1950s to assist them in
their study of South American dance forms. It includes news clippings, notated scores, dance diagrams, brochures, pamphlets,
reports, illustrations and photos, songbooks, notes, and sound recordings. The materials focus upon the dance forms of various
Central and South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and
Uruguay. Types of dances encompassed in the collection include the Pericon, the Cuando, the Media Cana, the Gato, the Punto,
the Cueca, the Santa Fe, the Sombrerito, the Triunfo, the Cielito, the Bailecito, the Quadrilha Brasileira, the Huayno, the
Marinera, the Ranchera, the Tango, the Zambita, the Choclo, and the Firmeza. In most instances, music, dance notes, and diagrams
are present for each type of dance. A few folders also contain information about the costumes worn by performers of a particular
dance. Scholarly discussions of the origins and development of South American dance forms are present in the form of newspaper
and journal articles. Notably, there are writings by Carlos Vega, who served as Director of Music in Buenos Aires during the
1940s. The collection also encompasses songbooks and recordings of the folk songs which accompany many South American folk
dances.
Folk dancing, Mexican
Folk dancing, Latin American
Folk music--Latin America
Modern dance
Vega, Carlos