Jacob's Pillow Dance Collection
Michael P. Palmer
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90007
Phone: (213) 741-0094
Fax: (213) 741-0220
Email: askone@onearchives.org
URL: http://www.onearchives.org
© 2007
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. All rights reserved.
Jacob's Pillow Dance Collection
Collection number: Coll2007-007
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives
Los Angeles,
California
- Processed by:
- Michael P. Palmer
- Date Completed:
- March 14, 2007
- Encoded by:
- Michael P. Palmer
© 2007 ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. All rights reserved.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant
from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Jacob's Pillow dance collection
Dates: 1934-1958
Collection number: Coll2007-007
Creator:
Unknown
Collection Size: 1 archive box.
0.2 linear feet
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: Dance and souvenir programs for Ted Shawn and
his Men Dancers, 1934-1938, and for the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival,
1954-1955 and 1957-1958; publicity materials and dance programs, circa
1940-1949, for dancers Barton Mumaw and Foster Fitz-Simons; stylized drawings,
circa 1936, of Ted Shawn, Barton Mumaw, Frank Overlees, Dennis Landers, Foster
Fitz-Simons, Fred Hearn, and Wilbur McCormack; and photographs of Ted Shawn
(1954) and Barton Mumaw (circa 1941).
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.
Publication Rights
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Folder #, Jacob's Pillow dance collection, Coll2007-007, ONE National
Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Acquisition Information
Name of donor and date of acquisition not known.
Processing Information
Processed by Michael P. Palmer,
March 14, 2007.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
History
The Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and School, in Becket, Massachusetts,
in the southern part of the Berkshire Hills, traces its origins to the 1930
purchase of the Jacob's Pillow farm by dance pioneer Ted Shawn (1891-1972), who
was in the process of separating, personally and professionally, from his wife
and dance partner, Ruth St. Denis. Shawn had long harbored a dream of forging a
new style of male dance that would challenge the "sissy" image of male dancers,
and would legitimize dance in America as an honorable career for men. In 1933,
he recruited eight men, including Barton Mumaw, a former student at Denis and
Shawn's Denishawn dance school, and several physical education students from
Springfield College (then a men's school) for his new company. In July 1933,
Shawn and his Men Dancers began giving public "Tea Lecture Demonstrations" to
promote their work, and to raise money to pay the expenses. In addition, from
1933 to 1940, Shawn and his Men Dancers toured throughout the United States and
to Canada, Cuba, and England, performing more than 1,250 times in 750 cities.
By the Fall of 1939, Shawn felt his personal and professional crusade had been
a success--public, press, and educators were accepting the dance as an
honorable profession for men--and he announced in October that the forthcoming
tour would be the last. The Men Dancers disbanded in May 1940. Shawn first
leased the property, with the option to buy, to Mary Washington Ball, who
produced the Berkshire Hills Dance Festival on the site in 1940. Although Shawn
considered Ball's introduction of diverse programming an artistic success, the
festival was a financial disaster. Shawn next leased the property to British
ballet stars Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, whose 1941 International Dance
Festival was so successful that local supporters formed the Jacob's Pillow
Dance Festival Committee, raised $50,000 to buy the property and to build a
theater, and made Shawn director in 1942. The Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and
University of the Dance, by combining daily classes and evening performances,
became the first intensive summer dance program in the United States. Shawn
remained director until his death in 1972.
Scope and Content of Collection
The bulk of the collection consists of dance and souvenir programs for
Ted Shawn and his Men Dancers, 1934-1938, and for the Jacob's Pillow Dance
Festival, 1954-1955 and 1957-1958. The collection also contains stylized
drawings, circa 1936, of Ted Shawn, Barton Mumaw, Frank Overlees, Dennis
Landers, Foster Fitz-Simons, Fred Hearn, and Wilbur McCormack; two photographs
of Shawn taken in Florida in 1954; and clippings relating to Shawn and his
early career from two unidentified publications. Materials relating to Barton
Mumaw (1912-2001), originally Shawn's student, later his colleague, lover, and
companion, include publicity materials prepared by his management firm when he
launched his solo career shortly after Men Dancers disbanded in 1940; a dance
program from April 1941; an announcement from Mumaw's 1949 South African tour;
and eight 10" x 8" photographs. Materials relating to Foster Fitz-Simons
(1912-1991), another member of Shawn's Men Dancers who struck out on his own
after the company disbanded, includes publicity materials for Fitz-Simons and
his dance partner, Miriam Winslow, prepared their management firm, and two
copies (one signed "Foster Fitzsimons 1940") of a program given by the pair in
New York.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Fitz-Simons, Foster,
1912-1991
Jacob's Pillow Dance
Festival
Male dancers--United States
Mumaw, Barton, 1912-2001
Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972
Ted Shawn and his Men
Dancers
Folder 1-4
Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers. Souvenir Programs
1934-1938
Folder 2
Between May
1935 and June 1936
Folder 5
Shawn, Ted.
How Beautiful Upon the Mountain; a history
of Jacob's Pillow
. 3rd edition
1946
Physical Description: At least 1 leaf missing.
Folder 6-10
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
1954-1958
Folder 6
13th season. Souvenir Program and History of Jacob's
Pillow; progam ; mimeographed program insert
1954
Folder 7
14th season. Program; mimeographed program
insert,
1955
Folder 9
Silver Jubilee Season, 1934-1957. Souvenir Program;
mimeographed program insert
1957
Folder 12
Barton Mumaw
circa
1941-1949
Folder 13
Photographs and drawings
circa 1936
1954
