SDR Archive Projects

The SDR maintains collections at the Theatre Museum, London, and is currently compiling a database of dance resources available in the UK.

• Database of Dance Collections
• Theatre Museum SDR Collection

Database of Dance Collections

The Society is compiling a Directory of Dance Resources in the UK. This is a joint project by the Society and the Laban Centre London, and is funded by the Radcliff Trust.

The main objectives of the survey are to create and maintain a list of institutions holding information about dance and to provide a list of sources for teachers, students and others searching for information about dance, appropriate to their needs and locality. This information will be available through the Society and will be put up on the Performing Arts Database soon. The PAD service is part of the Arts and Humanities Data Service run by the University of Glasgow http://www.pads.ahds.ac.uk.

We are particularly concerned that up to date and accurate information about collections is included in the survey, and would be most grateful if archivists, librarians and members of the general public would contact the Administrative Secretary, Peter Bassett at the Laban Centre London, or email sdr1@tinyworld.co.uk with any information about the existence of dance material in archives, libraries and museums in the UK that they feel would be of interest to others.

Theatre Museum SDR Collection

Audio and video tapes from Society for Dance Research events from 1990 to 1995 are held at the Theatre Museum, 1E Tavistock Street, London WC2E 7PA and are available through the Museum Study Room. Appointments can be made on 020 7943 4727 between 10.30 and 4.30pm; the Study Room is fully booked every day, and normally appointments should be made at least 15 working days before the date of your visit.

• SDR Audio Tapes at the Theatre Museum
• SDR Video Tapes at the Theatre Museum

SDR Audio Tapes at the Theatre Museum

The following Society for Dance Research events are covered on the tapes:

From Pen to Performance - Nijinsky's Faune (1990)

• Dr Ann Hutchinson Guest

Dance and Gender (1990)

• Introduction - Christy Adair, Val Briginshaw
• The Problematics of Researching Gender - Dr Joyce Sherlock
• Dance and Gender Identification - Dr Helen Thomas
• Panel: Emlyn Claid, M Semple, R Lee, Julia Pascal, Val Briginshaw, Christy Adair

Post Mortem on the Post Modern? (1991)

• Lecture by Roger Copeland

Giselle 150th Anniversary (1991)

• Romanticism - Raymond Lister
• The 1841 Production - Ivor Guest
• The Music of Giselle - Joseph Horowitz
• Introduction by Jane Pritchard to the film of Markova and Dolin in Giselle with Festival Ballet, 1952
• Panel: Ivor Guest, Joseph Horwitz, Raymond Lister

Siobhan Davies Day (1991)

• Interview: Angela Kane, Siobhan Davies, David Buckland (2 copies)
• Papers: Sophie Preston; Nadine Meisner

Trisha Brown (1991)

• Overview - Stephanie Jordan
• Opal Loop - Richard Alston intervied Ann Nugent
• Panel: Trisha Brown, Allen Robertson, Christie Adair, Richard Alston, Ann Nugent

The Nutcracker, A Centenary Celebraton (1992)

• A Survey of The Nutcracker in Britain - Jane Pritchard
• Setting The Nutcracker in its Musical Context - Prof. David Brown
• The Role of Drosselmeyer - Stephen Wicks
• The First British Sugar Plum Fairy - Dame Alicia Markova interviewed by Clement Crisp

Funding (1992)

• Chris Thompson, John Pick
• Panel: Chris Thompson, John Pick, Siddell, Fergus Early

Tracing the Steps (1993)

• Sources and Methods, Introduction: Research - Curtis Price
• The Riddle of 17C Spanish Dance - Can it be solved? - Madeline Inglehearn
• Research and Reconstruction in 16C Italian Dance - Anne Daye
• The Dances of Hester Santlow - Moira Goff and Jennifer Thorp
• A Step in the Wrong Direction - the 'gospel' of the minuet step - Stephen Preston
• Panel: Curtis Price, Anne Daye, Madeline Inglehearn, Moira Goff, Jennifer Thorp, Stephen
• Preston, Angela Kane, Judy Smith

Research Seminar (1993)

• Trinidad and Tobago Folk Dance & Music: Cross-cultural potentials for movement therapy - Terrence Wendell Braithwaite
• Nearer the Truth about Nijinsky's Break with the Maryinsky - Nesta MacDonald
• The Origins of Italian Mime in Ballet; from Commedia dell'Arte to Carlo Blasis - Giannandrea Poesio
• The Phonomenology of Rudolf von Laban - Susan Korel
• Ideology, Inter-Disciplinarity and the 'I' - Alexandra Carver
• Methods and Structure of Dance Training in the UK - Robert Penman
• Power and the Body: Explorations in Dance and Social Theory - Martyn Hudson

Begged, Borrowed or Stolen? (1994)

• Plenary Session
• Paper: Dr Helen Thomas
• The Dutch Perspective - Dr Frederick Naerebout
• Narratives and meta narratives: Reshaping Dance Research - Prof. Janet Lansdale

Michel Fokine (1995)

• Fokine in America - Dawn Lillie Horowitz
• Petrushka - Sally Bowden
• Petrushka - Alexander Grant interviewed by Jane Pritchard
• Irina Baronova and Tamara Tchinarova (Finch) interviewed by Clement Crisp
• Les Sylphides - coaching session by Irina Baronva [poor sound]

Doris Humphrey Centenary (1995)

The Society for Dance Research in association with The Doris Humphrey Foundation and Dance Umbrella

• Introduction - Els Grelingen
• Selma Jean Cohan
• Questions

SDR video Tapes at the Theatre Museum

The Birth of the Royal Ballet, Dance Blitz, Festival Hall, (1997)

Reconstruction workshops:

• Façade - finale with Diana Vere
• Dante Sonata - 'White' scene; 'labour' solo - with Jean Bedells.
• The Sleeping Beauty - Jewel fairies
• The Gods Go a-Begging

Panel 'What do the photographs say?' With Alastair Macaulay and Beth Genee.

Panel 'Staging of the classics' Preservation workshop with Alastair Macaulay and Jean Bedells and performance:

• The Gods go a-Begging performed Michelle Davis, Philippa Walker, Gary Avis. Façade Tango performed Philippa Gordon, Gary Avis.
• Dante Sonata performed Neil Skidmore, Michelle Davis, Philippa Gordon.
• The Sleeping Beauty Jewel Fairies performed Michelle Davis, Deborah Gilduff, Alex Foley;
• White Cat pas de deux performed Micelle Davis, Neil Skidmore.

NB tape quality variable

Society for Dance Research, Reg. Charity no. 286595. Contact us
Website maintained by Toby Bennett - ©SDR & Toby Bennett, 2003-2007