| Description |
4 sound cassettes (ca. 360 min.) + transcript (237 leaves) |
| Note |
Interview conducted by Robert Tracy on Jan. 30, and Feb. 4, 11, and 13, 2002, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. |
| Summary |
Cassette 1. 1/30/02. Williams discusses his family background; his childhood; becoming involved with dance; auditioning for and going to the High School of Performing Arts; his teachers there, including May O'Donnell; his fellow students, including Eleo Pomare; working with Martha Graham; meeting and working with Donald McKayle; his life after high school; more on Graham; Tracy discusses racial discrimination in dance seeking Williams' response. |
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Cassette 2. 2/4/02. Discussion returns to Graham pieces mentioned in cassette 1, including One more gaudy night, Secular games, Circe; other aspects of working with Graham and in her company; his knee injury; Graham's support during his recovery and her anger when he chose to leave her company; working with Hava Kohav; more on Eleo Pomare and his choreography; working in musical theatre; working with Alvin Ailey; various works of Ailey's, including Reflections in D and Blues suite; the particular challenges of learning Ailey's work. |
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Cassette 3. 2/11/02. Taking class; working with a variety of people and being exposed to different techniques and styles including that of Karel Shook, Walter Nicks, Matt Mattox and Talley Beatty; his difficulties with jazz technique; the various sections of Revelations; Ailey's attitude toward interpretations and interpreters of his work; Williams' insecurities about Ailey's feelings toward him and the difficulties of their rehearsing together; the creation of the pieces Love songs and Song for you; taking responsibility for the company when Ailey was ill; the origins of Streams; other works, including Mary Lou's mass, Lark ascending and Knoxville: Summer of 1915; teaching pieces to the next generation; the essence of performance; people who worked with the company including ballerina Lynn Seymour and dancer Peter Wooden. |
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Cassette 4. 2/13/02. The Duke Ellington festival, including Reflections in D; working with musicians; the piece Caravan by Louis Falco; compares Falco's creative process with George Faison's and with Ailey's; the Ailey company's frequent performances in New York; John Butler's Carmina Burana; his feelings about John Butler and Jerome Robbins; the creation of Memoria; Ailey's mental breakdown; the creation of Phases; the division between the private and professional lives of members of the company; For Bird, with love; the creation of Opus McShann; saying goodbye before Ailey's death. |
| Funding |
Preservation was made possible in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, 2001-2002. |
| Local Note |
Arch. orig.: *MGZTCO 3-2343 nos. 1-4 |
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Preservation master: *MGZTP 4-2343 nos. 1-8 |
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Dubbing master: *MGZTD 4-2343 nos. 1-8 |
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Archival transcript: *MGZMTO 3-2343 |
| Subject |
Williams, Dudley, 1938-
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Ailey, Alvin.
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Falco, Louis.
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Pomare, Eleo.
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Kohav, Hava.
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Graham, Martha.
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O'Donnell, May.
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
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Reflections in D (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Blues suite (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Revelations (Choregraphic work : Ailey)
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Love songs (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Mary Lou's mass (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Lark ascending (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Song for you (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Caravan (Choreographic work : Falco)
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Phases (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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Memoria (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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For Bird - with love (Choregraphic work : Ailey)
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Streams (Choreographic work : Ailey)
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| Local Subject |
Audiotapes -- Williams, D.
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| Added Author |
Tracy, Robert, Interviewer.
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| Donor/Sponsor |
Oral History Archive. Oral History Project.
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National Endowment for the Arts, 2001-2002.
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| Call No. |
*MGZMT 3-2343 [Transcript]
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| Research Call Number |
*MGZMT 3-2343 [Transcript]
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*MGZTC 3-2343 (sound cassettes)
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