Research Catalog

Title

Barbara Barker papers, ca. 1833-1998.

Author

Barker, Barbara M., 1938-

Supplementary Content

Finding Aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

De Mille, Agnes.

Description

12 linear feet (29 boxes)

Summary

The Barbara Barker papers document the research interests of Barker and include materials on the topics of ballet and musical theater in nineteenth century America, as well as the career of Agnes De Mille.

Subjects

• Ballet historians
• Photographs
• De Mille, Agnes
• Slides (photographs)
• Ballet historians > United States
• Musical theater > United States > History > 19th century
• Barker, Barbara M., 1938-
• Correspondence
• Ballet > United States > History > 19th century
• Clippings

Genre/Form

• Clippings.
• Correspondence.
• Photographs.
• Slides (photographs)

Biography (note)

• Dance history scholar, Barbara M. Barker (1938-2002), was an authority on nineteenth century American ballet and musical entertainments.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

• Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 157

OCLC

NYPG05-A10083

Author

Barker, Barbara M., 1938-

Title

Barbara Barker papers, ca. 1833-1998.

Biography

Dance history scholar, Barbara M. Barker (1938-2002), was an authority on nineteenth century American ballet and musical entertainments. Born in Seattle, Barker danced professionally with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah and as a Bluebell Girl in revues at the Lido in Paris before becoming a dance historian. She wrote numerous scholarly articles, edited the autobiography of producer and director, Bolossy Kiralfy, and published the work, Ballet or Balleyhoo (1984), a revision of her dissertation detailing the careers of three Italian ballerinas in the United States during the nineteenth century. Barker for many years chaired the dance program at the University of Minnesota, where she led a fundraising campaign to create a new building to house the program, which was named in honor of her upon its completion. Following her retirement from teaching, Barker began the De Mille Project, which brought together former dancers from Broadway productions that had been choreographed by Agnes De Mille and had them teach their roles to young dancers. These teaching sessions were taped and the project as a whole was cited by the National Initiative to Preserve American Dance (NIPAD) as a model of dance documentation. At the time of her death, Barker was working on a book about De Mille's choreography.

Indexes

Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Connect to:

Request Access to Special Collections (Dance Division) material

Finding Aid

Occupation

Ballet historians.

Added Author

De Mille, Agnes.

Research Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 157