- Additional Authors
- León, Tania
- Description
- 2 streaming audio files (approximately 37 minutes): digital
- Summary
- Streaming audio file 1 (approximately 14 minutes). Arthur Mitchell speaks about his reasons for founding Dance Theatre of Harlem; the status of his dance career at the time; his reasons for founding a school (Dance Theatre of Harlem School) and a company; the school's early days and his response to the skepticism he encountered in the black community; his reasons for incorporating various styles of dance in the school's curriculum and the company's repertory [ends abruptly but continues directly on streaming audio file 2].
- Streaming audio file 2 (approximately 23 minutes). Arthur Mitchell speaks about the role of the students and dancers of Harlem Dance Theatre in countering stereotypes; the reasons he makes himself and the dancers accessible to the public; the importance of self-esteem for the dancers; his view of his work at the school and the company as his calling; events such as open classes and street fairs that involve the community. [At approximately 17:30 minutes, the Arthur Mitchell segment ends, and an interview of Tania León begins.] Tania León speaks about her early training in music in Cuba; how she came to work with Dance Theatre of Harlem; her first impression of Mitchell; her career as a conductor, including its beginnings, and her work at Dance Theatre of Harlem [ends abruptly].
- Uniform Title
- Dance in America.
- Alternative Title
- Interview with Arthur Mitchell
- Interview with Tania León
- Dance Audio Archive
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Sound recordings.
- Note
- Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León conducted in connection with The Dance Theatre of Harlem, a television program broadcast on the Dance in America series by WNET/13, New York, on March 23, 1977. A recording of the finished television program is in the Library's collection, cataloged as *MGZIDVD 5-5413. An unidentified female (possibly Tobi Tobias, who wrote the script), and an unidentified male (possibly Merrill Brockway, the director) ask Mitchell and León questions.
- The sound quality of Mitchell's and León's voices is excellent, but that of the interviewers is fair to poor.
- Title supplied by cataloger.
- Access (note)
- Access only on site at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
- Funding (note)
- The processing and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
- Call Number
- *MGZTO 5-2266
- OCLC
- 79419550
- Author
Mitchell, Arthur, 1934- interviewee.
- Title
Interviews with Arthur Mitchell and Tania León.
- Imprint
1977
- Type of Content
spoken word
- Type of Medium
audio
- Type of Carrier
online resource
- Digital File Characteristics
audio file
- Restricted Access
Access only on site at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
- Event
Recorded by WNET/13 New York 1977, March 23 New York (N.Y.)
- Funding
The processing and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
- Original Version
Original format: two sound reels (approximately 37 minutes); polyester; half-track; 7.5 ips; 5 in.; transferred to wav file and streaming file format in 2015: myd_mgzto52266_v01f01_sc and myd_mgzto52266_v02f01_sc.
- Local Note
Archive original: *MGZTO 5-2266 nos. 1-2
Preservation master: *MGZTP 4-2266
Dubbing master: *MGZTD 4-2266
- Connect to:
- Added Author
León, Tania, interviewee.
- Added Title
Dance in America.
Interview with Arthur Mitchell
Interview with Tania León
- Research Call Number
*MGZTO 5-2266