Research Catalog

Title

Sara Mildred Strauss papers, 1905-1977.

Author

Strauss, Sara Mildred, 1896-1979.

Supplementary Content

Finding Aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Strauss, Sara Mildred, 1896-1979.
• Strauss School of the Dance.

Description

4.5 linear feet (9 boxes)

Summary

The Sara Mildred Strauss Papers document the professional life of Sara Mildred Strauss (Newman) through correspondence, professional papers, drafts of her writings, drawings, clippings, scrapbooks, and photographs of Strauss, her students, and some of the shows she choreographed.

Subjects

• Choreographers
• Dance teachers
• Photographs
• Scrapbooks
• Choreographers > United States > 20th century
• Sketches
• Strauss, Sara Mildred, 1896-1979
• Physical fitness
• Dance teachers > United States > 20th century
• Manuscripts for publication
• Strauss School of the Dance
• Clippings

Genre/Form

• Clippings.
• Manuscripts for publication.
• Photographs.
• Scrapbooks.
• Sketches.

Biography (note)

• American dance teacher, choreographer, and author, Sara Mildred Strauss (1896-1979) was an influential, but somewhat forgotten physical fitness advocate whose long career also encompassed the spheres of concert and theatrical dance.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

• Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 169

OCLC

NYPG06-A65

Author

Strauss, Sara Mildred, 1896-1979.

Title

Sara Mildred Strauss papers, 1905-1977.

Biography

American dance teacher, choreographer, and author, Sara Mildred Strauss (1896-1979) was an influential, but somewhat forgotten physical fitness advocate whose long career also encompassed the spheres of concert and theatrical dance. Strauss published her first treatise, The Dance and Life (1916) at a relatively young age, but she was still active in the field some fifty years later, publishing Here an Inch, There an Inch (1966), a much more mature work that encapsulates the experience of her many years of teaching. After extensive study, she developed the Strauss method of body building and dance technique early on, opening schools that developed the skills of dancers. By the mid-1930s, her technique was being taught by trained instructors at Strauss School of the Dance outposts throughout the United States and in several other countries. In addition to training dancers, many famous actors studied body movement and posture in her studios. After a short stay in Hollywood, Strauss returned to New York and joined the teaching staff of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she remained for about fifteen years.

During the 1930s, Strauss also was particularly active as a dance presenter and choreographer. Her often experimental choreography was given in such serious concert venues, as New York's Guild Theatre and in 1932 she successfully collaborated with a group of dance professionals (which included Agnes De Mille) to lobby for the change of a bill that would allow dance performances to take place on Sundays in New York State (Strauss's own account of this incident can be found in box 2, folder 6). But Strauss's dance troupes, usually called the Sara Mildred Strauss Dancers or the Strauss Ballet also appeared frequently in vaudeville and Broadway revues, including Irving Berlin's As Thousand Cheer (1933) and Lew Brown's production of Calling All Stars (1934), featuring Ed Wynn. Strauss is also sometimes referred to by her married name, Sara Mildred Strauss Newman.

Indexes

Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Connect to:

Request Access to Special Collections (Dance Division) material

Finding Aid

Occupation

Choreographers.

Dance teachers.

Added Author

Strauss, Sara Mildred, 1896-1979. Here an inch, there an inch.

Strauss School of the Dance.

Research Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 169