Research Catalog

Interview with Alexander Ewing.

Title
Interview with Alexander Ewing. February and June, 1978.
Author
Ewing, Alexander
Publication
1978.

Available Online

NYPL Digital Collections

Details

Additional Authors
Tobias, Tobi
Description
Four streaming files (approximately four hours and 10 minutes) : digital, stereo
Summary
  • Streaming file 1, February 16 or 17, 1978 (approximately one hour and 38 minutes). Alexander Ewing speaks with Tobi Tobias about his experience as an administrator of the Joffrey Ballet School and Joffrey Ballet [later incarnations include City Center Joffrey Ballet and Joffrey Ballet of Chicago]; Robert Joffrey's and Gerald Arpino's respective roles in the company's early days; the company's rapid growth; an anecdote about George Balanchine's advice to young choreographers; the youth and inexperience of the company's dancers; Rebekah Harkness and the Harkness Foundation, in particular their complex relationship with the company; the Russian tour; the abrupt dissolution of the relationship with Harkness and consequently of the company after the United States tour in March, 1964; the reconstitution of the company [as the Joffrey Ballet] and its repertory, including Ewing's thoughts on choreography and copyright; choreographing for your own company as compared with choreographing on a freelance basis; the early years of the new company; competition for dance audiences; an unrealized project to create a full-length ballet based on Beauty and the beast; various innovations including the company's approach to tour programing, its creation of an apprentice company, and its university residencies.
  • Streaming file 2, February 16 or 17, 1978 (approximately 38 minutes). Alexander Ewing continues to speak with Tobi Tobias about the Joffrey Ballet as reconstituted in 1965; Robert Joffrey's interest in reviving the ballets of Leonide Massine and other choreographers; obtaining the rights to perform [Kurt Jooss's] Green table; the nature and evolution of the collaboration among Joffrey, Gerald Arpino, and Ewing in the management of the company and its repertory; the dancers including Lisa Bradley; the many ways in which people helped the company including an anecdote about Jacques D'Amboise's generosity; injuries.
  • Streaming file 3, June 27, 1978 (approximately one hour and 33 minutes). Alexander Ewing continues to speak with Tobi Tobias about the Joffrey Ballet, as reconstituted in 1965, including the process of fund-raising from private and public sources; Robert Joffrey including as an artist, a person, and a director; various aspects of managing the company; his reasons for resigning; his childhood [as the son of Lucia Chase] in the midst of the ballet world including his memories of Irina Baronova, Alicia Markova, Anton Dolin, and Dimitri Romanoff; Antony Tudor; Agnes de Mille; Lucia Chase including as a dancer; working at Ballet Theatre [later American Ballet Theatre]; more on Chase, as a company director [ends abruptly but continues directly on streaming file 4].
  • Streaming file 4, June 27, 1978 (approximately 21 minutes). Alexander Ewing continues to speak with Tobi Tobias about Lucia Chase as a company director [of American Ballet Theatre] including her relationship with the dancers and the choice of repertory; guest artists; the corps de ballet including the problem of insufficient rehearsal time.
Alternative Title
  • Dance Oral History Project.
  • Dance Audio Archive.
Subjects
Note
  • Interview with Alexander Ewing conducted by Tobi Tobias on February 16 or 17, and June 27, 1978 in New York City for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division Oral History Project.
  • For transcript see: *MGZMT 5-418.
  • Title supplied by cataloger.
  • Sound quality is fair. There is extraneous noise including "tape hiss" and occasional short gaps. The interviewee, Alexander Ewing, is always easily intelligible, but at times the voice of Tobi Tobias, the interviewer, is soft and more difficult to understand.
Access (note)
  • Patrons may access streaming audio only on site at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Funding (note)
  • The conservation 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 5-418
OCLC
79783104
Author
Ewing, Alexander, interviewee.
Title
Interview with Alexander Ewing. February and June, 1978.
Imprint
1978.
Type of Content
spoken word
Type of Medium
audio
Type of Carrier
online resource
Digital File Characteristics
audio file
Restricted Access
Patrons may access streaming audio only on site at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Event
Recorded for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts February 16 or 17, and June 26, 1978 New York (N.Y.)
Funding
The conservation 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 four hours and 10 minutes); 5"; polyester; half-track; 1.875 ips.; transferred to wav file and streaming file formats in 2014.
Local Note
Former call number: *MGZT 5-418
The dates handwritten notes on the original containers of the original recordings indicate the dates as "February 16" and "June 26". However, the stated dates on the recordings are "February 17 or thereabouts" and "Tuesday, June 27," respectively. June 27 was a Tuesday in 1978, the year of the recording. Accordingly, in this record, the dates are assumed to be February 16 or 17 and June 27.
Connect to:
NYPL Digital Collections
Added Author
Tobias, Tobi, interviewer.
Research Call Number
*MGZTO 5-418
View in Legacy Catalog