Research Catalog

Interview with Janet Eilber

Title
Interview with Janet Eilber, 2013.
Author
Eilber, Janet
Publication
2013

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StatusVol/DateFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Part 1AudioSupervised use *MGZMT 3-2997 Part 1Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Part 2AudioSupervised use *MGZMT 3-2997 [transcript] Part 2Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
disc 1AudioUse in library *MGZTL 4-2997 disc 1Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
disc 2AudioUse in library *MGZTL 4-2997 disc 2Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
disc 3AudioUse in library *MGZTL 4-2997 disc 3Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
disc 4AudioUse in library *MGZTL 4-2997 disc 4Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
disc 5AudioUse in library *MGZTL 4-2997 disc 5Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
disc 6AudioUse in library *MGZTL 4-2997 disc 6Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance

Details

Additional Authors
Baldwin, Neil, 1947-
Description
6 compact discs (approximately four hours and 26 minutes) : digital; 4 3/4 in. +
Summary
  • Disc 1, May 22, 2013 (approximately 63 minutes). Janet Eilber speaks with Neil Baldwin about her parents; her first ballet classes; her parents' role as part of the founding faculty at Interlochen Arts Academy; studying dance there with Bill [William] Hug; seeing Martha Graham's work for the first time; auditioning at the Martha Graham school and meeting Martha Graham; auditioning for the Juilliard School and meeting José Limón; the challenges she experienced as a teenager while working at the Blue Lake Fine Art Camp for special needs children; the atmosphere at Juilliard when she began in the fall of 1969; the details of her studies, including her struggle to understand Graham technique and the point at which it began to finally make sense; her belief that she had not been aware that she had been given the opportunity to study with highly influential teachers and artists, such as Antony Tudor, Alfredo Corvino, and Genia Melikova; the particular attention she received from Graham; the changes in Graham's creative process once she was no longer performing the roles she had created for herself.
  • Disc 2, May 22, 2013 (approximately 27 minutes). Janet Eilber speaks with Neil Baldwin further about Martha Graham's creative process; the recognition Graham received in the 1970s and her relationship to the culture of celebrity that was emerging at that time; joining American Dance Machine; dancing with American Dance Machine and the Martha Graham Dance Company during the same period; her observations regarding Graham's influence on Agnes de Mille and other choreographers creating for Broadway; the place of character and interpretation in choreography.
  • Disc 3, May 23, 2013 (approximately 65 minutes). Janet Eilber speaks with Neil Baldwin about beginning to work on more commercial productions, in theater and film, in the early 1980s; studying with Wynn Handman; how working with Martha Graham gave her a foundation for her acting; Graham's use of subtext in the development of roles and how this differed from techniques that Eilber subsequently learned; skills in interpretation that differentiated great dancers from the others around them; studying acting technique with Bobby [Robert] Lewis and performance technique for singers with David Craig; the relationship of these skills and techniques to each other; the relationship of choreography to music, in Graham's work and more generally; the changes in choreographic works over time; other significant roles in her career, including Cassie in the musical A chorus line; Ismene in the film Antigone/rites of passion, directed by Amy Greenfield; collaborating with Allan Krantz on two works, anyone lived in a pretty how town, which uses the poetry of E.E. Cummings, and Tract, which uses the poem of the same title by William Carlos Williams; the challenges of working with text and music.
  • Disc 4, May 23, 2013 (approximately 18 minutes). Janet Eilber speaks with Neil Baldwin about the founding of the American Repertory Dance Company with Bonnie Oda Homsey; reclaiming solos that were seminal in the history of modern dance; her work on the preservation and contextualization of Martha Graham's legacy; the theatrical piece, Appalachian spring: an act of becoming.
  • Disc 5, May 29, 2013 (approximately 63 minutes). Janet Eilber speaks with Neil Baldwin about being invited to become Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Dance Company; working as Principal Arts Consultant for the [Charles A.] Dana Foundation; William Safire's role as Chairman of the Board of [of Directors] of the Dana Foundation; Eilber's initiative to support a program for training artists to teach; the creation of the Martha Graham Licensing and Resources department; developing the idea of reconstruction tool kits; the importance of reconstruction as part of her current responsibilities; her ideas regarding creative curating in the Graham programming and the most pressing issues with respect to Graham's legacy; the changes that she and LaRue Allen, (who became Executive Director of Martha Graham Dance Company when Eilber was appointed Artistic Director) instituted together, as well as the priorities that they identified for the company; the arts education model that she has admired in museums, and the problem of modern dance artists not valuing modern dance's history; the value of Open Space Conferences and her process of learning more about audiences and what they look for; the educational outreach being done by the company and the general educational component to all that they do.
  • Disc 6, May 29, 2013 (approximately 30 minutes.) Janet Eilber speaks with Neil Baldwin about the choices made, and the innovations developed, to render performances [by the Martha Graham Dance Company] more accessible; her thoughts on contextual and thematic programming; the Martha Graham Ensemble company, now called Graham 2; Lamentation variations; Graham's legacy and the state of critical dialogue on this topic; using Graham's choreography as a basis for re-mix and experimentation; the Graham technique and the versatility of the dancers currently in the company.
Alternative Title
Dance Oral History Project.
Subjects
Note
  • Interview with Janet Eilber conducted by Neil Baldwin on May 22, 23, and 27, 2013, at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City as part of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division's Oral History Project.
  • For transcript see: *MGZMT 3-2997.
  • Title supplied by cataloger.
Access (note)
  • Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.
Funding (note)
  • This interview was made possible 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
*MGZTL 4-2997
OCLC
881180493
Author
Eilber, Janet, interviewee.
Title
Interview with Janet Eilber, 2013.
Production
2013
Type of Content
text
spoken word
Type of Medium
unmediated
audio
Type of Carrier
audio disc
volume
Event
Recorded by Neil Baldwin 2013, May 22, 23, and 27 New York, New York.
Funding
This interview was made possible 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.
Restricted Access
Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.
Added Author
Baldwin, Neil, 1947- interviewer.
Research Call Number
*MGZTL 4-2997
*MGZMT 3-2997
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