Eugene Loring teaching dance

The Dance collection in the UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives is one of the Libraries most distinguished archival collections. On March 21st, Steve MacLeod, Public Services Librarian for Special Collections and Archives gave a talk on this important collection and shared examples of a number of rare and interesting items.

“The Dance collection is one of our most fascinating collections,” said MacLeod.  “I always enjoy bringing items into the classroom, which I do frequently for the Dance Department. This session, for the library friends and supporters, was equally enjoyable. It was really a lot of fun!”

Steve Macleod and workshop attendees

Supporting one of the most notable programs at UCI, the Dance collection contains 4,000 books and periodical titles, dance cards, performance programs, and photographs as well as 60 archival collections, all related to dance performance and theory, choreography, and theory of motion from the 17th century to the present.  Included are the papers of noted UCI faculty members Eugene Loring, Olga Maynard, and Donald McKayle. 

Guests were given the opportunity to learn about the collection’s history and uniqueness, and view materials relating to the work of choreographers and dancers George Ballanchine, Eugene Loring, Isadora Duncan, Donald McKayle, Martha Graham, Anna Pavlova, Katherine Dunham,Ted Shawn, and Ruth St. Denis, along with rare books on early dance history, costume design and world dance materials, plus photographs and dance programs of note.

For more information about the Dance Collection, go to http://special.lib.uci.edu/collections/dance/index.html, or contact Steve MacLeod at 949.824.4967 or smacleod@uci.edu.