{"value"=>"<p>Founded in New York City in 1970 by dancers Betty Jones and Fritz Ludin, Dances We Dance is a non-profit organization dedicated to dance education and performance, specifically through the technique of modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan. It evolved from the Betty Jones-focused company Dances I Dance, and was inspired by the founders' time with the José Limón Dance Company. Dances We Dance's stated mission is the \"teaching, researching, reconstructing, preserving and performing new and past works of choreography.\" This is achieved through performances, school visits, and workshops.</p> <p>Betty Jones was born in 1926 in Meadville, Pennsylvania and was raised near Albany, New York. After graduating from high school, she studied dance in Albany and then, starting in 1941, at Jacob's Pillow. Near the end of World War II she danced with a United Service Organizations (USO) production of <span class=\"title\">Oklahoma!</span>, performing for troops in New Guinea, the Philippines, and elsewhere in the Pacific theater. After the war, she performed in the national touring production of <span class=\"title\">Bloomer Girl</span>, choreographed by Agnes de Mille. Following that she became a founding member of José Limón's company, originating the role of the Desdemona-based character in Limón's <span class=\"title\">The Moor's Pavane</span> in 1949. She continued to dance with Limón's company until the late 1960s.</p> <p>Fritz Ludin was born in 1941 in Basel, Switzerland and studied dance in Vienna and Stockholm. He immigrated to the United States in 1963 in order to study at the Julliard School and dance with the José Limón Dance Company. He appeared in the NET documentary <span class=\"title\">An Hour with José Limón</span> and assisted Limón in restaging <span class=\"title\">Missa Brevis</span> at the University of Utah, where he performed Limón's own role. Ludin and Jones were commissioned to restage Doris Humphrey/Limón works in Russia, France, and the United States. Both Jones and Ludin were recognized as master teachers of the Humphrey technique.</p> <p>Jones and Ludin married in 1979, eventually relocating to Hawaii where they continued to serve as the artistic directors of Dances We Dance. They both retired in 2019, succeeded in the company by Francesca Todesco. Jones died in Hawaii in 2020.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>The Dances We Dance collection consists of the company's working files, as well as content from Jones' and Ludin's time with the José Limón Dance Company, Betty Jones' pre-Limón career, and their personal lives. The collection is divided into six series: Performances, Funding and Administration, Teaching, Press and Photographs, José Limón Dance Company, and Jones and Ludin's personal materials.</p> <p>Dances We Dance is both a production company and an organization dedicated to dance instruction, and the collection reflects that duality. Performances staged by Dances We Dance are well-documented, with the collection particularly strong in documenting the \"Island Dance Festival.\" The funding of the organization and its administration are covered, as are the educational efforts undertaken by the company. When it comes to education, the \"Artists in Schools in Hawaii\" program is especially well represented.</p> <p>Jones and Ludin's career with the José Limón Dance Company is represented through touring and performances files. Of particular note is material from the 1964 Far East Tour. The Jones and Ludin series contains files from their personal lives and their pre-Limón careers. The series is particularly strong on Jones.</p> <p>Scrapbooks can be found throughout the collection. With the exception of one that appears to be the work of her mother, the scrapbooks all seem to have been collected by Jones. Scrapbooks contain clippings, articles, photographs, certificates, registration cards, programs, invitations, and captions by Jones, and are organized by year or subject. Moving image and audio materials, often of performances or interviews, can also be found throughout the collection. The vast majority of these are moving image recordings and are audio only when noted.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Dances We Dance collection is arranged in six series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/185471#c1741163'>Series I: Performances</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1970-2006</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>6.5 linear feet (16 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Performances refers to both performances of Jones and Ludin under the Dances We Dance title (and Jones under the earlier Dances I Dance title), as well as performances hosted by the company in Hawaii. Of special note in regards to the latter are performances done under the series title \"Island Dance Festival,\" usually showcasing folk dances, especially Native Hawaiian Dance. The folders in this series hold a wide range of items, including correspondence, performance schedules, press, flyers, programs, invoices, contact lists, performance notebooks, tickets and ticketing information, photographs and slides, permit applications, memorandums of agreement, sketches of stage designs, seating charts, travel documents, RSVP lists, applications and evaluations for auditions, clippings, posters and poster mock-ups, visa applications, and sound cue sheets.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/185471#c1741282'>Series II: Funding and Administration</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1965-2003</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.92 linear feet (7 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The funding and administrative series contains grant applications and supporting documents for grants, both for Dances We Dance as a whole, and for individual performances. Most, if not all, of these represent successful grants. The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, State of Hawaii is the largest funder. Other administrative files, such as correspondence and contracts, are also included here.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/185471#c1741337'>Series III: Teaching</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1976-2019</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4.0 linear feet (10 boxes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series III contains teaching files from the company's workshops and instructional programs held at community colleges, the Jones-Ludin Center, and in Europe and Japan. This is shown through correspondence, study materials, essays, schedules, flyers, programs, press releases, performer agreements, instructor CVs, layouts, clippings, travel information, invoices, Dances We Dance newsletters, tickets, costume designs, and photographs. Of particular note are the drawings and comments made by elementary school students who took part in \"Artists in Schools in Hawaii.\" Moving image materials make up a large section of this series, showing both Jones and Ludin in the act of teaching, as well documenting their trips in Europe and Japan.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/185471#c1741353'>Series IV: Press and Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1946-2019</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4.58 linear feet (19 boxes, 3 tubes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The press and photographs series contains photographs of Dances We Dance productions, and images of earlier José Limón Dance Company productions featuring Jones and Ludin. These photographs were used in Dances We Dance promotional materials, programs, posters, and flyers. There are also a small number of negatives and color slides included.</p> <p>The posters and flyers in this series are from individual performances, and are organized by title. Reviews and articles collected by Jones and Ludin, and moving image recordings of ads for the company are also held in this series.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/185471#c1741519'>Series V: José Limón Dance Company</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1940-2011</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.75 linear feet (15 boxes, 5 tubes, 2 oversize folders)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The series includes all material specific to the José Limón Dance Company, especially as it relates to Betty Jones and Fritz Ludin's time with the Company. Of particular note are contracts, press files, contact lists, itineraries, maps, photographs, programs, embassy invitations, travel recollections, and tourist brochures from the 1963 Far East Tour that Jones and Ludin both took part in. Also included are programs, press, thank yous, scores, and schedules for classes taught by Jones and Ludin while part of the company. Performances are represented by posters, press, correspondence, flyers, and photographs. There is some overlap with Dances I Dance, as they were still with the company at that time. Recordings of Limón performances are included, as are an album and video interview from the 2011 Limón gala honoring Jones.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/185471#c1741562'>Series VI: Betty Jones and Fritz Ludin</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1897-2021</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1.75 linear feet (13 boxes, 2 tubes)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series covers Jones and Ludin's pre-Limón career, and holds personal files, familial items, and home movies.</p> <p>The majority of this series relates to Jones and addresses her time as part of the USO, touring with <span class=\"title\">Oklahoma</span> and <span class=\"title\">Bloomer Girl</span>, her time at Jacob's Pillow, and her father, Dr. Hiram A. Jones. Jones' files include personal photographs, correspondence, and artwork. Of particular note are an autograph book from Jones while at Jacob's Pillow, scrapbooks, her USO cap, and costume pieces worn by Jones. Jones' 2020 passing is also covered in this series, including a remembrance book with condolences to Ludin.</p> <p>Ludin's files consist of photographs, material in support of his immigration, and writings. Items relating to the couple's 2019 retirement can also be found here, as well as personal recordings.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}