Jeanne Hays Beaman papers

id
9556
origination
Beaman, Jeanne
date statement
1920-2020
key date
1920
identifier (local_mss)
18505
org unit
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
call number
*MGZMD 376
b-number
b20289293
total components
15
total series
0
max depth
2
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2014-09-12 22:02:10 UTC
updated
2026-06-25 15:07:55 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

unitid
{"value"=>"18505", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*MGZMD 376", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b20289293", "type"=>"local_b"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"1920-2020", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1920/2020"}
unittitle
{"value"=>"Jeanne Hays Beaman papers"}
physdesc
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1.75 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"2 moving image recordings", "unit"=>"moving_image_recordings"}]}
repository
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Jerome Robbins Dance Division</span>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"Jeanne Hays Beaman (1919-2020) was a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. The Jeanne Hays Beaman papers hold computer dance research material, arts organization files, photographs, programs, awards, correspondence, and scrapbooks."}
langmaterial
{"value"=>"English"}
origination
{"value"=>"Beaman, Jeanne", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>Jeanne Hays Beaman (1919-2020) was a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Born in San Francisco, California, she made her first professional appearance dancing under Michel Fokine at the Hollywood Bowl in 1929. Beaman studied with Adolph Bolm, May O'Donnell, and Martha Graham. In 1938, she attended the Bennington School of the Dance at Bennington College, and then joined the San Francisco Opera Ballet, where she danced from 1938 to 1940. In 1942 she received a Master of Arts in Physical Education at Mills College. As a choreographer, Beaman created three nationally released ballets for the television station WQED in Pittsburgh. She also choreographed dances for the Redlands Bowl in California from 1953 to 1955.</p> <p>Beaman was a pioneer with dance and technology, choreographing several pieces using computer software. She also published several articles about the use of computer technology in dance including \"Computer Dance\" for <span class=\"title\">Impulse</span> magazine in 1965. She taught at the University of Pittsburgh from 1961 to 1975, and was a founder of the American College Dance Festival Association and the Pittsburgh Dance Council. She was the dance coordinator for the Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation (1975-1978), dance evaluator for the New England Foundation for the Arts (1979-1982), and a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (1986-1992).</p> <p>Beaman died in Bernalillo, New Mexico in 2020, at age 100.</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>The Jeanne Hays Beaman papers hold computer dance research material, arts organization files, materials from Beaman's education, photographs, programs, awards, correspondence, and scrapbooks.</p> <p>Computer dance research materials consist of correspondence with colleagues, programs, notes, articles, photographs, and Beaman's unpublished book <span class=\"title\">The Workbook for Computer-Generated Choreography</span>, which was a collaboration with computer specialist Dale Isner. All materials reflect Beaman's interest in using computers for artistic expression, and include correspondence with individuals from IBM and other companies in the developing field of arts technology.</p> <p>Arts organization files hold correspondence, press, an oral history interview agreement, and conference materials from the American College Dance Festival Association, the American Dance Guild, the Boston Dance Alliance, the Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the Pittsburgh Dance Council, and the Regional American College Dance Festival. The Massachusetts Arts and Humanities files include correspondence and photographs detailing a 1978 Merce Cunningham Dance Company residency in local schools. Also included in the arts organization files are awards given to Beaman by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.</p> <p>A file on Bennington School of the Dance holds reunion information as well as a copy of an interview given by Beaman in 1979 about her year at the school. Correspondence is primarily personal cards. Educational materials are mainly focused on Beaman's time at Mills College and include a dismantled notebook with class schedules, notes, and sketches; a program from a concert featuring Beaman; class work, including a copy of her thesis; and her diploma.</p> <p>Scrapbooks hold clippings and programs documenting Beaman's early dance training and career (1920-1940) as well as photographs from a 1974 Anna Halprin workshop in Pittsburgh. Later items were occasionally pasted into the early career scrapbook. Some of these additions date from the 1970s. Photographs are limited and document workshops and performances primarily from 1960 to 1975. Of note is a mounted set of images from Beaman's computer-choreographed dance <span class=\"title\">Cluster at the Center</span> (1969).</p> <p>The awards include honor certificates and ceremony programs, and the WQED file holds clippings for the broadcast <span class=\"title\">Comment</span>, featuring Beaman.</p>"}
arrangement
{"value"=>"<p>Alphabetical by file type.</p>"}
acqinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Jeanne Hays Beaman, 2004. Additions gifted by her family, 2020.</p>"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Lea Jordan</span> in <span class=\"date\">2014</span>.</p>"}
revisiondesc
{"value"=>"One box of additions processed by Stacey Ference in", "date"=>"2024."}
date_start
1920
keydate
1920
date_end
2020
date_inclusive_start
1920
date_inclusive_end
2020
extent_statement
1.75 linear feet (5 boxes). 2 moving image recordings
prefercite
{"value"=>"Jeanne Hays Beaman papers, *MGZMD 376. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}

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