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Creator
Ismailoff, Audree
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 363
Physical description
1.13 linear feet (4 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Audree Ismailoff papers, (S) *MGZMD 363. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
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Audree Ismailoff was a ballet dancer and teacher; she danced under the stage name Anna Istomina. The Audree Ismailoff papers (1912-1987) document Ismailoff's dancing and teaching career through clippings, programs, photographs, and contracts. The collection also contains a file of material regarding the dance career of her son, Gregory Ismailov.

Biographical/historical information

Audree Ismailoff (1925-2014) was a ballet dancer and teacher who performed under the stage name Anna Istomina. She was born Audree Ruth Thomas in Vancouver, Canada, where she studied ballet with June Roper. She joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1940, and danced with the Ballet Russe Highlights from 1945 to 1946. She also toured with Mia Slavenska's Ballet Variante. She was a guest prima ballerina for the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires from 1947 to 1948 and for the Ballet Nacional de Venezuela in 1957, after which she retired from dancing. She was married to dancer Serge Ismailoff, with whom she opened a ballet school, the Dance Academy, in White Plains, New York. Their son Gregory Ismailov (1956-1986) was also a dancer.

Scope and arrangement

The Audree Ismailoff papers (1912-1987) document the dancing and teaching career of Audree Ismailoff. The collection also holds material regarding the dance career of her son, Gregory Ismailov.

Scrapbooks date from 1936 to 1957 and mostly contain clippings, arranged chronologically. Loose clippings are also present, dating as late as 1981. A photograph album documents Ismailoff's performing career in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s; the collection also includes one file of publicity photographs of Ismailoff. The collection contains programs for Ismailoff's performances, which date from 1932 to 1957. Programs for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from 1912 and 1916 are also present, as are some 1930s programs featuring Serge Ismailoff. The collection includes a small number of contracts and relevant correspondence from 1940 to 1955. Material documenting the Dance Academy, and the Dance Guild which was based at the academy, dates from 1964 to 1983, and consists of clippings, programs, publicity materials, and photographs.

Material concerning the dance career of Gregory Ismailov dates from 1971 to 1986, and consists of clippings and programs.

Arrangement

The Audree Ismailoff papers are arranged alphabetically by material type or subject.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Audree Ismailoff, 2007.

Processing information

Compiled by Kit Fluker, 2014

The scrapbooks and photograph album were disassembled and placed in folders.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Dance Division at dance@nypl.org.