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Creator
Mirova, Vera, 1895-1986
Call number
*MGZMD 591
Physical description
0.25 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
Multiple languages
Preferred Citation
Vera Mirova scrapbooks, *MGZMD 591. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Vera Mirova (1895-1986) was a Russian-born dancer who spent much of her career performing Asian folk dances in America and Europe. Her two scrapbooks, dating from the 1920s to 1986, document the dancer's life and career through photographs, notes, clippings, programs, pamphlets, and promotional material.

Biographical/historical information

Vera Mirova (1895-1986) was a Russian-born dancer who spent much of her career performing Asian folk dances in the United States and Europe. In 1917, to escape the Russian revolution, she traveled through Siberia to other parts of Asia where she studied Japanese, Hindu, Javanese, and Balinese dance. In 1924, in Berlin, she married the Russian pianist Leo Podolsky, and they emigrated to America in 1926. They settled in Chicago, and for a time they traveled and performed together, eventually divorcing. Mirova taught dance to students, including Katherine Dunham. She later moved to New York, where she continued to teach dance until the mid-1970s.

Mirova died on January 12, 1986, in New York.

Scope and arrangement

The Vera Mirova scrapbooks, dating from the 1920s to 1986, consist of two scrapbooks documenting the dancer's life and career through photographs, notes, clippings, programs, pamphlets, and promotional materials.

One scrapbook consists primarily of black and white photographs, showing Mirova, often with other dancers, in elaborate costumes and poses, depicting dance styles from Russia, Asia, Europe and Spain. Many of the photographs are accompanied by handwritten notes providing more details about the types of dances, as well as glimpses into Mirova's life, including the time she spent in Asia. There are also a few clippings from magazines, as well as a card from Mirova's funeral.

The other scrapbook contains newspaper clippings about Mirova's performances, and related pamphlets and programs. Many of the programs are for performances Mirova gave accompanying Leo Podolsky or the Russian-American ballet dancer Adolph Blom. Additionally, a promotional magazine highlights reviews of Mirova's performances from around the world. Some of the newspapers and pamphlets are in German.

Arrangement

Pages from the photographs scrapbook, originally in a three-ring binder, have been placed in folders maintaining the order of the original pages. Loose items from the clippings scrapbook have been removed and arranged by item type.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Ruth Hausen in 1986.

Processing information

Processed by Hannah Ronson in 2026.

Related Material

Related clippings file in the Dance division of the New York Public Library Performing Arts: Mirova, Vera. *MGZR

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