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Creator
Wells, Mary Ann, -1971
Call number
*MGZEB 22-0006
Physical description
0.21 linear feet (1 box)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Mary Ann Wells photographs, *MGZEB 22-0006. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
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Mary Ann Wells was a dance instructor in Seattle, Washington. Her collection contains photographs of her dance classes and her former students.

Biographical/historical information

Mary Ann Wells (1894-1971) was a dance instructor in Seattle, Washington. In 1916, she founded the ballet department at the Cornish School (now Cornish College of the Arts). She started her own dance school, the Mary Ann Wells School of Dance, in 1923. She worked with many students who would go on to have professional dance careers. Among her students were Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey, Margaret Petit, and William Weslow. Wells continued to teach at her dance school until her retirement in 1958.

Scope and arrangement

The collection dates from the 1920s to the 1950s, and consists of photographs of dancers who attended The Mary Ann Wells School of Dance. Many of the images are group shots of dance classes and photographs of individual unidentified dancers. Photographs of identified individuals are arranged alphabetically by name or topic. Some of the photographs are from former students and include inscriptions to Wells. Among the identified individuals are Alexandra Fedorova, Patty Gallagher, Ida Levine, Betty Noyes, Sylvia Peterson, and Margaret Petit. There is also a large selection of images taken of dance students rehearsing at Mt. Rainier National Park, as well as a single program from 1955 for the Mary Ann Wells Annual Dance recital at the Moore Theatre.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Source of acquisition is unknown.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Lember in 2022.

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