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Creator
International Dance Council
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 545
Physical description
2.92 linear feet (7 boxes)
Language
English; The majority of material is in English, with some material in French and Spanish.
Preferred Citation
International Dance Council records, (S) *MGZMD 545. 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.Restrictions apply

The International Dance Council was the United-States based subcomittee of the Conseil International de la Danse, under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The council was largely organized by the New York Public Library's Dance Division Curator, Genevieve Oswald in the 1970s but dissolved in the early 1980s. The collection includes correspondence with membership, conference organization, and research into other International Dance organizations.

Biographical/historical information

Conseil International de la Danse (CID) is an organization dedicated to all dance forms, with members from around the world. The organization was founded in 1973 within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris, where it is currently based. The committee is dedicated to all forms and approaches of dance, and does not discriminate based on a dancer's race, gender, religion or social status.

The Conseil International de la Danse is open to membership from dancers and critics, historians, choreographers, and anyone affiliated with the dance world. Local sections can also organize events within their city related to dance and carry out the CID worldwide programming.

The American chapter of the Conseil International de la Danse, or the International Dance Council (IDC) first convened in November 1978 during the First International Choreographers' Conference held in New York City. However, as early as 1973, Genevieve Oswald, curator of the Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, recognized the need for an international dance organization in the United States. Working with the Conseil International de la Danse, Oswald and Bengt Häger, director of the Film Museum in Stockholm, organized the International Festival of Filmatic Dance. This event coincided with the Conseil International de la Danse's annual meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 1, 1975. With this momentum, Oswald was determined to form an official American chapter of the Conseil International de la Danse in the United States.

Once officially recognized by the Conseil in 1978, the American subcommittee established its executive board, with Genevieve Oswald elected as Chairman. The chapter continued to organize conferences and build its membership, reaching out to dance professionals in the United States. The International Dance Council's aims included promoting international dance, exchanging ideas with other international sections and organizing an annual conference in the United States. The International Dance Council sent the transcription of meetings to the United Nations for their information and use. Members included: Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Robert Joffrey, Charles Weidman, and more.

Some of the conferences and events hosted by the International Dance Council were the Congress on American Dance in 1980 and the International Dance and Video Festival in 1981. Plans for a conference in 1982, Money For The Dance... What Next?, were made, but interest in attendance was low and the event was cancelled. This was the last conference organized by Oswald and the Council, and the group dissolved shortly thereafter.

Scope and arrangement

This collection is comprised of documents related to the formation, organization and activities of the International Dance Council. This includes contemporaneous material from their parent organization, the Conseil International de la Danse, such as executive committee minutes and by-laws. The materials date from 1970 until 1982. The majority of the materials created by the International Dance Council pertain to the annual conferences. There is some overlap with materials related to Genevieve Oswald's work as the curator of the New York Public Library's Dance Division.

The collection contains 4 audio tapes of a recording of the 1980 Congress on American Dance proceedings, as well as a typed transcription of the recording.

The records are arranged in six groupings: Foundation, Executive and Administrative, Financial, Membership, Conferences, and Other International Dance Organizations

Arrangement

Each grouping is arranged chronologically except membership renewals, which is arranged alphabetically by last name.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

These papers were created while Genevieve Oswald was an employee of the New York Public Library.

Processing information

Processed by Emily P. Dunne in 2021

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

Access restrictions

Inquiries regarding audio and moving image materials in the collection may be directed to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division (dance@nypl.org). Audio and moving image materials will be subject to preservation assessment and migration prior to access.