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Creator
Shvetzov, Igorʹ Aleksandrovich, 1904-1982
Call number
*MGZEB 21-0032
Physical description
0.42 linear feet (1 box)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Igor Schwezoff photographs, *MGZEB 21-0032. 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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Igor Schwezoff was a ballet dancer, teacher, and choreographer. The collection contains portraits of Schwezoff, images of him teaching dance classes, candid photographs, contact sheets, and negatives. The collection includes images of Schwezoff's time teaching in both Japan and Brazil.

Biographical/historical information

Igor Schwezoff (1904-1982) was a ballet dancer, teacher, and choreographer. He was born in Russia, and trained as a dancer in Leningrad at the school of the Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. He left the country in the 1930s to perform in both South America and Europe.

In 1940, Schwezoff moved to the United States, where he served in the Army and was granted citizenship. He taught ballet in New York throughout the 1940s, and also served as artistic director of the Theatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1945. He returned two years later and formed a dance company, Ballet da Juventude.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Schwezoff taught in Japan at the Tachibana Ballet School. He continued to teach ballet until his death in New York City in 1982.

Scope and arrangement

The collection dates from the 1920s to 1980s, and contains photographs that primarily depict Schwezoff's career as a dance instructor. There are a number of portraits of Schwezoff present, as well as some candid shots. The bulk of the images are unlabeled and undated, but Schwezoff is present in most of them. Of note are many images depicting Schwezoff's tenure teaching ballet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and in Japan at the Tachibana Ballet School. The collection also holds a small selection of postcards, some of which are inscribed to Schwezoff, and an assortment of negatives and contact sheets.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Source of acquisition is unknown.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Lember in 2021.

Related Material

Igor Schwezoff papers, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, New York Public Library (S) *MGZMD 415.

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