Scope and arrangement
The Ruth Ann Koesun collection dates from 1915 through 2016, and consists primarily of materials created during Koesun's dance career with the Ballet Theatre, and some personal items. Materials include clippings; correspondence; costumes; documents and identification cards; family material; documentation related to lectures and events; photographs; programs; and sheet music. Some topics addressed include Koesun's early life; studying dance with her first ballet teacher, Edna Lucille Baum; her time on tour with the Ballet Theatre; and her later career as a dance professional in Chicago. The collection is arranged alphabetically by material type.
The clippings include chronologically arranged loose newspaper articles, tear sheets, and seven scrapbooks. Koesun assembled scrapbooks of clippings, note cards, and telegrams every year she toured with the Ballet Theatre.
Correspondence dates from 1946 through 2012, and is filed alphabetically by last name. The majority of this correspondence is professional. However, some personal and family correspondence is present. Koesun received several condolence letters after John Kriza's death by drowning in 1975. There are also several accounts written by Koesun and delivered to both her and Eric Braun's parents while the couple was on tour. Notable names in each folder are indicated in the container list.
There are costumes and accessories present that Koesun wore during her tenure with the Ballet Theatre from 1946 until 1969. The two costumes include the outfit that Koesun wore during her performance of Billy The Kid at the White House in 1962, and the costume for the Sylph for Les Sylphides. In addition to these costumes, there are seven pairs of ballet slippers and costume accessories, including tiaras, decorative flowers, wiring for wings, hairpieces, and other small plastic accessories.
The documents and identification files include support letters for Eric Braun's visa, Ruth Anne Koesun and Eric Braun's passports from 1947 through the 1990s, Screen Actors Guild cards, marriage certificate, and divorce papers. There is also a copy of Eric Braun's 1970 death certificate.
There are several objects related to Koesun's family life and childhood. This includes materials related to Koesun's parents, some of Koesun's early schoolwork, notes on Chinese vocabulary, and Eric Braun's funeral book.
Invitations, video recordings, and presentation notes are held in the Lectures and Events files. These materials date from 1966 to 2008, and document aspects of Koesun's career after her tenure with the Ballet Theatre. After touring as a professional dancer, Koesun remained involved in the Chicago dance community for many years.
The photographs date from 1934 through 2016, and include loose prints, slides, negatives, and scrapbooks. The photographss are arranged as Family and Friends; Performances; and Headshots and Professional Portraits. Photographs of family range from 1919 through 2009, and include family albums collated by Koesun's mother, Koesun's baby book, and a family scrapbook documenting the Koesun family at the Chicago World's Fair in 1934. Performance photographs are grouped by subject, including Koesun as a ballet student; performing at Chicago nightclubs; on stage with the Ballet Theatre; and later in life at various reunions and benefits. There are several scrapbooks of Ballet Theatre tours depicting Koesun and other dancers in cities around the world. Headshots are arranged by subject (primarily Koesun solo or with a partner), and date from her early career in the 1930s through the 1970s.
Numerous performance programs that chronicle Koesun's career are present in these files, including a bound set of all the Ballet Theatre programs from 1940 through 1955. In addition to this volume, there are chronologically arranged loose Ballet Theatre programs from 1940 through 2007. Programs from Chicago nightclubs and theatres as early as 1943 are also located here.
There is also a small selection of sheet music and dance notation present. The sheet music is mostly from numbers Koesun performed throughout her career, and the dance notation includes descriptions of ballets and rehearsal schedules.