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Creator
Savio, Joanne
Call number
*MGZMD 587
Physical description
4.54 linear feet (15 boxes). 8 audio recordings. 1 video recording. 5.6 gigabytes (11 computer files)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Joanne Savio photographs, *MGZMD 587. 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

Joanne Savio is an American photographer known for her portraits of dancers and other creative people. The Joanne Savio photographs, which date from 1981 to 2006, reflect her professional output, especially her work for Dance Ink magazine. The collection primarily holds black-and-white photographic prints and negatives, as well as a smaller quantity of color photographs.

Biographical/historical information

Joanne Savio is a photographer and teacher, who frequently explores themes of dance, creativity, and travel in her work. Savio earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at St. John's University in Queens, New York. During the mid-1980s, Savio attended Cooper Union to study photography and studio art. There a fellow student, Abbott Miller, asked Savio to photograph Merce Cunningham for an experimental performance magazine project he was launching called Dance Ink. Savio went on to collaborate frequently with Miller, publishing many more of her portrait photographs of dancers and choreographers in Dance Ink and other publications in the 1990s.

Though dance has been a dominant focus in Savio's work, she also creates portraits of musicians, other performers, authors, and artists; accepts freelance commercial assignments; and pursues documentary work and personal artistic projects. Savio's photographs have been exhibited internationally. She is the coauthor along with Duane Cyrus, of Vital Grace, a book of portraits of Black male dancers.

Savio has taught photography for over two decades at New York University (NYU), and previously at Cooper Union and Studio Arts College International (SACI) in Florence, Italy. Through her professorship at NYU, Savio taught a workshop in Cuba and at NYU Abu Dhabi as a visiting professor. Savio currently resides in the Hudson Valley, New York.

Scope and arrangement

The Joanne Savio photographs represent Savio's body of work as a professional photographer focusing primarily upon dancers and other cultural figures during the years from 1981 through 2006.

The collection contains two series, Series I: Dancers and Series II: Other Portraits. The bulk of the collection consists of black-and-white photographic prints measuring 11x14" and corresponding 35mm and 120mm negatives. Some smaller prints, work prints, color prints, slides, and Polaroids are also included.

Savio frequently contributed to Dance Ink and 2wice magazines, collaborating closely with dancers and performers to create evocative portraits, many of which are included in this collection. Editor/designer Abbott Miller and publisher Patsy Tarr, who were responsible for both publications, conceived of the magazines as a type of design and performance venue.

Most images in the collection are individual portraits, often showing gestures or dance movements of the sitter. A few duo and group portraits are also included, notably one commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music that brings Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, Mark Morris, Susan Marshall, Lou Reed, John Kelly, Bill T. Jones and others together in one image. The most photographed dancer in the collection is Trisha Brown and her dance company. Other notable dancers include Allegra Kent, Lar Lubovitch, and Elizabeth Streb. Notable portraits of others include Harry Belafonte, Diamánda Galás, Norah Jones, Tony Kushner, Spike Lee, and Kurt Vonnegut.

Files related Savio's book, Vital Grace, are included in the collection. In the course of working on Vital Grace, Savio and coauther Duane Cyrus interviewed some of the dancers photographed for the book. These recordings are included in the collection, as are radio interviews conducted in promotion of the book.

The Joanne Savio photographs are arranged in two series:

  • Series I: Dancers
    1989-2001
    2.71 linear feet (8 boxes)

    Series I includes portraits of Odile Reine-Adelaide, Pina Bausch, Trisha Brown, Martha Clarke, Merce Cunningham, Garth Fagan, Molissa Fenley, Gregory Hines, Geoffrey Holder, Allegra Kent, Jiri Kylian, Lar Lubovitch, Susan Marshall, Kevin McKenzie, Mark Morris, Bessie Schönberg, Elizabeth Streb, Saburō Teshigawara, Martine Van Hamel, and Dudley Williams. Savio photographed Trisha Brown both alone and with others. Also included are Trisha Brown Company rehearsals and performances documented by Savio.

    Also present in this series are files related to Vital Grace, a photography book Savio coauthored with Duane Cyrus. Vital Grace files include photographic prints, interviews with portrait subjects, press materials, and a final published copy of the book.

  • Series II: Other Portraits
    1981-2006
    2.96 linear feet (10 boxes)

    Series II includes musicians, composers, authors, visual artists, playwrights, actors, and performance artists Joanne Savio photographed mostly for publications and record covers. Individuals and musical groups found in this series include Harry Belafonte, The Chieftains, Celia Cruz, Minnie Driver, Diamánda Galás, Philip Glass, Evander Holyfield, Vijay Iyer, Wyclef Jean, Norah Jones, John Kelly, Ed Koch, Tony Kushner, Spike Lee, Winton Marsalis, Odetta, Joan Snyder, Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Swados, Kurt Vonnegut,Tennessee Williams, and Cassandra Wilson. A few fashion still lifes, such as shoes for the Kenneth Cole brand and a gown by designer Charles James, are also present.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Joanne Savio in 2024.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Halliday in 2025.

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.