Scope and arrangement
The André Eglevsky papers (1929-1989) are comprised of dancing files and teaching files. Material dating from 1978 to 1989 was created by Leda Eglevsky following her husband's death in 1977. This material consists of her teaching notes and photocopies of some choreographic material and dance notes not otherwise present in the collection.
Dancing files span Eglevsky's entire dancing career and consist of photographs, scrapbooks, ephemera, and choreographic notes. The photographs document Eglevsky's work with the New York City Ballet from 1950 to 1959 and with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo during the 1930s and 1940s. Many of the photographs are headshots or portraits of Eglevsky and other dancers, such as Maria Tallchief, Alicia Markova, Aleksandra Danilova, and Leda Anchutina. There are a limited number of rehearsal and performance stills of several ballets, including the New York City Ballet's productions of Scotch Symphony (1952), Swan Lake (1953), and The Nutcracker (1958); and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo's 1939 productions of Rouge et Noir and Capriccio Espagnol. Photographs of Leda Anchutina are also present and mostly consist of portraits from the 1930s and 1940s. Early photographs are portraits of Eglevsky and a class photo from Alexandre Volinine's school in the 1920s. His work with Maria Tallchief at the New York City Ballet is extensively documented through the photographs as well as the scrapbooks. The scrapbooks chiefly date from the 1940s through the 1950s and document Eglevsky's dancing with Ballet Russe, Ballet Theatre, Ballet International with Viola Essen and Rosella Hightower, the New York City Ballet, and his performance with Leda Anchutina in the Broadway production of Great Lady (1938). The scrapbooks are comprised almost entirely of reviews and articles of his performances, with a limited amount of programs and photographs. Photographs are present in the scrapbook for Ballet Theatre between 1940 and 1946. Scrapbooks also hold materials documenting Eglevsky's late dancing career from 1958 to 1960, specifically with dancer Melissa Hayden and Eglevsky's small touring company, the Eglevsky Petit Ballet. Ephemera in the dancing files consists of a framed performance announcement for Eglevsky and Tallchief's 1954 performance with the San Fransisco Ballet. Choreographic notes are in English and Russian and outline movement sequences and technical details for Giselle, and Le Pavillon d'Armide, among others. Dance files also contain two drawings of Eglevsky, one by Jean Target.
Teaching files primarily date from the 1960s to 1970s and document the activities of the Eglevsky School of Dance and the Eglevsky Dance Company. Files contain correspondence, choreographic material, class exercise notes, scores, ballet verses, synopses, photographs, a scrapbook, ephemera, and information for students and company dancers on rehearsals, performances, and class guidelines. Articles on the company and a transcript for a 1976 interview between Eglevsky and Donald McDonagh are also included. Correspondence is limited and dates from 1972 to 1977. The letters consist of student inquiries regarding the Eglevsky School's summer dance camp in Nantucket, and general requests for help on other dance-related projects. Choreographic material consists of stage plans, stage movement sequences, and other performance notes for dances such as The Nutcracker, La Forêt Enchantée, Swan Lake and Don Quixote. Many of the dances are represented through choreography excerpts or codas; full choreographies are present for Allegro Brillante and Paquita. Class exercise notes were created by both André and Leda Eglevsky for individual boys and girls classes. Scores include Edward Grieg's Anitra's Tanz for Peer Gynt, Minkus's Pas de Deux for Don Quixote, Eglevsky's Variation of Black Swan, and Swan Lake. The scores are accompanied by orchestral score orders and rehearsal tape inventories created by Eglevsky. Information for students and company dancers includes fact sheets, class outlines, contact sheets, and stage requirements. It also includes flyers and programs relating to dance classes taught by Ana Roje in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The scrapbook contains articles and programs that document Eglevsky's transition from actively dancing in 1959 to his teaching and directorship at the Eglevsky School and Ballet Company in the 1960s and 1970s. A limited amount of early material from 1946 is also included in this scrapbook. Also present in the teaching files is a lecture by Eglevsky titled "The Art of the Pas de Deux," which was presented with a performance by his company at a 1977 Town Hall Interludes concert. Eglevsky's notes on Pas de Deux and the concert program are also present.
The majority of the material in the collection is in English, with some documents in Russian.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into Dancing Files and Teaching Files.