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Creator
Love, Paul, 1908-
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 346
Physical description
.21 linear feet (1 box)
Preferred Citation

Paul Love collection of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman materials, (S) *MGZMD 346. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Paul Love collection of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman materials (1930s-1953, bulk 1930s) consist of notes, publicity materials, essays, and correspondence. Materials are chiefly written by Love or Humphrey, and mostly concern the Humphrey-Weidman dance company. Humphrey's notes on specific dances are present.

Biographical/historical information

Paul Love was a dance writer, critic, and an editor of The Dance Observer. He also served as dance editor for publications such as the New York World Telegram and New Theatre Magazine. His book, Modern Dance Terminology, was published in 1953.

Doris Humphrey (1895-1958) and Charles Weidman (1901-1975) were choreographers and dancers. The two met when Weidman studied dance at the Denishawn School, where Humphrey was his teacher. They established the Humphrey-Weidman dance company in New York City in 1927. Their partnership remained intact until arthritis obliged Humphrey to retire from dancing in 1945.

Scope and arrangement

The Paul Love collection of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman materials (1930s-1953) consists of notes, publicity materials, essays, and correspondence. The materials date to the 1930s, with the exception of two letters from Humphrey to Love, which are dated 1949 and 1953. Publicity materials include press releases, biographical information, and program notes about the Humphrey-Weidman company. Outlines of projects which the company planned to undertake in the 1930s are present. Notes and other writings in the collection are about specific dances as well as about Humphrey and Weidman's approach to modern dance more generally. The authorship of notes and writings is not always stated, but most handwritten notes are likely by Doris Humphrey. The collection includes Humphey's notes on choreography for Orestes and Paul Bunyan, and a transcript of a 1937 radio address she gave on modern dance. The collection also holds Love's notes for a dance program he was creating for the New School of Social Research.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Paul Love, 1973.

Processing information

Compiled by Kit Fluker, 2014

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

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Dance Division at dance@nypl.org.