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Creator
Moore, Lillian
Call number
*ZBD-157
Physical description
329 folders in 7 boxes
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Moore, Lillian, 1911-1967. Lillian Moore Dance Research Files, *ZBD-157, 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.

The Lillian Moore Dance Research Files represents the efforts of Lillian Moore to document thoroughly the history of dance in the United States and Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Much, but not all, of her findings have been published in the numerous articles and books that Ms. Moore wrote. The contents of the folders within this collection include holograph and typescript notes; chronologies of dancers' lives and dance works and/or performances; legal documents verifying births, deaths, and whereabouts of dancers at particular times; research correspondence with librarians, scholars, and descendants of dancers; photographs; photostats; and some holograph and typescript copies of articles written by Lillian Moore.

Biographical/historical information

Lillian Moore, 1911-1967, was a dancer as well as a teacher, writer, and scholar. She studied ballet under George Balanchine and Alexandra Fedorova-Fokine and modern dance under Charles Weidman. When Ms. Moore retired as a dancer in 1954, she began to teach and intensified her research into the history of dance in the United States. She was a frequent contributor to The Dancing Times,as well as Dance Magazineand other dance journals. Her publications include Artists of the Dance(1938); the article, “Ballet,” in the Encyclopaedia Britannica,as well as the “Dance—Ballet” section in Britannica's Book of the Year(1950-1966); Bournonville and Ballet Techniquewith Erik Bruhn (1961); Bournonville's London Spring(1965); the Duport Mystery(1960); and Prints on Pushcarts: the Dance Lithographs of Currier & Ives(1962).

Scope and arrangement

The Lillian Moore Dance Research Files represents the efforts of Lillian Moore to document thoroughly the history of dance in the United States and Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Much, but not all, of her findings have been published in the numerous articles and books that Ms. Moore wrote. The contents of the folders within this collection include holograph and typescript notes; chronologies of dancers' lives and dance works and/or performances; legal documents verifying births, deaths, and whereabouts of dancers at particular times; research correspondence with librarians, scholars, and descendants of dancers; photographs; photostats; and some holograph and typescript copies of articles written by Lillian Moore.|||To a large extent the original order of the collection has been maintained. Ms. Moore had grouped her research files into four major series: “Dancers in America—18th Century,” “Dancers in America—19th Century,” “The Duport Family,” and “General.” Within each of the four categories, folders were arranged alphabetically. For the most part, the headings used by Ms. Moore were retained. Some files, however, have been divided into many separate files.|||The two categories of “Dancers in America” consist primarily of folders on individual dancers who performed in the United States in the 18th or 19th century, as well as folders on the dance activity in certain U.S. cities. The series referred to as “The Duport Family” represents the extensive research undertaken by Lillian Moore on Louis Duport, Pierre Landrin Duport, and related Duports and Landrins. The result of this research was the publication of The Duport Mysteryin Dance Perspectivesin 1960. The last series, labelled “General,” contains research files on miscellaneous subjects relating chiefly to ballet in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Lillian Moore dance research files are arranged in four series:

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift. Lillian Moore. Received: 1968.

Processing information

Processed by Nancy M. Shawcross.

Related Material

The Lillian Moore Dance Research Files represents only a portion of the gift bequeathed to the Dance Collection by Lillian Moore. The greater Lillian Moore Collection includes two other manuscript collections. “Correspondence, ca. 1936-1967” [(S) *MGZMC-Res. 25] is partially related to Ms. Moore's research on the 19th century ballet, with letters from dance authorities such as Walter Toscanini, Ivor Guest, Ifan Kyrle Fletcher, Ted Shawn, and Clive Barnes. “Papers” [(S) *MGZMD 20] primarily consists of drafts and copies of Ms. Moore's writings.

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

Alternative form available

Originals shelved in (S) *MGZMD 1. Use microfilm: *ZBD-157