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Creator
Duncan, Irma
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 47
Physical description
1458 items in 185 folders and two boxes
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Irma Duncan Papers, (S) *MGZMD 47, 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 Irma Duncan papers document her professional and personal life from 1905 to 1977.

Biographical/historical information

Irma Duncan was born Irma Dorette Henriette Ehrich-Grimme on February 26, 1897, in Schleswig-Holstein near Hamburg. Becoming a pupil of Isadora Duncan in January 1905 at her Grunewald school near Berlin, her name was legally changed to Irma Duncan in 1917. Along with Isadora's five other original pupils, she became an adopted daughter.

In 1918 these six formed an independent group known as the Isadora Duncan Dancers. Irma's debut as such occurred at Carnegie Hall on June 27 of that year.

In 1921 she accompanied Isadora to Russia to found, at the government's invitation, a school of dance. Irma served as a teacher in Moscow for seven years making her solo debut there on April 29, 1923. After Isadora's death in 1927 until 1930, she directed the Moscow school. She toured with her students to Europe and to the United States (the latter during the 1928-1929 and 1929-1930 seasons). When her group, known as the Isadora Duncan Dancers of Moscow, were forced to return to Russia, Irma chose to remain in the United States.

Duncan became a U.S. citizen in 1935. She married Sherman S. Rogers, a New York attorney, on September 19, 1935. She authored several books on Isadora Duncan and her technique.

Irma Duncan Rogers died on September 20, 1977.

Scope and arrangement

The Irma Duncan papers document her professional and personal life from 1905 to 1977.

The entire collection is testimony to Irma Duncan's lifelong dedication to the theories, ideals, and life of Isadora Duncan.

Material is in English with some German, Russian, and French.

The Irma Duncan papers are arranged in three series:

  • I. Correspondence
    1905-1977

    The weight of importance and quantity in this collection lies in the correspondence series, 1905-1977 (1326 items). It traces Irma's years from first joining Isadora Duncan as a young student in 1905, to her years as a mature artist with and after Isadora until her death in 1977. The early correspondence includes letters with her own mother as well as three letters (holographs) from Isadora to Irma, and another to her adopted daughters. There are extensive runs of letters later from, and in some cases to, the other adopted daughters after Isadora's death. These include Erika, Anna, Lisa, and Theresa. Other noteworthy professional correspondents are E. Gordon Craig, Paris Singer, Augustin Duncan, and Edward Steichen. A selected index of professional correspondence is included in the register, as all letters are arranged chronologically.

  • II. Writings and Memorabilia

    The writings and memorabilia series is divided into three sub-series: those of Irma (67 items), Isadora (9 items), and other authors (28 items). Of note in the first are Irma's diaries of 1921, the year she accompanied Isadora to Moscow, and her notebook “Guide Through the Duncan System of Dancing.” Within Isadora's writings are two autobiographical holographs on her activities in 1904 and 1905, as well as her own sketch of the Moscow school uniforms. The last of the sub-series reflects the great impact Isadora had on many people who were then compelled to express it in articles and poems.

  • III. Miscellaneous (unknown authors, artists)

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Irma Duncan.

Processing information

Processed by Diane Coburn Brüning.

Separated material

  • ½ box clippings and programs - Location: to be processed
  • 3 boxes sheet music - Location: to basement
  • photographs and negatives:
    • 2 E. Steichen photographs given to P. Sinclair 12/15/86 to be processed - Location: to *MGZEC files
    • 6 negatives for Irma Duncan's book - Location: to be processed
    • 7 negatives of Isadora in Russia in 1921 taken by Irma Duncan - Location: to be processed
    • 2 boxes photographs and photographic scrapbooks - Location: to be processed

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