Jeff Duncan Papers relating to Dance Theater Workshop, (S) *MGZMD 89, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
This collection contains materials covering the period 1963-1990 that pertain to Dance Theater Workshop and Duncan's work on his book. There is an extensive production chronology for the years 1963-1975, listing the title of the work, date of first performance at DTW, choreographer, composer and costumer designer. There are a few brief personal statements about DTW by individuals connected with it during its first decade. There are also proposals for possible publishers and drafts of sections of the book. And there are xeroxes of programs, flyers, newsletters and a few press releases and clippings arranged chronologically.
Jeff Duncan was born in Texas. His decision to become a dancer was made while he was in college. In New York, he studied dance with Hanya Holm, Alwin Nikolais, Jose Limon, among others, and choreography with Doris Humphrey and Anna Sokolow. He was a principal dancer in Anna Sokolow's company, appeared in Broadway and television shows, and began presenting his own choreography in New York in 1957.
He was the founder and guiding force of Dance Theater Workshop [DTW] from 1965 to 1975. He resigned in 1975 to devote full time to his own group, the Jeff Duncan Dance Repertory Company, and to teaching and choreographing as artist-in-residence at colleges and universities.
Duncan had been working on a history of the first decade of Dance Theater Workshop, tentatively titled “Dance Theater Workshop:The First Decade.”
Gift. Estate of Jeff Duncan. Received: February 1993.
Processed by Henley Haslam.
The following items were received with the original gift but have been separated from the manuscript collection. The current location of these items is indicated.