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Creator
Enters, Angna, 1897-1989
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 101
Physical description
856 letter and legal size folders in 14 Hollinger boxes
Language
In English with items in German, French and Spanish
Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Angna Enters Correspondence, Collection number: (S) *MGZMD 101, Dance Collection. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

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

Personal and business correspondence. The bulk of the papers consist of correspondence with agents, publishers, galleries, theaters, colleges and individuals. Contracts are filed under the respective agencies. The second series includes personal letters to and from Louis Kalonyme, art critic and writer. Kalonyme was Enters' artistic advisor and was acknowledged by her as her husband late in life. Financial documents include leases, bills, and insurance papers.

Biographical/historical information

Angna Enters was born on April 18, 1897 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her real name was Anita Enters, which she changed into Angna [ahnjna] in the early 20s. She moved to New York as an art student and began to study dance with Michio Ito in 1920. Soon she was performing in concerts as Michio's partner. In March of 1924 Enters produced her first evening of solo performance. In the following years until 1939 she toured the US and Europe on a permanent basis presenting her program called The Theatre of Angna Enters. After 1939 she continued to give performances until late 1960s.

During this period of touring, Enters was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Greek mime, art and music forms. She exhibited her paintings, as continued to do in following decades, and published her first autobiographical volume, First Person Plural in 1937. In 1939, she published her popular play, Love Possessed Juana, co-written with Louis Kalonyme.

Although she continued to perform into advanced age, Enters' stage career declined in the postwar years. She took up residence in California and began to pursue scriptwriting as a profession. Her account of these years, published in Silly Girl in 1944, reached the best seller list. She would go on to publish Among the Daughters (1955), Artist's Life (1958), and On Mime (1965).

After Louis Kalonyme's death in June of 1961 Enters accepted an invitation to be an artist-in-residence to the Dallas Theatre Center and Baylor University for the 1961-62 school year. She taught mime there, and spent next school year at the Wesleyan University in Connecticut. The book On Mime was the result of these years.

From 1965 to 1968 she lived as a hostess and a travel companion with her life-long friend, retired film producer Albert Lewin, whose wife died in 1965.

In 1970-71 school year she was again an artist-in-residence at Pennsylvania State University, during which she gave her last known public performance.

In 1974 she suffered a physical collapse and was moved to a nursing home. Angna Enters died on February 25, 1989 in a nursing home in Manhattan.

Scope and arrangement

The correspondence of Angna Enters is a part of the larger collection of Angna Enters papers received by the Dance Collection in 1979 from Mr. and Mrs. Jason Berger in the name of Mrs. Berger's father, Philip Wittenberg, an attorney to Louis Kalonyme and Angna Enters.

The papers of Angna Enters are comprised of literary manuscripts, choreographic and research notes, publicity material, photographs of her works, glass negatives, and original art, and correspondence.

The correspondence of Angna Enters covers her professional career and private life, from 1921 to 1973. It reflects almost all aspects of her multi-faceted life and career as a dancer, a writer, and an artist.

Altogether the correspondence of Angna Enters represents a unique account of the artistic and personal life of an extraordinary woman who established herself professionally and achieved success in several art fields, both in the United States and Europe. The correspondence thoroughly documents her struggle for artistic and financial independence for more than 50 years.

The majority of letters are in fragile condition and require special handling. The most fragile, deteriorating items were xeroxed onto an acid-free paper.

Since constant crossovers between personal and business relationships make it impossible to separate one from another, the correspondence was kept in one large series. The following arrangement was established:

I. Business and private correspondence II. Correspondence between Angna Enters and Louis Kalonyme III. Fan-mail IV. Acknowledgments for press-reviews V. Financial documentation VI. Louis Kalonyme correspondence and papers

The first series includes correspondence with various agents and agencies, publishers, galleries, theaters, concert halls, colleges and universities in the United States and Europe, as well as correspondence with individuals. It also includes a number of Angna Enters contracts which are filed under respective agencies. The series is alphabetical and chronological within files.

The second series includes intimate letters to and from Angna Enters' husband, art critic and writer Louis Kalonyme, who was also her most ardent supporter and advisor in the artistic matters. It is arranged chronologically, 1924-1956.

The fan-mail series includes letters from individuals and sometimes organizations to Angna Enters as a performer, a writer and an artist. It is arranged chronologically, 1928-1972.

The fourth series consists of the numerous letters written by Angna Enters to reporters and critics acknowledging their reviews of her performances and books. It is arranged chronologically, 1942-1953.

V. Financial documentationFinancial documentation includes her leases, bills and insurance papers, as well as contracts, 1927-1973.

The last series includes Louis Kalonyme's correspondence (mostly private) not related to Angna Enters' carrer. Correspondence includes letters of condolences to Angna Enters on Louis Kalonyme's death.

The series also includes drafts of Kalonyme's writings on Eugene O'Neill (unpublished), and his passports. The series is arranged alphabetically, and covers the period of 1918 to 1961.

The Angna Enters correspondence is arranged in six series:

  • I. Business and private correspondence

    Includes correspondence with various agents and agencies, publishers, galleries, theaters, concert halls, colleges and universities in the United States and Europe, as well as correspondence with individuals. It also includes a number of Angna Enters contracts which are filed under respective agencies. The series is alphabetical and chronological within files.

  • Angna Enters -- Louis Kalonyme: Correspondence between Angna Enters and Louis Kalonyme
    1924-1956

    Includes intimate letters to and from Angna Enters' husband, art critic and writer Louis Kalonyme, who was also her most ardent supporter and advisor in the artistic matters. It is arranged chronologically, 1924-1956.

  • Fan-mail
    1928-1972

    The fan-mail series includes letters from individuals and sometimes organizations to Angna Enters as a performer, a writer and an artist. It is arranged chronologically, 1928-1972.

  • Acknowledgments for press-reviews
    1942-1953

    The fourth series consists of the numerous letters written by Angna Enters to reporters and critics acknowledging their reviews of her performances and books. It is arranged chronologically, 1942-1953.

  • Financial documentation
    1927-1973

    Financial documentation includes her leases, bills and insurance papers, as well as contracts, 1927-1973.

  • Louis Kalonyme correspondence and papers
    1918-1961

    The last series includes Louis Kalonyme's correspondence (mostly private) not related to Angna Enters' carrer. Correspondence includes letters of condolences to Angna Enters on Louis Kalonyme's death.

    The series also includes drafts of Kalonyme's writings on Eugene O'Neill (unpublished), and his passports. The series is arranged alphabetically, and covers the period of 1918-1961.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift, Mr. and Mrs. Jason Berger

Processing information

Processed by Irina Klyagin; machine-readable finding aid created by K. Coblentz.

Related Material

See also: Angna Enters papers, (*MGZMD 158), Letters to Edward L. Berman (*MGZMC-Res. 19) and other items cataloged separately in the Jerome robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

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