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Creator
Valente, Alfredo
Call number
*MGZEB 19-561
Physical description
7.67 linear feet (17 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Alfredo Valente negatives, *MGZEB 19-561. 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.Restrictions apply

Alfredo Valente (1899-1973) was an Italian-born American photographer. Valente's trademark style was his portraits of costumed performers which used artistic camera angles and dramatic lighting. The Alfredo Valente negatives are comprised primarily of black and white negatives and some proofs created between 1934 through 1958. The majority of photographs are of American Ballet Theatre and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Other companies represented are Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre, Ballet for America, Ballet International, Jooss Ballet, and notable individual dancers such as La Argentinita, Katherine Dunham, and Ruth St. Denis.

Biographical/historical information

Alfredo Valente (1899-1973) was born in Calabria, Italy where he was trained as a fine artist. In 1927, he immigrated to the United States and began his photography career in New York City. In 1931, he became the photographer for experimental repertory company the Group Theater. Throughout the 1930s he was regularly published in magazines and newspapers including Stage, the preeminent periodical about Broadway. Valente's trademark style was his portraits of costumed performers which used artistic camera angles and dramatic lighting. In addition to portraiture, Valente documented numerous productions of American Ballet Theatre (then known as Ballet Theatre) during the company's formative years in the 1940s. He photographed some of Ballet Theatre's most prominent dancers, such as Harold Lang, John Kriza, Alicia Alonso, Nora Kaye, Vera Zorina, Igor Yousketvitch, Alicia Markova, Maria Tallchief, André Eglevsky, and Hugh Laing.

Scope and arrangement

The Alfredo Valente negatives consist primarily of black and white negatives and some proofs created between 1934 through 1958 of various ballet companies, those primarily being American Ballet Theatre and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. The collection is arranged alphabetically based on company with files identified by either production title or dancer name. Other companies represented include the Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre, Ballet for America, Ballet International, Jooss Ballet, as well as individual dancers.

The collection's emphasis on American Ballet Theatre is due to Valente's extensive documentation during its formative years of the early to mid-1940s. The negatives in this collection include a variety of studio portrait sessions; production shots; and backstage, dressing room, and rehearsal images. Some of Ballet Theatre's most well-known productions and its principal dancers photographed include Hugh Laing, Nora Kaye, and Antony Tudor in Dim Lustre; John Kriza and Janet Reed in Fancy Free; Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin in Firebird; Violette Verdy and Erik Bruhn in Miss Julie; Pillar of Fire; and Swan Lake, featuring an array of Ballet Theatre's female principal dancers in the role of Odette throughout the years. Additionally, there are individual files of dancers such as Sono Osato, André Eglevsky, Jerome Robbins, and Igor Youskevitch among many others.

Simultaneously, Valente photographed the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the early 1940s when choreographer Léonide Massine made many of his most famous works, including Gaîté Parisienne, Rouge et Noir, Labyrinth, and Bacchanale. The company's impressive roster was also photographed such as Alexandra Danilova, Tania Riabouchinskaya, Tamara Toumanova, Nana Gollner, Mia Slavenska, and Milada Mladova.

Notable individual performers included in the collection are La Argentinita, Katherine Dunham, Massie Patterson, and Ruth St. Denis. Valente also photographed noteworthy dance world figures such as Lincoln Kirstein, Michel Fokine and the families of Igor Youskevitch, Léonide Massine, and Nicholas Orloff.

Administrative information

Processing information

Processed by Tara D. Strongosky, 2019.

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

Some photographs are marked on their verso as strictly prohibited from being copied or exhibited as indicated by the photographer's stamp. All of these prints are proofs or unretouched photographs.

Access restrictions

Box 17 is closed for preservation purposes.