Scope and arrangement
The Don Redlich papers, dating from 1893 to 2019 (the bulk dates from the 1940s onward), document Redlich's life and career through written descriptions and videos from The Legacy of Hanya Holm: Don Redlich Remembers project; manuscripts and interviews for an unpublished memoir; Don Redlich Dance Company files; Dance Notation Bureau files; Redlich's teaching files; files devoted to Redlich's teachers; letters; school files; photographs; scrapbooks; programs and reviews; posters; datebooks; address books; drawings; family history papers; and audio and moving image recordings, which hold many performances by the Don Redlich Dance Company. The papers also contain a small set of photographs and letters from the collection of the dance critic Arthur Todd.
The Legacy of Hanya Holm: Don Redlich Remembers is documented in project descriptions and indexes to the video recordings, as well as raw and edited video of master classes by and interviews with Redlich.
The files for Redlich's unpublished memoir hold recordings and transcripts of Beth Soll's interviews with Redlich, as well as with Redlich's colleagues, including Kathryn Appleby, Gladys Bailin, Robyn Cutler, Irene Feigenheimer, Ruth Davidson Hahn, Barbara Roan, Ellen Robbins, Luly Santangelo, and Billy Siegenfeld. Soll and Redlich produced a manuscript narrative of Redlich's life and career drawn from the interviews; this is present in more than one draft. The files also have correspondence with Beth Soll and Marcia Siegel about the proposed memoir, including Soll's initial proposal for the book.
The Don Redlich Dance Company Files contain brochures, programs, choreography notes, light plots, and business records. The company's "Artists in the School" program is documented by a program description, syllabi, programs, and photographs.
The Dance Notation Bureau Files include correspondence between the Bureau, Redlich, and other choreographers, as well as notation for four dances by Hanya Holm and one by Redlich (all notated and published in the mid to late 1980s).
The Teaching Files hold programs, brochures, and honors from Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, including letters and photographs regarding a performance tribute to Redlich titled "From The Horse's Mouth." Other contents include notes and programs for dance festivals for which Redlich served as a judge; a set of notes for a class Redlich taught at Syracuse University; notes for a series of Redlich workshops presented at New York University; and biographies and CVs dating from the 1980s.
Redlich kept files for several of his teachers, including Shirley Genther (his music instructor at the University of Wisconsin), Margaret H'Doubler, Hanya Holm, and Louise Kloepper. These files hold letters, clippings, programs, photographs, and writings. The Holm content includes an essay by Redlich titled "Thoughts On Hanya Holm," and notes, light plots, and costume designs for his 2008 production of Holm's Rota.
The Letters are from dance teachers, students and colleagues, including Margaret H'Doubler, Hanya Holm, Bessie Schoenberg, and Billy Siegenfeld; Redlich's parents and other family; and friends. Also present are letters from Ralph Lee, a designer and director. These include face masks Lee created for Redlich's Estrange.
Redlich's School Files contain papers, theses, and other written work completed at Winona State University and the University of Wisconsin, as well as yearbooks and reunion photographs. There is also correspondence between Redlich and the Winona State University Foundation. See the container list for further description of these files.
The Photographs, in the form of loose prints and albums, are in four divisions: Don Redlich, Don Redlich Dance Company, Choreography, and Colleagues and Students. Photographs can also be found in other files in the collection, including the scrapbooks, programs, and reviews. (see below).
The first division has imagery of Redlich from his childhood through his years at the University of Wisconsin; headshots from throughout his career; photographs of Redlich teaching students; shots of solo performances; an album of performances, teaching, and headshots; an album of family, friends, and colleagues; and photographs of Redlich's trips to India and the American southwest.
The Don Redlich Dance Company photographs span the 1960s to the 1980s, and consist primarily of performance imagery. The Choreography division has performance or publicity photographs of 24 dances performed by Redlich and his company, almost all choreographed by Redlich. These include Alice and Henry, Cahoots, Cantata Profana (by Hanya Holm), Earthling, Estrange, and Traces. Featured dancers include Kathryn Appleby, Gladys Balin, Irene Feigenheimer, Gerri Glover, Elina Mooney, Luly Santangelo, and others.,
The Colleagues and Students division includes photographs of Hanya Holm, Arthur Todd, Gladys Bailin, Elina Mooney, Luly Santangelo, Meredith Monk, Yvonne Rainer, Twyla Tharpe, Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, Paul Taylor, and José Limón, among others.
The Scrapbooks hold photographs, flyers, and clippings. The earlier books document the lives of Redlich's parents (see also the Family History Files, below). Some of the largest photograph prints in the collection are in the scrapbooks.
The Programs and Reviews offers comprehensive coverage of Redlich's career, including his Off-Broadway and Broadway appearances; early performances of his choreography; the Don Redlich Dance Company; and performances at the schools where he taught. Photographs are also present in some of these files.
The Posters and Poster Designs advertise performances of the Don Redlich Dance Company. The Datebooks offer nearly comprehensive coverage of Redlich's activities from 1959 to 1995, and spottier documentation thereafter.
The Arthur Todd file holds photographs, some autographed, of Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, Rudolf Nureyev, and Martha Graham, as well as letters from Graham and the dancer Tamara Karsavina.
The Drawings, in pencil, are by an unidentified artist, and include depictions of Hanya Holm and Martha Graham.
The Family History Files contain photographs and clippings (similar in content to the earliest scrapbook), documenting Redlich's parents, Walter and Kathryn Redlich.
Audio and Moving Images in the collection hold the raw and edited videos from The Legacy of Hanya Holm: Don Redlich Remembers; audio interviews of Redlich; audio interviews with Hanya Holm; film and video of rehearsals and performances of the Don Redlich Dance Company from the 1960s to the 2000s, including choreography by both Redlich and Hanya Holm; video of performances at Rutgers University; video of tributes to and a documentary about Hanya Holm; audio interviews with Holm; an interview with Redlich regarding his 2008 recreation Holm's Rota, and video of the performance; and audio recordings of music used for Redlich's choreography.
Redlich works appearing in film or video include Dance for One Figure, Four Objects and Film; Patina; Disposal; Traces; Vintage; Harold II; Lake of Fire; Signals/Alarms; and L'Histoire du Soldat. Hanya Holm works in film or video include Jocose, Rota, Ratatatat, and Cantata Profana.