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Creator
Newman, Barbara, 1944-
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 501
Physical description
2.92 linear feet (7 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Barbara Newman dance interviews, (S) *MGZMD 501. 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

The Barbara Newman dance interviews, dating from 1975 to 2010, were conducted by Barbara Newman in preparation for her ballet publications: Striking a Balance: Dancers Talk About Dancing(1982, revised edition 1992), Never Far From Dancing (Part II of Striking a Balance, 2014), Grace Under Pressure: Passing Dance Through Time(2003), and Antoinette Sibley: Reflections of a Ballerina (1986). The collection holds paper transcripts and audio tapes.

Biographical/historical information

Barbara Newman (born 1944) is a dance critic for Country Life, a music critic for Dancing Times and the U.K. editor of www.dancemag.uk. Newman has published several books on ballet notably Striking a Balance : Dancers Talk About Dancing (1982, revised edition 1992), Never Far From Dancing (Part II of Striking a Balance, 2014), Grace Under Pressure: Passing Dance Through Time (2003), and Antoinette Sibley: Reflections of a Ballerina (1986).

Scope and arrangement

The Barbara Newman dance interviews, dating from 1975 to 2010, were conducted for her ballet publications. Newman interviewed international ballet dancers, choreographers, ballet company directors, and ballet masters among others.

The collection includes unpublished interviews, which offer more biographical details than the published excerpts. The files hold audio tapes and the paper transcripts (original and edited version for some publications) generated from the tapes. Prominent artists include Alicia Alonso, Merrill Ashley, Arthur Mitchell, and Antoinette Sibley.

Excerpts from the interviews were published in several books, Striking a Balance : Dancers Talk About Dancing (1982, revised edition 1992), Never Far From Dancing (Part II of Striking a Balance, 2014), Grace Under Pressure (2003), and Antoinette Sibley: Reflections of a Ballerina (1986).

Other interviews, not part of the book publications, were featured in Dancing Times, a U.K. monthly magazine.

The collection was arranged by title of publication. The interviewees are listed alphabetically under each publication.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The collection was purchased from Barbara Newman in 2018.

Processing information

Processed by Valerie Wingfield in 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

Access restrictions

Inquiries regarding audio and moving image materials in the collection may be directed to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division (dance@nypl.org). Audio and moving image materials will be subject to preservation assessment and migration prior to access.