Lillie Ronvo Collection of Dance and Music Materials, 1915-2002, bulk 1952-1991

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Series I: Ballet Memorabilia, 1966-2002

Ballet Memorabilia contains Souvenir programs, playbills, and photographs of Ballet performances and dancers from the former Soviet Union, Cuba, American Ballet Theater, and Joffrey Ballet.


Subseries I.1: Ballet Programs and Clippings, 1978-2002

Ballet Programs and Clippings includes souvenir programs and newspaper clippings from performances of ballet companies in New York. Most of the programs document visits of Soviet Union ballet companies—Kirov, Donetsk, and others—in 1982-1991, year of the Soviet Union's dissolution. More recent materials include Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theater, the Mariinsky Theater Ballet programs, as well as a profile program on Vladimir Vasiliev, former director of the Bolshoi Ballet, from 2000, when he was dismissed from the company.



Box 1 Folder 1 Donetsk Ballet, New York City Center, 1989 February, 1989


Box 1 Folder 2 Moscow Ballet (Gordeyev's Tour), Baltimore and Trenton, 1987 September -November, 1987


Box 1 Othello: American Ballet Theater, United States, 1997


Box 1 Swan Lake: American Ballet Theater, United States, 2001 May, 2001


Box 1 Ballet in Berlin, United States, 1978 July, 1978


Box 1 Ballet du Theatre Kirov de Leningrad, France, 1982 April, 1982


Box 1 Bolshoi Ballet (4), Russia, 1999/2000

(editions 1, 2, 3, 5)


Box 1 The Bolshoi Opera, United States, 1991 July, 1991


Box 1 Don Cossacks, United States, 1990 January, 1990

(Program with Playbill)


Box 1 The Georgian State Dance Company, United States, 1990 October, 1990

(item is in Carson-Brierly Dance Library Souvenir and House Program Collection, University of Denver, Colorado)


Box 1 The Mariinsky Theatre Ballet, United States, 2002


Box 1 Moiseyev Dance Company, United States, 1991 September, 1991

(including Radio City Playbill)


Box 1 The Rustavi Company, United States, 1990 April, 1990


Box 1 Stuttgart Ballet, United States, 1979 June, 1979

(forward written by Clive Barnes (1927-2008), renowned dance and theater critic for NY Times and NY Post)


Box 1 Vladimiar Vasiliev Profile Program, Russia, 2000

(Vasiliev (b. 1940) was director of the Bolshoi until 2000 when he heard of his dismissal on the radio)


Subseries I.2: Photographs, circa 1966-1992

Photographs includes numerous dated and undated photos, mostly of ballet performers from the former Soviet Union. The folders, arranged for the most part by company, include the Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet (which was later renamed the Mariinky Ballet), and Donetsk Ballet. Many of the photos are autographed by the dancers. Other folders include photos of the Cuban National Ballet from the 1960s and 1970s, Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and the Joffrey Ballet's revival of Nijinsky's choreography to Debussy'sL'Apres-midi d'un Faune,featuring Rudolf Nureyev's as the Faune. Photos were taken by photographers Nina Alovert, Petra Bober, Louis Peres, William Reilly, Susan Richelle, and others.



Box 5 Folder 1 Bolshoi Ballet, 1973-1979 undated, 1973-1979, undated

(including autographed photos)


Box 5 Folder 1 Bessmertnova, Tatiana


Box 5 Folder 1 Koslov, Leonid and wife Valentina


Box 5 Folder 1 Nureyev, Rudolph


Box 5 Folder 1 Vlasova, Ludmila


Box 5 Folder 1 and others


Box 5 Folder 2 Bolshoi Ballet, 1966 1973-1979 undated, 1966, 1973-1979, undated


Box 5 Folder 2 Plisteskaya, May a


Box 5 Folder 2 Vasiliev, Vladimir


Box 5 Folder 2 and others


Box 5 Folder 3 Bolshoi Ballet, 1987-1988 undated, 1987-1988, undated

(including autographed photos)


Box 5 Folder 3 Ananiashvili, Nina


Box 5 Folder 3 Baryshnikov, Mikhail


Box 5 Folder 3 Liepa, Andris


Box 5 Folder 3 Pcholkin, Vladimir



Box 7 Folder 1 Bolshoi Ballet, Color Photos, 1987


Box 7 Folder 1 Baryshnikov, Mikhail


Box 7 Folder 1 Liepa, Andris


Box 7 Folder 1 Vasiliev, Vladimir


Box 7 Folder 1 and others


Box 7 Folder 2 Bolshoi, 1987 July, 1987


Box 7 Folder 2 Khanashvili-Artyushkina, Alla


Box 7 Folder 2 Vetrov, Alexander


Box 7 Folder 2 and others


Box 7 Folder 3 Bolshoi, 1987 July, 1987


Box 7 Folder 3 Bylova, Maria


Box 7 Folder 3 Semizorova, Nina


Box 7 Folder 3 Vasyuchenko, Yuri


Box 7 Folder 3 and others


Box 7 Folder 4 Bolshoi, 1987 July, 1987


Box 7 Folder 4 Ananiashvili, Nina


Box 7 Folder 4 Gordeyev, Vyacheslav


Box 7 Folder 4 Semenyaka, Ludmila


Box 7 Folder 4 Vasiliev, Vladimir


Box 7 Folder 4 and others



Box 5 Folder 4 Kirov Ballet, undated

(including autographed photos)


Box 5 Folder 4 Asylmuratova, Altynai


Box 5 Folder 4 Ruzimatov, Farukh


Box 5 Folder 4 Zaklinsky, Konstantin


Box 5 Folder 5 Kirov Ballet, 1988-1989 undated, 1988-1989, undated

(including autographed photos)


Box 5 Folder 5 Asylmuratova, Altynai


Box 5 Folder 5 Korneev, Dmitri


Box 5 Folder 5 Makarova, Natalia


Box 5 Folder 5 Ruzimatov, Farukh


Box 5 Folder 5 Zaklinsky, Konstantin


Box 5 Folder 6 Kirov Ballet, 1987 undated

(including autographed photos)


Box 5 Folder 6 Asylmuratova, Altynai


Box 5 Folder 6 Ruzimatov, Farukh


Box 5 Folder 6 Terekhova, Tatiana


Box 5 Folder 6 Zaklinsky, Konstantin


Box 5 Folder 7 Kirov Ballet, undated


Box 5 Folder 7 Ivanova, Veronika


Box 5 Folder 7 Pankova, Elena



Box 7 Folder 5 Kirov Ballet, circa 1989 1992 undated, circa 1989, 1992 undated


Box 7 Folder 5 Asylmuratova, Altynai


Box 7 Folder 5 Korneev, Dmitri


Box 7 Folder 5 Ruzimatov, Farukh


Box 7 Folder 5 Zaklinsky, Konstantin


Box 7 Folder 5 Zelensky, Igor


Box 7 Folder 5 and others


Box 7 Folder 6 Korneev, Dmitri, 1989 undated

(including photo of son Nikita at age 2)


Box 7 Folder 7 Farukh Ruzimatov and Altynai Asylmuratova, 1988 July, 1988

(guests with ABT inLa Bayadere)


Box 7 Folder 8 Kirov Ballet, undated


Box 7 Folder 8 Asylmuratova, Altynai


Box 7 Folder 8 Korneev, Dmitri


Box 7 Folder 9 Donetsk Ballet, City Center, 1989 February, 1989


Box 7 Folder 9 Dorofeyevna, Inna


Box 7 Folder 9 Skirmantas, Petras


Box 7 Folder 9 and others



Box 5 Folder 8 Cuban Ballet, 1966 undated


Box 5 Folder 8 Alvarez, Cristina


Box 5 Folder 8 Araujo, Loipa


Box 5 Folder 8 Carreño, Lazaro


Box 5 Folder 8 Suarez, Rosario


Box 5 Folder 8 Williams, Andres


Box 5 Folder 8 and others


Box 5 Folder 9 Cuban Ballet, 1976 1978 undated, 1976, 1978 undated


Box 5 Folder 9 Alonso, Alicia


Box 5 Folder 9 Salgado, Orlando


Box 5 Folder 9 Suarez, Rosario


Box 5 Folder 9 and others



Box 7 Folder 12 Royal Danish Ballet, 1982


Box 7 Folder 13 Gala--Paris Opera Ballet, 1988

(including handwritten note with contents)


Box 7 Folder 13 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 7 Folder 13 and others



Box 5 Folder 10 American Ballet Theater, 1971-1980 undated, 1971-1980, undated

(includes a newspaper clipping)


Box 5 Folder 10 Baryshnikov, Mikhail


Box 5 Folder 10 Bortoluzzi, Paolo


Box 5 Folder 10 Bruhn, Erik


Box 5 Folder 10 Bujones, Fernando


Box 5 Folder 10 Cragun, Richard


Box 5 Folder 10 D'Antuono, Eleanor


Box 5 Folder 10 Fracci, Carla


Box 5 Folder 10 Gregory, Cynthia


Box 5 Folder 10 Haydee, Marcia


Box 5 Folder 10 Kirkland, Gelsey


Box 5 Folder 10 Makarova, Natalia and husband Edward Karkar


Box 5 Folder 10 Morishita, Yoko


Box 5 Folder 10 Nagy, Ivan


Box 5 Folder 10 Nureyev, Rudolph


Box 5 Folder 10 Paredes, Marcos and wife Martha


Box 5 Folder 10 and others


Box 5 Folder 11 American Ballet Theater, undated


Box 5 Folder 11 Gregory, Cynthia


Box 5 Folder 11 and others


Box 5 Folder 12 American Ballet Theater, 1967 1975-1979 undated, 1967, 1975-1979, undated

(includes greeting cards with dancers' images and a newspaper clipping)


Box 5 Folder 12 Baryshnikov, Mikhail


Box 5 Folder 12 Gregory, Cynthia


Box 5 Folder 12 Nureyev, Rudolf



Box 7 Folder 10 American Ballet Theater, "Bayadera," 1978-1985 undated, 1978-1985, undated

(including newspaper clippings)


Box 7 Folder 10 Makarova, Natalia


Box 7 Folder 10 Plisetskaya, May a


Box 7 Folder 10 and others


Box 7 Folder 11 Gelvan--American Ballet Theater, Berlin Ballet, 1975-1980 undated, 1975-1980, undated


Box 7 Folder 11 Evdomikova, Eva


Box 7 Folder 11 Gelvan, Vladimir


Box 7 Folder 11 Hamel, Martine van


Box 7 Folder 11 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 7 Folder 11 Panov, Valery and Galena


Box 7 Folder 11 Vasiliev, Vladimir


Box 7 Folder 11 and others



Box 5 Folder 13 Nureyev, Rudolf, 1973-1979 undated, 1973-1979, undated

(Homage to Diaghelev, Miscellaneous--head shots, etc. candid street shots, ABT, etc., Ballet News)


Box 5 Folder 13 Gehm, Charlene


Box 5 Folder 13 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 5 Folder 13 and others


Box 5 Folder 14 Nureyev, "Faune", 1979

(Joffrey Ballet)


Box 5 Folder 14 Gehm, Charlene


Box 5 Folder 14 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 5 Folder 14 and others


Box 5 Folder 15 Nureyev, "Faune," 1975-1980 undated, 1975-1980, undated

(Joffrey Ballet)


Box 5 Folder 15 Baryshnikov, Mikhail


Box 5 Folder 15 Gehm, Charlene


Box 5 Folder 15 Godunov, Alexander


Box 5 Folder 15 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 5 Folder 15 and others


Box 5 Nureyev, Rudolf, 1979



Box 7 Folder 14 Extra pictures: Nureyev (Diaghelev), Cuban Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, 1979 1984 undated, 1979, 1984 undated

(including newspaper clipping on Amparo Brito)


Box 7 Folder 14 Brito, Amparo


Box 7 Folder 14 Godunov, Alexander


Box 7 Folder 14 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 7 Folder 14 Suarez, Rosario


Box 7 Folder 14 Vlasova, Ludmila


Box 7 Folder 14 and others


Box 7 Folder 15 Choice Pictures, 1979-1980 undated, 1979-1980, undated


Box 7 Folder 15 Godunov, Alexander


Box 7 Folder 15 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 7 Folder 15 and others


Box 7 Folder 16 New Pictures--Unsorted, 1975-1981 undated, 1975-1981, undated


Box 7 Folder 16 Baryshnikov, Mikhail


Box 7 Folder 16 Godunov, Alexander and Naomi


Box 7 Folder 16 Jaffe, Susan


Box 7 Folder 16 Kirkland, Gelsey


Box 7 Folder 16 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 7 Folder 16 and others



Box 8 Folder 1 Miscellaneous Photos, 1979 undated


Box 8 Folder 1 Gordeyev, Vyacheslav


Box 8 Folder 1 Nureyev, Rudolf


Box 8 Folder 1 Pavlova, Nadia

Series II: Japanese Art--Kabuki Books and Memorabilia, Ukiyo-e Books, 1978-1987

This series contains collection materials related to Japanese art.


Subseries II.1: Kabuki Books, 1978-1987

This subseries includes, for the most part, Kabuki plays translated to English and photo books of Kabuki actors. Several of the books focus on Tamasaburo Bando (b. 1950), a celebrated onnagata (the term for male Kabuki actors who specialize in depicting women).



Box 1 Leiter, Samuel L. The Art of Kabuki: Famous Plays in Performance, 1979



Box 6 Bando, Tamasaburo, undated

(all Japanese text)


Box 6 Gunji, Masakatsu Kabuki, 1985

(reissue of earlier book)


Box 6 The Kabuki , 1987


Box 6 Usui, Kenzo,Ebizo Kara Danjuro E , 1985 (2 copies), 1985

(text is in Japanese)



Box 7 Brandon, James R. Kabuki: Five Classic Plays, 1975



Box 8 Tamasaburo Bando , 1978

(photography by Kishin Shinoyama)


Box 8 Portfolio of Tamasaburo Bando, 1983

(2 copies, photography by Shunji Okura)


Box 8 Kabuki: Eighteen Traditional Dramas , 1985


Box 8 Kabuki , 1979

(photography by Chiaki Yoshida; text entirely in Japanese)


Box 8 Gunji, Masakatsu Kabuki, 1980

(later reissue also in collection)


Box 8 Kawatake, Toshio Kabuki: Danjuro's Lucky Eighteen, 1984

(photography by Iwata Akira)


Box 8 Okura, Shunji Tamasaburo Bando, Onnagata,, 1983


Subseries II.2: Kabuki Programs and Magazines, 1981-1982

Kabuki Programs and Magazines includes souvenir programs from The Grand Kabuki of Japan's performances in the U.S in 1982, and a 1981 magazine copy containing mostly photos of Kabuki performances. The souvenir program of the Grand Kabuki's 1982 North American tour contains autographs of seven members of the group, including celebrated actor Ichikawa Ebizo.


Box 8 Grand Kabuki of Japan--North American Tour Program, 1982

(includes autographs of seven members of the group: Utaemon, Tomiijuro, Tamaschuro Ebizo, Nakamara Utaemon, Nakamara Kanzeburro, Ichikawa Ebizo, and Kiyomoto Shizutayu)


Box 8 Grand Kabuki Playbill, 1982 July, 1982

(Metropolitan Opera, New York City)


Box 8 Double Page, Volume 13, 1981


Subseries II.3: Ukiyo-e Books, 1982

This subseries includes two books on the Japanese art of wood carving.


Box 8 Kobayashi, Tadashi Ukiyo-e, 1982

(part of seriesGreat Japanese Art)


Box 8 Oka, Isaburo Hiroshige, 1982

(part of seriesGreat Japanese Art)

Series III: Musical Scores, 1915-2000

Piano arrangements of ballets and opera arias, song books of Jewish folk music, and single-leaf piano scores of folk and pop songs from Italy and Israel.


Subseries III.1: Ballet Piano Arrangements, circa 1949-2000

This subseries includes scores of complete ballets as well as excerpts and collections, arranged alphabetically by composer name. There is a 1959 score of the Pas de Deux from Minkus'Don Quixotethat includes a cover photo of Claire Motte (1937-1986), ballet mistress and leading ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet.



Box 2 Auber, Daniel, Pas Classique, 1959


Box 2 Bizet, Georges, Jeux d'Enfants

(no date)


Chopin, Frederic


Box 2 Les Sylphides , 1976


Box 2 Les Sylphides , undated


Box 2 Drigo, Riccardo Le Corsaire, 1975


Minkus, Ludwig


Box 2 Paquita, Pas de Trois, 1957


Box 2 Paquita, Grand Pas, 1976


Box 2 Don Quixote, Pas de Deux, 1959

(cover photo of Claire Motte (1937-1986), ballet mistress and leading ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet)


Box 2 Don Quixote , 1974


Box 2 Don Quixote , undated


Box 2 La Bayadere , 1975


Box 2 La Bayadere , 1983


Box 2 Offenbach, Jacques La Gaite Parisienne,, 1952


Pugni, Cesare


Box 2 Pas de Deux from Esmeralda, 1958


Box 2 Pas de Quatre , 1973


Box 2 Pas de Quatre , 1973

(in Etude de la Danse collection)


Box 2 Rossini, Gioachino La Boutique Fantastique Suite, undated


Box 2 Strauss, Johann Graduation Ball, 1991


Tchaikovsky, P. I


Box 2 The Nutcracker Suite , 1949


Box 2 Le Lac des Cygnes , 1949


Box 2 Swan Lake: The Ballet Told in Words and Music, 1950


Box 2 "Le Cygne Noir,"Lac des Cygnes, 1975


Box 2 La Belle au Bois Dormant , 1950


Box 2 Casse Noisette , 1976



Box 3 Adam, Adolphe


Box 3 Giselle , 1974

(excerpt)


Box 3 Giselle , 1978


Delibes, Leo


Box 3 Coppelia , 1974


Box 3 Sylvia , 2000


Box 3 Glazunov, Alexander Raymonda, undated


Box 3 Helsted, Edvard, La Fete des Fleurs a Genzano, 1973


Box 3 Khachaturian, Aram Spartacus Moscow,, 1975

(hard cover edition)


McDermott, William


Box 3 Ballet Classics: Six Famous Pas de Deux, 1974


Box 3 Ballet Classics: Five Famous Pas de Deux, 1985


Prokofiev, Sergei


Box 3 Ten Pieces from the Ballet Cinderella,, 1967


Box 3 Cinderella, Moscow, 1981

(hard cover edition)


Box 3 Romeo and Juliet , 1967


Box 3 Stravinsky, Igor Firebird Suite, 1984


Box 3 Weber, Carl Maria von Invitation to the Dance, undated


Box 3 Zeller, Robert, Grands Pas de Deux Selected from Famous Ballets,, 1961


Subseries III.2: Italian Song, 1915-1984

This subseries includes voice and piano arrangements of folk and popular songs as well as opera arias. Scores are arranged in folders according to publishing company.



Box 4 Folder 1 Sheet Music: Italian Song, Edizioni and related companies, Milan/Naples,, 1943-1957

(43 items)


Box 4 Folder 2 Sheet Music: Italian Song, Casa Editrice F. Bideri, Naples, 1920-1957

(21 items)


Box 4 Folder 3 Sheet Music: Italian Song, Italian Book Company, New York City/Naples, 1915-1957

(10 items)


Box 4 Folder 4 Sheet Music: Italian Song, Ricordi and related companies, Milan,, 1944-1984

(14 items)


Box 4 Folder 5 Sheet Music: Italian Song, additional publishing companies, 1905-1957

(17 items)


Subseries III.3: Jewish and Israeli Song, 1930-1983

This subseries includes piano and voice arrangements as well as songbooks of Jewish folk songs and a few Hebrew translations of popular songs from film published by Negen Press. There are 3 booklets including melodies and Hebrew lyrics for national folk songs published in the first years of the State of Israel's founding.


Box 4 Folder 6 Sheet Music: Israel/Negen Press Songs, Tel Aviv, 1951-1960

(15 items)


Box 4 2 Bennett, Elsie Hebrew and Jewish Songs and Dances, 1954

(volumes 1 and 2)


Box 4 Easy to Play Jewish Nostalgia , undated


Box 4 Kramer, Isa, Album of Jewish Folk-Songs, 1930


Box 4 Sa-Ron , 1949


Box 4 Silverman, Jerry The Yiddish Song Book, 1983


Box 4 Songs of Land and Labor , 1955


Box 4 World Charts Presents the Jewish Songbook , undated


Box 4 The World's Most Famous Jewish Song Hits , 1956


Box 4 Zemer Ve Machol , 1955


Subseries III.4: Other Songs, 1967


Box 4 Bentley, Eric, The Brecht-Eisler Song Book, 1967