Records of the Northwestern University Dance Program

The Records of the Dance Program, filling three boxes and spanning the years 1974 to 2006, document the founding and development of the program, as well as materials relating to coursework, guest performances, and student productions. Materials include correspondence from the program's initial establishment, handwritten choreography notes, event schedules and programs, and newspaper articles. The records are divided into six subseries: General Files, Faculty Files, Host Productions and Guest Companies, Memberships and Organizations, Workshops, and NU Dance Company Productions.

The General Files date between 1978 and 2006. The Founding folder contains correspondence from the program's creation. Press releases and newspaper articles show the media depiction of the program, while programs, signs/flyers/promotional schedules, course descriptions and recruitment brochures the academic program and some of its events. The community classes and national high school institute folders show the programs expansion outside of the college boundaries, while the payroll expenses and five-year review of artists in residency provide more logistics on faculty, etc.

Faculty Files from 1980 to 1998 include correspondence, notes, and announcements pertaining to faculty. Files relating to specific faculty members are organized alphabetically by surname. The records in all files are arranged in chronological order. Files relate both to permanent faculty, such as Susan Lee and Lynne Anne Blom, and to guest or visiting faculty such as Roko Kawai and John Nagrin. Blom's files include her handwritten choreography notes for seven pieces.

Files documenting Hosted Productions and Companies, ranging from 1990-1998, contain flyers and schedules relating to the diverse array of guest performers, many of whom, such as Gus Giordano, were nationally known.

Memberships and Organizations Files, from 1986-1999, contain documents relating to the Dance Program's membership in such organizations as the Arts Midwest and the Chicago Dance Coalition. They also contain membership renewal information, forms, and cards. Folders also contain correspondence relating to applications for grants from several organizations.

The Workshops subseries spans the years 1992 to 1998, and chronicles such major events on campus as the Jazz Dance World Congress in the early 1990s. These files also contain records of the First International Argentinean Tango Congress of 1995, which culminated in a large party at the Norris Student Center.

Finally, the Northwestern Dance Productions subseries, with materials from 1990-1999, reflect the core of the program: student performances. Files contain programs, correspondence, and schedules from various groups, the two most prominent being Northwestern University Dance Ensemble (“N.U.D.E”) and Danceworks.