Klarna Pinska papers, 1919-1986

Links

• View catalog record
• View finding aid (165.56 KB PDF)

Creator

Pinska, Klarna.

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division

Extent

• 3.5 linear ft. (8 boxes)

Scope/Contents Note

The Klarna Pinska papers contain materials from most of her professional career, but focus on her time working as Ruth St. Denis' assistant during the 1960s and her work asan advocate and promoter of the St. Denis legacy throughout the 1970s. Publicity and other professional papers of St. Denis are present in this collection, as well as correspondence between Pinska and other individuals working with St. Denis. Also included in the Pinksa papers is correspondence (mostly of a professional nature), as well as research notes and other materials that document Pinska's teaching. Photographs capture Pinska at various points of her career from 1919 to 1982. The music scores, some of which were the property of the Denishawn School of Dancing, are mostly printed and were used by Pinska for dance instruction.

Biographical/Historical Note

Klarna Pinska (1904-1994) was an influential dancer, instructor, and choreographer, active primarily in California. She studied under Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn at the Denishawn School of Dancing from 1920-1926, both in Los Angeles and New York. In the early 1930s, Pinska went on to become a teacher for Ruth St. Denis in New York. In this role, she assisted St. Denis in various projects, as well as choreographed and directed her own works. During this period, Pinska also studied other modern dance techniques and styles with Charles Weidman and Doris Humphrey, among others. In 1941, Pinska relocated to the West Coast where she found work as a welder in the shipyards. She studied and worked as a dancetherapist at the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles throughout the 1950s and 1960s.Pinska also found work during this period teaching professional movement classes, as well as dance classes for children. She was reunited with St. Denis in California and served as her assistant from 1963-1966. In the 1970s, following the death of St. Denis, Pinska continued to conduct Denishawn master classes and lecturesand to produce performances, culminating in the 1977 production, The Spirit of Denishawn, which she choreographed and directed. In later years, Pinska received several awards for her contributions to modern dance and dance education. She died in San Francisco in 1994.

Controlled Access Terms

• Pinska, Klarna.
• St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968.
• Weidman, Charles.
• Dance teachers -- United States -- 20th century.
• Women dancers -- United States -- 20th century.
• Clippings.
• Correspondence.
• Photographs.
• Programs.
• Scores.
• Scrapbooks.
• Dance teachers.
• Dancers.

Additional Creator Names

• St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968.
• Weidman, Charles.