Finding Strength in the Dance Division Collections

Guest post by Mia Shapiro, a Jerome Robbins Dance Division Library Page.

This past July, I was hired as a Library Page to assist patrons and staff in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. I have been very thankful to be in contact during this time with the Division's collections. After about 20 years as a clinical social worker and at the height of the pandemic in 2020, I decided to keep a small private practice and begin an online master's program in cultural heritage archives. I have always loved finding and preserving what is beautiful—whether it be the hidden strengths inside the self or the artistic creations shared on the outside. As a therapist and performing arts archivist, I am very lucky to get to do both for a living.

Many have asked me: “Are you inspired at the Library of Performing Arts to dance on a daily basis?” Absolutely. The images on the walls alone can do that. What may not be as obvious is that I'm also inspired by our collections to live, and to hopefully teach others to live, with creativity and resilience. In response to the present Omicron variant surge in New York City, I wanted to share some examples of how our collections can connect you to strength and hope.

The disconnect between the body and our mental health is nothing new to New Yorkers. We tend to rush when we walk, when we talk, and even when we eat. If you are looking to understand how your body can relax your mind during this time, consider books like these:

Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation by Jamie Marich, Ph.D, LPCC-S

"This...is an invitation and a portal into the practice of dance and movement as meditation. All bodies are welcome and all abilities. Anyone can dance, although many of us hold back because we don't look like dancers or because we have physical limitations. but I am willing to bet that most of you holding this book have touched a moment of transcendence or freedom in an experience of dance that leads you to explore deeper. You have a worthy guide in your hands." —from the forward by Christine Valters Paintner, Ph.D, OBL, OSB, REACE

The Routledge International Handbook of Embodied Perspectives in Psychotherapy: Approaches from Dance Movement and Body Psychotherapies, edited by Helen Payne, Sabine Koch and Jennifer Tantia, with Thomas Fuchs 

"Vast in its scope, original in its perspective, and comprehensive in its inclusion of diverse points of view, this book is a treasure trove of practical and theoretical riches. For all who honor the role of the body's natural intelligence in healing from trauma and attachment inadequacies, this book is an essential resource." —from the back cover by Pat Ogden, Ph.D

Explore more books at the Library of Performing Arts in the catalog: dance therapy, movement therapy, mind and body therapies.

Videos from the Archives

Still/Here, conceived, choreographed and directed by Bill T. Jones. Video viewable onsite at the Library for the Performing Arts; email the Dance Division at dance@nypl.org for permission to view *MGZIDVD 5-726.

For those who have lost loved ones, who are experiencing debilitating post-COVID conditions, and for the health care professionals helping them, this multimedia exploration of illness and those affected by it is a must see. Let the transcendent voice of legendary folk singer Odetta accompanying this diverse company’s social and artistic achievement remind you how our collection can be used by many different disciplines to bridge gaps in understanding and to help explain aspects of the human condition that only dance can do.

Letters, Diaries & Manuscripts in the Archives

Many of the dancers that grace our collections also struggled through personal and societal traumas. Within the folders of our archival boxes, you can find the handwritten notes, letters, and journal entries dating from the 1800s that describe the perspectives and practices that got them through wars, personal losses, fundamental disagreements with societal trends and physical challenges. Two examples, which you can arrange to see by emailing the Dance Division, can be found in:

• The Correspondence of Lois Fuller (Loie Fuller Collection, folders 1-208). Collection Overview: The Loie Fuller Collection mainly documents the last fifteen years of Miss Fuller's life and consists of personal and professional correspondence, performance contracts, production notes, sheet music, autobiographical writings, other writings by Loie Fuller, material concerning Maryhill Museum, legal documents, memorabilia, and photographs. The earliest piece of correspondence dates from 1902, although the collection does contain photographs from as early as 1862. The collection does not end with Loie's death in 1928 but includes performance contracts and correspondence through 1935 for Les Ballets Fantastiques de Loie Fuller and some personal correspondence of Gabrielle Bloch, Loie's friend and the company's manager after her death.
   
• Articles by Carmelita Maracci in the Carmelita Maracci Papers, specifically “The Portrait—The Individual Voice,” “Laughter is the Gut Unhurting Itself,” and “The Psychological Aspects of the Dance,” found in box 6, folder 58.Collection Overview: The papers of Carmelita Maracci document her professional and, to a lesser extent, her personal life from 1924 until after her death in July, 1987. The collection consists of correspondence; writings by Maracci including journals, notebooks and drafts of sections of her unpublished autobiography; articles by and about Maracci; brief notes for some of her dances; press releases and promotional materials for performances; teaching notes for her “talking classes;” clippings (reviews, interviews, announcements, obituaries); and artwork by Maracci.

Let our collections serve you—they're here…waiting to become part of your story.