Research Catalog

Title

Interview with Lar Lubovitch. February 19, 1973, 1973.

Author

Lubovitch, Lar, 1943-

Publication

1973

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Gruen, John

Description

2 sound discs (approximately one hour and 29 minutes): digital; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

• Disc 1 (approximately 48 minutes). John Gruen speaks with Lar Lubovitch about Lubovitch's career as a dancer and choreographer beginning with his family background; his involvement in art since childhood; continuing his art education at the University of Iowa; discovering dance as a profession while in Iowa and leaving to study dance at the Juilliard School; his teachers including Antony Tudor; Tudor as a teacher; his characterization of himself as a modern dancer who also uses classical technique; names some of the many modern dance companies with which he has performed; briefly, his work for the Santa Fe Opera; Glen Tetely as a choreographer; his time at the Harkness Ballet including his roles; his problems with the company management and his not-wholly-voluntary departure; weathering a period of unhappiness and self-doubt while continuing to choreograph; creating his own company [Lar Lubovitch Dance Company]; the varied background of the company members; the fact of dancing as an experience rather than any specific meaning as the point of his choreography; sets, costumes, and lighting as elements of the unified palette that he seeks to create; his definition of dance, in emotional and physical terms [ends abruptly].
• Disc 2 (approximately 41 minutes). John Gruen and Lar Lubovitch continue to speak about how he thinks about dance; his creative process with reference to his work Scherzo for Massah Jack, choreographed for American Ballet Theatre [Gruen describes Lubovitch's physical appearance]; more on his creative process; some of his earlier works; choreographers he admires; his view of ballet as just one facet of the larger phenomenon of dance; how he feels when he is dancing including what he describes as a life force; Bonnie Mathis's mastery of her role [in Scherzo for Massah Jack]; [discussion of Clive Barnes' review of this work]; the his impetus to choreograph; his family's initial difficulty in understanding his career choice; the future of the company; factors that influence his choice of music for his choreography; briefly, his design work for other choreographers; his belief that choreography is a self-taught art; the importance of always moving forward, creatively-speaking.

Donor/Sponsor

Gift of John Gruen, April 1974

Subjects

• Tudor, Antony, 1909-1987
• Lubovitch, Lar, 1943-
• Harkness Ballet
• Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
• Scherzo for Massah Jack (Choreographic work : Lubovitch)
• Audiotapes > Lubovitch, L

Note

• Interview with Lar Lubovitch conducted by John Gruen on February 19, 1973 at Gruen's home in New York City. This interview was used as a basis for a chapter in John Gruen's book, The private world of ballet (New York, Viking Press).
• For transcript, see: *MGZMT 3-170.
• Sound quality is good. There are some extraneous noises and a few short gaps.

Funding (note)

• The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.

Call Number

*MGZTL 4-170

OCLC

79055223

Author

Lubovitch, Lar, 1943- interviewee.

Title

Interview with Lar Lubovitch. February 19, 1973, 1973.

Production

1973

Type of Content

spoken word

Type of Medium

audio

Type of Carrier

audio disc

Event

Recorded by John Gruen 1973, February 19 New York (New York)

Funding

The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.

Original Version

Original format: one sound cassette (approximately one hour and 29 minutes); 1 7/8 ips. originally recorded on February 19, 1973; transferred to wav file and compact disc formats in 2013.

Local Note

Former classmark: *MGZTC 3-170

Added Author

Gruen, John, interviewer.

Gruen, John, donor

Research Call Number

*MGZTL 4-170