Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Gruen, John

Description

1. 3 sound discs (132 min.) : digital; (4 3/4 in.)

Summary

1. Disc 1 (ca. 48 min.). Sallie Wilson speaks with John Gruen about her childhood in Fort Worth, Texas; how she first became interested in ballet; her first ballet teachers; moving to New York City to study ballet with Margaret Craske; Craske as a teacher; her initial brief tenure at American Ballet Theatre; joining the Metropolitan Opera Ballet at Antony Tudor's invitation; Tudor as a teacher; working with Tudor at Jacob's Pillow, in Lee, Mass. in 1951, including performing in Tudor's work Dark elegies; her relationship with Tudor; his work Pillar of fire; re-joining American Ballet Theatre in 1955, including her audition with Lucia Chase and Tudor; her relationship with Tudor after joining American Ballet Theatre [brief gap]; Tudor's work La ronde, in particular her initial difficulty with her role as the actress; Sono Osato's teaching her the role of Juliet, in Tudor's Romeo and Juliet; Tudor's relationship with his dancers, including Nora Kaye; more on working with Tudor; his comments on Natalia Makarova's performance of Pillar of fire [short gap; ends abruptly].
2. Disc 2 (ca. 48 min.). Sallie Wilson continues to speak with John Gruen about Antony Tudor, including his working methods at rehearsals; her marriage [to Ali Pourfarrokh] and divorce; rehearsing and performing in Agnes de Mille's Fall River legend, including Lupe Serrano's help; more on Tudor's relationship with Wilson and with other dancers [recording is briefly halted]; Tudor and Hugh Laing's relationship; the meaning of the term "dramatic ballerina", including her roles in Les sylphides as an example; the direction and management at American Ballet Theatre, including her feelings about Lucia Chase; Alvin Ailey's work Sea-change; her time with New York City Ballet, including her audition; her relationship with George Balanchine, including an anecdote with respect to an argument they had about technique; meeting Martha Graham and rehearsing her and Balanchine's collaborative work Episodes [Gruen describes Wilson's physical appearance]; José Limón and his ballet The moor's pavane; the relationship between dancing a dramatic role and a dancer's private life; her private life [ends abruptly].
3. Disc 3 (ca. 38 min.). Sallie Wilson continues to speak to John Gruen about her private life; her feelings about American Ballet Theatre's casting decisions, and the hiring of foreign artists, in particular Natalia Makarova; performing Pillar of fire, including Tudor's and Hugh Laing's comments on a specific performance; her feelings watching other dancers rehearse Tudor's Lilac garden [Jardin aux lilas]; briefly, Tudor and Lucia Chase; briefly, Oliver Smith; her friends in the company; Nora Kaye as a person and as a dancer; teaching; Jerome Robbins, in particular rehearsing his ballet Les noces; [in response to Gruen's question] her advice to younger dancers [brief gap followed by discussion of unidentified person]; more on advice to aspiring dancers; the state of mind necessary to dance Swan lake convincingly.

Alternative title

1. Dance Audio Archive.

Subject

1. Wilson, Sallie
2. Craske, Margaret
3. Tudor, Antony, 1908-1987
4. Robbins, Jerome
5. Chase, Lucia, 1897-1986
6. Kaye, Nora, 1920-1987
7. Graham, Martha
8. De Mille, Agnes. Fall River legend
9. Balanchine, George. Episodes
10. Balanchine, George
11. American Ballet Theatre
12. New York City Ballet
13. Pillar of fire (Choreographic work : Tudor)
14. Audiotapes -- Wilson, S

Call number

1. *MGZTL 4-206-207

Note

1. Interview with Sallie Wilson conducted by John Gruen on Jan. 23, 1973, in Gruen's home, in New York City. The interview was used as a basis for a chapter in John Gruen's book, The private world of ballet, c1975.
2. Sound quality is good.

Access (note)

1. Open as of January 1, 2018.

System details (note)

1. Transferred from 2 sound cassettes (ca. 137 min.; 1 7/8 in. per sec.; 2 channels; originally recorded on Jan. 23, 1973) to wav file and compact disc formats in 2010.

Local note

1. For edited transcript of interview see: *MGZMT 3-206-207.
2. Former call number: *MGZTC 3-206-207.
3. Archive original: *MGZTCO 3-206-207 no. 1-2

Author

1. Wilson, Sallie, interviewee.

Title

1. Interview with Sallie Wilson [sound recording].

Imprint

1. 1973.

Access

1. Open as of January 1, 2018.

System details

1. Transferred from 2 sound cassettes (ca. 137 min.; 1 7/8 in. per sec.; 2 channels; originally recorded on Jan. 23, 1973) to wav file and compact disc formats in 2010.

Added author

1. Gruen, John, interviewee.

Research call number

1. *MGZTL 4-206-207