Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Miller, Ivor.

Description

1. 6 sound cassettes (520 min.) +

Summary

1. Cassette 1. 6/19/95. Abdel Salaam discusses his childhood and the members of his family; his early academic and musical education; studying the viola and alto saxophone; being influenced by saxophonist John Coltrane; his exposure to the teachings of Black Muslims and the Nation of Islam; his father's influence; religious influences; racism in superhero movies; studying music at the High School of Music and Art; being influenced by the Black Power Movement; attending Lehman College; his friendships with Malik and Hannibal Ahmed; becoming politically active while at college; books, authors and political activists that have influenced his thinking about race and religion; his dance studies at Lehman College with Joan Miller, Chuck Davis, John Parks, and Gail Reese; apprenticing and performing with the Chuck Davis Dance Company; performing with Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company and Joan Miller Contemporary Chamber Arts Dance Ensemble; attending his first professional dance concert; his ballet, The Fourth stage of self; assisting Chuck Davis in the Artist in the Schools program.
2. Cassette 2. 6/19/95. Mr. Salaam discusses the technical challenges of Fred Benjamin's choreography; seeing performances by the National Ballet of Guinea; injuring his knee; his admiration for the dancing of Dyane Harvey; Pilates training as physical therapy; founding the Harlem Institute for Egyptological Research; being influenced by the teachings of Elijah Mohammed; the evolution of African-American dance; storytelling in African ballets; the creation of his ballets including Ancestral earth trilogy, Coming forth by day, and The life and legend of Marie Laveau [Ebony magic]; the politics of skin tone within the African-American community; and the African diaspora.
3. Cassette 3. 6/20/95. Mr. Salaam discusses the author, Gerald Massey; the creation of his ballets including Buffalo soldiers, Pendulum, and The bitter cup heals; Thelma Hill; choreographers whose work influenced his early dances; the influence of Limon and Horton techniques on his choreography; blending modern dance techniques with African dance; his admiration for the dancing of company member Linetta Gaines; describes the Opening of the Mouth ceremony in Coming forth by day; learning from his failures; developing an annual Kwanza Celebration; the development and philosophy of his Forces of Nature Dance/Theatre Company; his ballet, Uncle Remus revisited; his company's performance in the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival 1983; and his ballet, Pendulum.
4. Cassette 4. 6/20/95. Mr. Salaam continues to describe Pendulum; discusses competition in the field of dance; his financial struggles; his ballet, Apartheid; working with costume designer Judy Dearing; his ballets Zakat and Divine triplex; revising Coming forth by day in 1985; his decision not to choreograph John Schlesinger's The Believers; his piece The life and legend of Marie Laveau; and his dances Rhythm tree and From the mud below.
5. Cassette 5. 6/20/95. Mr. Salaam discusses From the mud below, Visions at Goree, Lamkavena ban, American griot, Dawn feather eclipse, Ancestral earths, Pee Dee River bonding, Ode to Brahma and Seaweed; his mother's death; learning about his family's Native American bloodline; founding the Eternal Earth Celebrations; racism in the U.S.; myth as a choreographic source; his research into Mexican culture; revising Coming forth by day; and choreographing Cult of the wolves.
6. Cassette 6. 6/20/95. Mr. Salaam continues to discuss Cult of the wolves; racism in feature films; empowerment of African-Americans through the arts; the book Ancient and modern Britains by David MacRitchie; the language of African drumming; the relationship between African music and dance; his education in African rhythms; working with musicians; the creation of Passion fruit; the trend toward homoeroticism in dance; dancer Dyane Harvey; people who have influenced his work; and the influence of Cultural Nationalists on popular culture.

Alternative title

1. Dance Oral History Project.
2. Dance Audio Archive.

Subject

1. Djoliba, Ballet national de la Republique de Guinee
2. African American dance
3. Rhythm tree (Choreographic work : Salaam)
4. Davis, Chuck, 1937-
5. Harvey, Dyane
6. Cult of the wolves (Choreographic work : Salaam)
7. Modern dance > Technique > Horton
8. Parks, John
9. Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and the Arts. (New York, N.Y.)
10. Alpha-Omega Theatrical Dance Company
11. Forces of Nature (Dance company)
12. Benjamin, Fred
13. Coming forth by day (Choreographic work : Salaam)
14. Audiotapes > Salaam, A
15. Hill, Thelma, 1924-1977
16. Miller, Joan, 1936-
17. Ebony magic (Choreographic work : Salaam)
18. From the mud below (Choreographic work : Salaam)
19. Joan Miller's Dance Players
20. Lamkavena ban (Choreographic work : Salaam)
21. Dearing, Judy
22. Chuck Davis Dance Company
23. Passion fruit (Choreographic work : Salaam)
24. Coltrane, John, 1926-1967
25. Modern dance > Technique > Limon
26. Uncle Remus revisited (Choreographic work : Salaam)

Call number

1. *MGZMT 3-1870

Note

1. For transcript, see: *MGZMT 3-1870. Permission required.
2. Interviewed by Ivor Miller, June 19-20, 1995, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City.

Access (note)

1. Permission required for transcript.
2. Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.

Author

1. Salaam, Abdel R. Interviewee

Title

1. Interview with Abdel Salaam [sound recording]

Imprint

1. 1995.

Restricted access

1. Permission required for transcript.

Local note

1. Preservation master cassette: *MGZTCO 3-1870.
2. Archival transcript: *MGZMTO 3-1870.

Restricted access

1. Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.

Local subject

1. Modern dance -- Technique -- Limon
2. Modern dance -- Technique -- Horton
3. Audiotapes -- Salaam, A.

Added author

1. Miller, Ivor. Interviewer

Research call number

1. *MGZMT 3-1870 [Transcript]
2. *MGZTC 3-1870 [Cassette]