For three quarters of a century, American Ballet Theatre has been recognized as one of the great dance companies in the world, showcasing many of the finest dancers and choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Recognized by an act of Congress as America’s National Ballet Company, ABT has performed in all 50 states and serves as a cultural ambassador on its many international tours. For 75 years, ABT has stood as a pioneer in American dance. American Ballet Theatre's 2015 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 11-July 4, 2015, celebrates the Company's 75 glorious years with programs that showcase its rich heritage.
ABT owes its very existence to the vision and determination of American dancer Lucia Chase, co-founder with Richard Pleasant. Chase was a member and principal financial backer of the Mordkin Ballet, a Russian ballet company formed in 1937 by Mikhail Mordkin. Wanting to provide America with a first class ballet company, she expanded the Mordkin Ballet, ABT was the result.
Chase’s impact on American ballet is immeasurable. As co-founder, Chase would introduce British choreographer Antony Tudor to America, as well as commission the first works of Americans Jerome Robbins, Michael Kidd, Eugene Loring, Michael Smuin, and Eliot Feld. In 1945, Chase and Oliver Smith would become co-directors of Ballet Theatre, a tenure that would last 35 years, one of the longest in American dance history. The Company became known for attracting the finest dancers in the world and went on to produce not only the work of 19th and 20th century choreographers, but the great full-evening Russian classics. During her realm, ABT would undertake several successful international tours, establishing itself as an American cultural ambassador and adopting the name American Ballet Theatre in 1957. In speaking of Chase’s legacy, Jerome Robbins declared, “Without her, the development of dance in America would be unimaginably poorer.''
The Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing has a long-standing relationship with American Ballet Theatre to preserve and make their materials accessible to the public. Included in the archive are the American Ballet Theatre Records, 1936-ca. 1967 (Library classmark (s) *MGZMD 49), which includes 188 boxes and contains some 450,000 items.
in 1986, Lucia Chase donated her papers that document her personal and professional life. There are also a number of audio recordings of her interviewed by John Gruen. It is one of the most frequently consulted collections in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division and is a treasure among our holdings. The Dance Division has more than 475 recordings of ABT, including documentaries, performances, rehearsals, and interviews. Of those, the Dance Division, in its project to record dance, has actually taped ABT 25 times, creating records of 48 dances since we first started recording dance in 1967.
The Dance Division also has oral histories with many members of ABT, including two recent interviews, with Kevin McKenzie and Julie Kent, which are now accessible worldwide via Library's website at Digital Collections Dance Video. These two interviews were conducted as part of the Library's Speaking of Dancing Project funded by Anne Bass.
