Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. McDonagh, Don.
2. Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Description

1. 3 sound discs (ca. 123 min.) : digital, stereo; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

1. Part 1, disc 1 (ca. 60 min.). Sophie Maslow speaks with husband, Max Blatt, and Don McDonagh about dancing with Martha Graham and her company in the early 1930s, including the costuming aspects; costuming for Primitive mysteries, and the fact that they were unbecoming on the dancers, and the use of snoods on the hair; her belief that the revival of Primitive mysteries was more becoming; the fact that Graham's costumes made movement difficult; the dancers' tendency to be heavier, and thin dancers were not in vogue; Graham's choice of all body types; the body types of many of the early Graham dancers; dieting in dancers; compensation received for each performance; the hours of rehearsal time put into each performance, including holidays and weekends; the fact that dancing for Graham took priority over jobs and family obligations; her first dance performance, Heretic, in its revised state; Heretic and Primitive mysteries, and the unison work Graham was employing at that time; Louis Horst's influence on Graham, and the company overall; Graham's ability to express emotion; Graham's attraction to modern dance in the face of adversity; Graham's severity and concentration; audiences' later acceptance and understanding of Graham's dances due to the fact that they became more complete, softer, flowing, and lyrical; changes in Graham's choreography, and the different periods in her life; Graham's use of musical scores and working with composers; the use of text in American document; costuming and design in all of Graham's dances; favorite dances, including American document, Primitive mysteries, Letter to the world, and Celebration.
2. Part 1, disc 2 (ca. 31 min.). Sophie Maslow speaks with husband, Max Blatt, and Don McDonagh about the revival of American document; the difficulty in training young dancers in Graham's early techniques due to the fact that the early dancers sometimes spent years perfecting the movement; dance movements in the 1930s and 1940s, and the different body structures; photo shoots and the time spent on getting the images just right; changes in Graham's company after Erick Hawkins' arrival; the look of the dances and the placement of the dancers on the stage after Hawkins' arrival; visiting Bethsabee de Rothschild in Israel, and dancing in her company; the last year dancing for Graham's company, in 1947, when her daughter was born; touring in Cuba with the Graham company; meeting Graham's mother, and impressions of her.
3. Part 2 (ca. 31 min.) Sophie Maslow speaks with husband, Max Blatt, and Don McDonagh about the fact that artist management companies did not exist at the time she danced for Graham; arrangement of tours by individuals who oftentimes lost money in the process; touring with huge trunks, full of costumes and clothes; problems with funding dance companies, efforts made to keep the Graham company viable; revival of Primitive mysteries in 1965, with the involvement of original dancers; Graham's approval of the revived dance, and her discussions with the younger dancers about the meaning of the dance; Graham's ability to bring out the best in her dancers; the effect Graham had on people; Graham's attitude toward male dancers and the difference from that shown to female dancers; anecdotes about things that would make Graham angry; working with Louis Horst [abrupt end].

Subject

1. Primitive mysteries (Choreographic work : Graham)
2. American document (Choreographic work : Graham)
3. Graham, Martha
4. Blatt, Max
5. Horst, Louis > Influence
6. Maslow, Sophie > Interviews
7. Hawkins, Erick

Call number

1. *MGZTL 4-2529

Note

1. Interview with Sophie Maslow conducted by Don McDonagh on Sep. 1, 1971.
2. Sophie Maslow's husband, Max Blatt, participates in the interview.
3. Open as of August 22, 2012.

Funding (note)

1. Recording was preserved through a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Source (note)

1. Don McDonagh;

Author

1. Maslow, Sophie. Interviewee

Title

1. Interview with Sophie Maslow [sound recording].

Imprint

1. 1971.

Funding

1. Recording was preserved through a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Local note

1. Archive orig. : *MGZTCO 3-2529 , nos. 1-2
2. Dubbing master : *MGZTD 4-2529, nos. 1-3.

Source

1. Gift; Don McDonagh; 2007

Added author

1. McDonagh, Don. Interviewer
2. McDonagh, Don. Donor
3. Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Research call number

1. *MGZTL 4-2529 sound disc