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Rare Book & Manuscript Library |
Summary InformationAbstract
At a Glance
Arrangement
DescriptionSummaryThe bulk of the collection comprises Leonide Massine's personal, family and professional correspondence with individuals and organizations. There are also some legal documents, Massine's professional notes on various ballet productions, handwritten text of his lecture on dance composition delivered in London in July 1932, notes with schedules, cast drafts, financial matters. The collection includes letters from many prominent Russian émigré dancers, composers, writers and artists, such as Alexandre Benois, Naum Gabo, Vernon Duke, Wassily Kandinsky, Nikolai Legat, Serge Lifar, Nikolai Minskii, Nicolas Nabokov, Zinaida Vengerova, Evgenii Zamiatin and others. There is an extensive correspondence between Massine's and his parents and sibblings.
Using the CollectionRare Book and Manuscript Library Restrictions on AccessYou will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account. This collection has no restrictions. This collection is located on-site. Terms Governing Use and ReproductionSingle photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron. Preferred CitationIdentification of specific item; Date (if known); Leonide Massine papers; Box and Folder; Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library. AccrualsMaterials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information. Custodial HistoryDonnor received this collection in about 1980 from Mary Ann De Vlieg, Massine's assistant during the last few years of his life. She collected the materials for her research project and later gave them to the donnor asking for help with the Russian. Mary Ann De Vlieg didn't complete her project and suggested the donnor to donate the materials to a library. Immediate Source of Acquisition2012.2013.M048: Source of acquisition--Susane Summer. Method of acquisition--Gift. Date of acquisition--2012. About the Finding Aid / Processing InformationColumbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library Processing InformationCollection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative. The collection was processed and finding aid written by Katia Davidenko in September 2019. Subject HeadingsThe subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives. All links open new windows. Subject
History / Biographical NoteBiographical / HistoricalLéonide Massine (Leonid Fedorovich Miasin), 1896-1979, Russian dancer and choreographer, one of the most important figures in 20th-century dance. Studied acting and dance at Moscow's Imperial Theatre School, was a principal dancer and choreographer for Diaghilev's Ballet Russe and for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. In the 1940s Massine worked in the United States. During the late 1940s and the 1950s, Massine spent most of his time in Europe working with many European ballet theaters and companies. He also choreographed ballets for films, including iconic "The Red Shoes"(1948) and "Tales of Hoffman"(1951), in which he also appeared, and Honeymoon(1958). Massine died in Cologne, West Germany, on March 16, 1979. |