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Inventory of the Edith Allard Papers, 1955-1991
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Joy L. Austria, 2008 ©2008. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
|
| Creator | Allard, Edith, 1927- |
| Title | Edith Allard Papers |
| Dates | 1955-1991 |
| Extent | 0.5 cubic ft. (1 box and 1 oversize folder) |
| Abstract | Letters, postcards, telegrams, contracts and schedules, clippings, photographs and programs of dance performances in Israel and Sweden, two art prints and a small collection of medals. |
| Language | Materials are in English, French, Swedish, Italian, and Hebrew. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Dance MS Allard |
| Collection Stack Location | 3a 48 1 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Edith Allard Papers, Midwest Manuscript Collection, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Gift of Edith Allard, 2007.
Processed by
Virginia Hay Smith, 2008.
Access
The Edith Allard Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum (Priority II).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Edith Allard Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Biography of Edith Allard
American-born ballet dancer.
Edith Allard was born of Russian parents in Chicago, Illinois, March 16, 1927. Her family lived in Hoopeston, Illinois for several years where she began grammar school and her dance education. Later, they moved to Chicago and Allard studied with Mary Vandas. In 1945, she was awarded a scholarship at the School of American Ballet (in New York) for one year, where she studied with Oboukoff, Pierre Vladimiroff, and Muriel Stuart. By 1949 she had danced with Ruth Page's Chicago Opera Ballet, the Radio City Music Hall corps de ballet, and touring companies, including the Markova-Dolin company as soloist. In 1949 Allard left New York for Paris, motivated to study with the famous Russian ballerinas Lubov Egorova, Olga Preobrajenska, and Nicholai Zveroff from the Diaghilev ballet. She remained in Paris for 11 years. During the Paris years Allard was contracted at several locales: Theatre du Chatelet as soloist, music and ballet festivals with John Taras as choreographer at Aix en Provence and Geneva, Switzerland; opera season in Genoa, Italy; Danse et Culture as a soloist touring France; and the company "Le Rendezvous Manqué" with John Taras, touring Paris, Monte Carlo, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Boston, and New York. In 1960, Allard was contracted at the Malmö Stadsteater in Sweden as soloist for one year, followed by a summer touring operetta company as soloist. She danced in "My Fair Lady" in Gothernburg, Sweden, then was contracted at the Stora Teatern, Gothenburg, where she remained until 1971, also as a soloist. Allard took a leave of absence for one year (1963-1964) to dance with the Jazz Ballet in Stockholm, and then as Premiere Danseuse at the National Opera in Tel Aviv, where she also taught company classes. Returning to Gothenburg after her leave, she remained at the Stora Teatern until she retired at age 44 (the retirement age for Swedish dancers).
Immediately following her retirement as a dancer, Allard's teaching career began. From the fall of 1971 until 1974 she was the company teacher for the Ballet de Lyon (Opera de Lyon, France). She guest taught at Rosella Hightower's Centre de Danse in Cannes and several courses for the Federation Française de Danse Classique et Contemporaine. Allard returned to Sweden in 1974, where in Stockholm she taught professional dancers and children at the Balett Akademien, Ivo Cramer's Ballet, the Cullberg Ballet, all levels at the Royal Opera School (for eight years), the University College of Dance (for sixteen years), Norrköping Ballet, Kulturama, and other schools. From 1984 to 1985 Allard was at the Scala de Milano as teacher and assistant under the direction of Rosella Hightower. After that she served as guest teacher for the Ballet d'Avignon at the Opera d'Avignon, at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Italy, and all levels at the Royal Ballet School in London. Allard retired from teaching at the University College of Dance in 1992, and afterwards became an instructor for exercise groups for heart and lung patients, as well as teaching the Chinese exercise program of Qi-Gong.
Allard married Ingemar Larsson in 1974. Recently widowed, she is presently living in Stockholm, Sweden. - biography revised March 15, 2010.
Scope and Content of the Collection
Collection consists of incoming letters, including ones from Rosella Hightower and Allard’s Paris teacher, Lubov Egorova, (a.k.a. Princess Nikita Troubetskoy), postcards and telegrams. Also, material regarding performances in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Gothenburg and Stockholm, Sweden, including clippings, programs and photographs of the 1960s. Also, business-related items such as schedules, contracts and a residence permit for Italy and the Teatro Alla Scala 1984-1985, a few miscellaneous photographs, programs, clippings, two art prints from LaScala, Milan, several small medals and nine oversize posters.
Correspondence to Ann Barzel is located in the Ann Barzel Papers, Correspondence Series.
Arrangement
Arranged by type of material.Return to the Table of Contents
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Allard, Edith, 1927-
- Egorova, Lubov Nikolaevna, 1880-1972
- Hightower, Rosella
Subjects
- Ballet dancers – Sweden – Stockholm
- Dance teachers – Italy – Milan
- Manuscripts, American – Illinois – Chicago
- Photographs – 1960-1981
- Programs – 1958-1968
Container List |
|||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence, Incoming: Letters, 1965-1991 and undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence, Incoming: Cards and envelopes, 1975-1985, and undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence, Incoming: Telegrams, 1984 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Contracts and Schedules, 1984-1985 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Residents Permit, Italy, 1984 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Clippings, Miscellaneous, 1955-1965 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Performances: Cinderella - Clippings, 1964 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Performances: Cinderella - Photographs, 1964 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Performances: Israel - Letter and publications, 1963-1964 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Performances: Israel - Photographs, 1963-1964 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Performances: Medea - Clippings, 1966 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Performances: Medea - Photographs, 1966 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Performances: Romeo and Juliet and The Prodigal Son: Clippings, 1968 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Performances: Serge Lifar Gala, Clippings, 1967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Performances: Serge Lifar Gala, Photographs, 1967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Photographs: Opera Elevskolan Stockholm “Exam Day for Parents”, June, 1981 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Photographs: Stora Teatern Performances; Miscellaneous, 1960-1969 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Programs: Stora Teatern, 1964-1968 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Programs: Miscellaneous, 1958; 1968; Undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Art Prints: LaScala, Milan, 1984-1985 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Medals, undated | |||||||||
| -- | Oversize folder: Posters, 1956-1985 | ||||||||||
| Harry Rubenstein Presents the Israeli Ballet (autographed), Dec. 11, 1964 | |||||||||||
| Stora Teatern: Balettafton, April 9, 1963 | |||||||||||
| Cite Universitaire (Paris), “A la Gloire de Chopin”, March 5, 1956 | |||||||||||
| Teatro alla Scala (Milan) – five posters for 1985 season: “Swan Lake”(2); “Romeo and Juliet”; “Prodigal Son”; “Jungle” et al. (5 posters) | |||||||||||
| Edith Allard: Opera Ballet School, Stockholm, 1981 | |||||||||||