Larry Warren Papers
Abstract
A choreographer, dancer, and professor, Larry Warren (1932-2009) taught modern dance at the University of Maryland from 1971 until 1995. The collection consists of historic dance materials collected by Warren, specifically programs and promotional materials programs, but also art, photographs and documents.
Important Information for Users of the Collection
There are no restricted files in this collection.
Larry Warren Papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
Materials from this collection must be used in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Special Collections Room, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Please make an appointment with the curator: Vincent J. Novara Tel: 301.405.9220, Email: vnovara@umd.edu
This collection is PROCESSED.
Historical Note
Larry Warren was a dance biographer, choreographer, teacher, and director. He was the author of two dance books, Lester Horton: Modern Dance Pioneer and Anna Sokolow: The Rebellious Spirit. For the latter he received the 1991-92 De la Torre Bueno special citation awarded by Dance Perspectives.
Born in Brooklyn, Larry moved to North Hollywood with his family in 1948. He began his dance training in Los Angeles at the Ruth St. Denis Studio with Denishawn-trained dancer Karoun Tootikian and performed with the Concert Dance Group of the Ruth St. Denis Studio. Evening-long chats with St. Denis in the tiny patio behind her California studio triggered a life-long interest in dance history and research. He received his undergraduate degree in Theater Arts from UCLA, where his love of dance theater was furthered by his success in his senior year in the lead role in the dance drama performance of John Steinbecks, The Pearl.After graduating from UCLA in 1955, he continued his studies with Ruth St. Denis, Bella Lewitzky, and James Truitte in Los Angeles, and then at the Martha Graham School and with the ballet master Benjamin Harkarvy in New York City.
Returning to Southern California, Larry launched Dance in Concert, a modern dance producing unit, and was one of the producers of Directions in Dance, based at the Lester Horton Dance Theater. During that period, he danced with Valentina Oumansky, Gloria Newman, Richard Oliver, and in the San Francisco Opera Ballet. His teaching credits include Eugene Lorings American School of Dance, the Petroff-Gollner School, and Immaculate Heart College. Returning to UCLA for graduate work in dance at the School of Arts and Architecture, Larry completed his Masters thesis on Lester Horton, and, with encouragement from John Martin, began to work on a biography of Horton. Larry joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in 1971. During that year he assisted Dorothy Madden in founding Maryland Dance Theater, a critically acclaimed repertory company in residence at the University of Maryland at College Park. Larry served as Associate Director of the company from 1972-1975 and Director from 1976 until the company disbanded in 1988. His own choreography for the company earned him praise for his wit, his imagination, and his ability to create dramatic structures, characters and atmosphere. Larry was recipient of a 1982 award from the Metropolitan Dance Association for service rendered to Dance in Washington, D.C. and co-recipient, with Anne Warren, of the 1986 "Outstanding Service to Dance in Maryland" award from the Maryland Council for Dance and the 2000-2001 Pola Nirenska Lifetime Achievement Award in Dance presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society. Upon his retirement in 1995, Larry became Professor Emeritus of Dance at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Larry Warren Collection cover the period from 1913 to 1991; the bulk of the materials date from 1930 to 1977. The collection consists of historic dance materials collected by Warren, specifically programs and promotional materials programs, but also art, photographs and documents.
Custodial History and Acquisition Information
Gift of Anne Warren (wife) on June 13, 2011.
Processing Information
Vincent J. Novara, Sarah Lindblom, July 2011, January 2013
EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Nicole Horstman, January 2013.
Arrangement of Collection
This collection is organized into six series.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: Programs, 1913-1991 (42 items)
This series contains historic dance programs by notable companies and performers.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programs, 1913-1991 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | ||
| Bunraku. Paul Szilard presents, Under the Distinguished Patronage of His Excellency Ryuji Takeuchi, Ambassador of Japan and Madame Takeuchi, His Excellency Akira Matsui, ... and Madame ... The Honorable Fumihiko Togo... The Japanese Puppet Theatre, 1966 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1.0 | |
| Souvenir program Ruth St. Denis with Ted Shawn and the Denishawn Dancers, undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 2.0 | |
| Martha Graham and her Dance Company (latest dance listed was from 1953; inscribed "To Larry Warren with best wishes Martha Graham"), 1953 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 3.0 | |
| Martha Graham Dance Company. S. Hurok presents 1967-1968. (16 page souvenir program/brochure), 1967-1968 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 4.0 | |
| Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, 1959-1960 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 5.0 | |
| Serge De Diaghileffs Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Souvenir Program, 1916 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 6.0 | |
| Ballet Theatre XV Fifteenth Anniversary Season, 1953-1954 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 7.0 | |
| Ballet Theatre 13th Season, 1951-1953 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 8.0 | |
| NYC Ballet, 1964 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 9.0 | |
| NYC Ballet, 1963-1964 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 10.0 | |
| NYC Ballet, 1971 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 11.0 | |
| NYC Ballet, 1965 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 12.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, 1957-1958 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 13.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, 1961-1962 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 14.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 15.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, 1970-1971 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 16.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, 1971-1972 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 17.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, 1978-1979 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 18.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 19.0 | |
| American Ballet Theatre, 1976-1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 20.0 | |
| Programs, 1913-1991 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | ||
| Royal Ballet (Metropolitan Opera House), 1968 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 21.0 | |
| Royal Ballet (Metropolitan Opera House), 1972 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 22.0 | |
| Royal Ballet Royal Opera House, 1991 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 23.0 | |
| The Royal Ballet (S. Hurok-Nureyev and Fonteyn are principal dancers, Ashton is Director, tenth American visit of the company), undated | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 24.0 | |
| National Ballet of Canada, Nureyev guest artist, 1973 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 25.0 | |
| National Ballet of Canada, Nureyev guest artist, 1974 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 26.0 | |
| National Ballet of Canada souvenir program, Celia Franca is artistic director, Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn are in the core, c.1960s | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 27.0 | |
| Stuttgart Ballet Kennedy Center, 1975-1976 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 28.0 | |
| California Festival - A Midsummer Night's Dream-Max Reinhardt. Production souvenir program, 1934 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 29.0 | |
| Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Silver Jubilee souvenir program, 1957 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 30.0 | |
| Ruth St. Denis with Ted Shawn and the Denishawn Dancers Dayton, Ohio, December 25, 1923 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 31.0 | |
| Merle Annitage present Jan Kubel - March 6; Martha Graham, April 7 and 10; Leopold Stokowski, March 6, April 7 & 10, April 27 & 28 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 32.0 | |
| Pasadena Playhouse, A Program of Dances presented by the Dept. of P.E. for women and the associated students of the DC at LA, May 15, 1938 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 33.0 | |
| Fuller Opera House program. The incomparable Anna Pavlova, 1913-1914 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 34.0 | |
| Anna Pavlova, 1956 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 35.0 | |
| Olympic Festival of the Dance, Philharmonic Hall, Los Angeles, August 8-13, 1932 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 36.0 | |
| The Pacific Coast Tour of Mei Lan-Fang Chinese Drama, souvenir program, undated | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 37.0 | |
| Serge de Diaghilef's Ballet Russe Souvenir program 1916 (see also letter from John Martin to Larry Warren about this program), 1916 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 38.0 | |
| Anna Pavlova souvenir program of her farewell tour, undated | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 39.0 | |
| Anna Pavlova souvenir program, 1913-1914 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 40.0 | |
| Anna Pavlova souvenir program, 1921 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 41.0 | |
| NYC Ballet War Memorial Opera House, August 8, 1953 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | item 42.0 | |
Series 2: Promotional Materials, 1932-1937 (5 items)
This series contains historic flyers and posters advertising dance performances and tours of individuals and companies.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotional Material, 1932-1937 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | ||
| Flyer for Ruth St. Denis. Irwin Pame presents (inscribed "Do come, Miss Ruth"), undated | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 1.0 | |
| Martha Graham / Louis Horst (Pianist). Press Comments Current Season flyer; Frances Hawkins, Personal Rep., 1932 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 2.0 | |
| Front and back only of 1936 Martha Graham and Dance Group (small poster), 1936 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 3.0 | |
| Nonna Gould presents Tina Flade (master class flyer 1934), 1934 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 4.0 | |
| Kyra Nijinsky first American tour, 1936-1937 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 5.0 | |
Series 3: Photographs, undated (2 items)
This series contains photographs of Martha Graham and Anna Pavlova.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photographs, undated | series 3 | box 3 | folder 1 | ||
| Martha Graham, inscribed "Sincerely Martha Graham", undated | series 3 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 1.0 | |
| Anna Pavlova, undated | series 3 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 2.0 | |
Series 4: Oral History, 1964 (1 item)
This series contains an oral history on audiocassette with Ruth St. Denis from 1964.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral History, 1964 | series 4 | box 3 | folder 1 | ||
| Audiocassette containing interview of Ruth St. Denis, May 22, 1964 | series 4 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 1.0 | |
Series 5: Papers, undated (2 items)
This series contains a letter, news-clippings, and programs pertaining to dance.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papers, undated | series 5 | box 3 | folder 1 | ||
| Letter from John Martin to Larry about a program [cross reference], undated | series 5 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 1.0 | |
| Framed and mounted programs (2) and news-clipping photos pertaining to Anna Pavlova, 1923 | series 5 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 2.0 | |
Series 6: Art, undated (2 items)
This series contains original and printed illustrations pertaining to dance.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art, undated | series 6 | box 3 | folder 1 | ||
| Sketch of Isadora-have found two more and will include, undated | series 6 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 1.0 | |
| Illustration of ballerinas with instructor (with violin) and other string musicians in background (item appears removed from a framing or mounting of some manner), undated | series 6 | box 3 | folder 1 | item 2.0 | |
Related Material
For other related archival and manuscript collections, please see the following subject guides.