Wayne State University Dance Department

Accession Number: 
WSR000726
Extent: 
14.5 linear feet (1 MB, 7 SB, 8 OS)

These records of the Wayne State University Dance Department date mostly from the mid to late 20th century and include departmental documents, correspondence and teaching materials. Professional and some personal papers of Professor Ruth Lovell Murray, the director/chair of the Dance Workshop and Dance Program from 1928 to 1954, as well as of some other faculty, are part of this collection. The records begin in the era when the Wayne dance program was part of the Physical Education Department. The dance program moved from the Division of Health and Physical Education to the newly formed School of the Fine Arts in 1986 and became the Department of Dance. In 2000, the department was named after supporter and donor Maggie Allesee and merged with the Theater Department in 2012 to become the Maggie Allesee Department of Theater and Dance. Also included are records of the Ethel Perrin Club and the Dance Alumni Association, as well as issues of the Dance Workshop's newsletter, Choreo Bulletin, from 1954 to 1973. There are folders of programs, choreographic notes and other materials from many performances by students over the years, particularly the annual spring concert, as well as materials from visiting professional dancers and dance groups. Series 3 of these records includes photographs, posters and scrapbooks dating from the 1920s into the 21st century.

Date: 
1925-2015, bulk 1940-1995
Attachment(click to download)
WSR000726_guide.pdfWSR000726_guide.pdf281.84 KB