Pioneer Women: early British modern dancers
Respondent or information from other source:Laura Griffiths, Project Archive and Research Assistant
Aims, policies, purpose/impetus for project:
The oral histories are being undertaken as part of a much larger project. The project is being run by the University of Surrey's Department of Dance, Film and Theatre Studies and the National Resource Centre for Dance, with additional research staffing from University of Middlesex.
The project centres on two archive collections held by the NRCD which document the life and work of two British modern dance protagonists, Madge Atkinson and Ruby Ginner, whose significance to dance history has largely been over-looked. The project aims to write these women and their legacies back into history by undertaking vital work on the archives and in-depth research of their dance forms and cultural context.
The project will undertake work on these archives and two smaller collections on other British female dancers, Ludmilla Mllada and Leslie Burrowes, in order to complete NRCD's catalogued holdings on British female modern dancers, 1910-1960, enabling future comparative studies of parallel dance forms and practices.
In addition to work on the collections and the oral history component of the project, there are a series of other events and outcomes which aim to disseminate information about the collections and stimulate academic discourse around this area of dance history.
Aims and Objectives of the Project
1. To make important heritage collections accessible
2. To create an electronic finding aid to facilitate access to the archives
3. To create additional resources that enhance the collections
4. To generate new scholarship on and awareness of British dance forms and practitioners
5. To re-contextualise early-20th century modern dance
6. To further enhance working relationships within and beyond the University of Surrey
Dates: Commenced June 2008, finishes March 2010. 22-month project.
Key individuals and roles involved:
The oral history project is informed by all members of the project team and the associated steering committee.
The oral history project is informed by all members of the project team and the associated steering committee.
Professor Alexandra Carter (Professor in Dance Studies, Middlesex University) is facilitating the oral history interviews.
Laura Griffiths, Project Archive and Research Assistant is administering, recording and transcribing the interviews
Paid or voluntary, training in oral history: The roles are paid.
Professor Alexandra Carter is experienced in the field of oral histories and Laura Griffiths has attended a training day at The British Library Oral History Society.
Project funded by:
Arts and Humanities Research Council - Resource Enhancement Scheme Award.
Management of project:
The project is managed by three investigators, Professor Rachel Fensham (Surrey), Professor Alexandra Carter (Middlesex) and Helen Roberts (National Resource Centre for Dance). The project staff are managed by Helen Roberts and are based at the NRCD in the University of Surrey Library.
Format of interviews:
The interviews are recorded on video (Mini DV) and in audio as WAV files (using a sound recorder with flashcard)
How interviewees are selected and located:
There are two specific archives to which the oral histories will be added, Natural Movement Archive and Bice Bellairs Collection of Revived Greek Dance, and thus provide broader contextual and historical material. Interviewees were initially selected on recommendations and information provided by two members of the project Steering Group who are experienced professionals in the dance areas being investigated through the project. Contact and further discussion with the initial interviewees has helped provide suggestions for additional interviewees.
Interview running time: Approximately 1 hour
Copyright in interviews. Assignment rights?:
The interviewees sign a consent form and formal agreement assigning the rights to the University of Surrey and the National Resource Centre for Dance archive. The consent form has been approved by the University of Surrey's Ethics Committee.
Location of interview copies. Accessibility to public/format:
In order to directly access the interviews, which are subject to certain copyright and privacy provisions, researchers will need to visit the NRCD at the University of Surrey.
Collection contact details/website:
Details of the collection content, including the oral history interviewees, will be available via the following link on completion of the project (March 2010).
National Resource Centre for Dance Archive
Interview transcripts/lists of topics or other content indexes:
The interviews are transcribed and include a synopsis of the topics covered and an index of any specific terminology used in the interviews. Information about the recorded interviews will be held in records on the NRCD's CALM 2000 archival database which is searchable via the internet.
Cataloguing:
Yes - they will be catalogued according to ISAD(G) on the DS CALM archive-specific database.
Future plans for project/interviews?:
Materials used for publications, exhibitions, conferences, radio/TV programmes or performances etc or future plans for this?:
The interviews are informing a paper to be presented at an international academic symposium ÔMoving Naturally: Rethinking Dance 1900s-1930s' to be held at the University of Surrey, 31st October 2009. The paper will also become part of an edited book.
Project website: National Resource Centre for Dance
List on a joint (possibly STR) website:
A listing for the project and a link to the NRCD's website would be a definite possibility.
Join listserv/emailing list/forum:
Yes depending on the focus of the list and whether it was relevant to the areas of activity being undertaken by the NRCD at the time the list becomes active. It would be more likely that we would subscribe as required.
Further information:
List of interviewees provided:
Not attached at present as these interviews are still being undertaken and full details will be available later in the project via the NRCD's website.
Oral History Survey Pages Main Page Introductory Report Index of Projects Appendices
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11th May 2009 |
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