Collection Summary
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Russell, Rhoda Winter,
1930-2019
Rhoda Winter Russell Papers
circa 1932-2010 (bulk 1942-1959)
6 document boxes, 1 oversize box (osb), 1 oversize folder (osf) (2.52 linear feet)
The papers of dance educator and
movement therapist Rhoda Winter Russell contain fliers, brochures, clippings,
theater programs, and photographs collected by Russell and pertaining to dancers,
choreographers, and dance companies that were active in the 1940s and 1950s,
including Mary Wigman and Alwin Nikolais, with whom Russell studied, and the Henry
Street Playhouse Dance Company.
English
Performing Arts Collection
PA-00209
Acquisition:
Gifts and purchases, 2012-2013 (12-05-015-P, 13-04-004-P, 13-07-012-G,
13-07-013-G)
Access:
Open for research. An advance appointment is required to view photographic negatives in the Reading Room.
Processed by:
Helen Baer, 2012-13; Grace Hansen, 2016
Biographical Sketch
Dance educator and movement therapist Rhoda Winter Russell (born 1930) studied with
Mary Wigman in the 1950s. She grew up in Philadelphia, taking dances classes with
Marion Cuyjet and Syvilla Fort, and also at Ballet Arts in New York. Her training
continued at the University of Wisconsin where she studied with Margaret D’Houbler.
After graduation she studied with Mary Wigman in Berlin and attended Wigman’s
International Holiday Course in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1952. She obtained a
master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, taught dance at Ohio Weslayan
University, and became an assistant in Hanya Holm’s School of Dance in New York. She
continued her studies with Alwin Nikolais at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York.
In 1956 she assisted Margret Dietz at the Connecticut College School of Dance.
Her career in movement therapy began around 1956, when she married the psychologist
Albert Ellis (they divorced in 1958). Her second marriage ended with the death of
her husband, Dr. Murray Russell, in 1958, at which time she took a position in
movement therapy at the Philadelphia State Hospital, working with the mentally ill.
She retired from movement therapy in 1994. Starting in the 1980s, she served as a judge for
dog shows. She died July 26, 2019 in Austin, Texas.
Sources:
Seitz, Jonelle, Dance of the Century,The Austin
Chronicle, 10 August 2012.
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the Rhoda Winter Russell papers, circa 1932-2010 (bulk 1942-1959),
consists of fliers, brochures, clippings, theater programs, and photographs
collected by Russell and pertaining to dancers, choreographers, and dance companies
that were active in the 1940s and 1950s. The papers are arranged into four series:
I. Dance Files, circa 1932-2009, undated; II. Photographs, 1952-circa 1956, undated;
III. Correspondence, 1936-1959, undated; IV. Movement Therapy and Personal Papers,
1951-2010. Mary Wigman, Alwin Nikolais, and the Henry Street Playhouse Dance Company
are well represented throughout the collection.
Series I. Dance Files is divided into three subseries: A. Dancers, Choreographers,
and Dance Companies; B. Venues and Producing Organizations; C. Printed Material and
Album. Material within each subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject. Many of
the programs and fliers are for performances in New York between 1955 and 1957, and
in Philadelphia in the 1940s.
Series II. Photographs includes black and white prints and negatives depicting
classes taught by Mary Wigman, Harald Kreutzberg, and others at the International
Holiday Courses in Montreux in 1952. This series also contains a photograph of Adolf
Hitler with a dog, as well as a set of negatives and printouts of ships in a harbor.
Series III. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically and most notably contains
letters from Mary Wigman to Russell.
Most of Series IV. Personal Papers pertains to Russell’s career in movement
therapy.
Provenance
The collection was acquired from Russell by purchase and gift in 2012 and 2013. The
photograph of Adolf Hitler and the accompanying negatives were previously in the
possession of Russell’s uncle Earl Winter (also known as Earl Winters), a U.S.
military officer based in Heidelberg who was in charge of postal exchanges in
northern Italy and Germany after World War II.
Additional holdings for Mary Wigman are located in the Ransom Center Dance Collection.
Russell’s programs for theater and music performances are uncataloged. Books received
with the collection were transferred to the Ransom Center Book Collection. Dance
periodicals were transferred to Performing Arts Dance Periodicals.
Index Terms
People
Kreutzberg, Harald,
1902-1968.
Nikolais, Alwin.
Russell, Rhoda Winter.
Wigman, Mary, 1886-1973.
Organizations
Henry Street Playhouse Dance
Company.
Subjects
Dance -- United States -- 20th
century.
Movement therapy.
Document Types
Brochures.
Fliers (printed matter).
Clippings (information
artifacts).
Photographs.
Letters (correspondence).
Container List
Series I. Dance Files, circa 1932-2009, undated
Subseries A. Dancers, Choreographers, and Dance Companies, circa
1932-2009, undated
Actors and Dancers Repertory Theatre, undated
1.1
Ailey, Alvin, 1972
1.2
Akesson, Birgit, 1954, undated
1.3
Amaya, Carmen, undated
1.4
Amaya, Carmen, and Antonio Triana, 1942
1.5
Mary Anthony Dance Theatre, undated
1.6
Antonio and His Spanish Ballet Company, 1955
1.7
Azuma Kabuki Dancers and Musicians, 1954
1.8
Balanchine, George, 1985
1.9
Ballet Americana, 1958
1.10
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, 1942-1954, undated
1.11
Ballet Theatre, 1942-1954, undated
1.12
Ballets de Marigny, 1952
1.13
Les Ballets de Paris (Roland Petit), 1949-1954,
undated
1.14
Beatty, Talley, 1948, undated
1.15
Beddow, Margery, undated
1.16
Bettis, Valerie, 1956
1.17
Bolshoi Ballet, 1959
1.18
Borde, Percival, with guest artist Pearl Primus,
undated
1.19
Burton, Irving, 1956
1.20
Butler, John, 1952
1.21
Collins, Janet, 1954
1.22
Cullberg, Birgit, 1961
1.23
Cunningham, Merce, 1957-2009, undated
1.24
Dafora, Asadata, undated
1.25
Dancers of Bali, 1952, undated
1.26
Dayton Theatre Dance Group, with Meredith Dallas and Dorothy
Laming, 1955
1.27
Deering, Jane, 1942
2.1
D’Houbler, Margaret, 1953, undated
2.2
Dietz, Margret, 1953, undated
2.3
Dunham, Katherine, 1944-1955, undated
2.4
Enters, Angna, 1956
2.5
Escudero, 1955
2.6
Essen, Medha von, 1952
2.7
Flade, Tina, circa 1981
2.8
Frankel, Emily, and Mark Ryder, undated
2.9
Garth, Midi, 1956
2.10
Graham, Martha, 1947-1990, undated
2.11
Gray, Harriette Ann, 1954
2.12
Greco, José, 1951-1954, undated
2.13
Hadassah, with Joseph Gifford and company, 1956
2.14
Halprin, Anna, 1962
2.15
Hawkins, Erick, circa 1957
2.16
Holder, Geoffrey, 1956-1957
2.17
Holder, Geoffrey, and Louis Johnson, 1955
2.18
Holm, Hanya, 1946-1966
2.19
Horst, Louis, 1961
2.20
Johnson, Louis, undated
2.21
Jooss Ballet, 1946
2.22
Kabuki Theatre, 1954
2.23
Kinch, Myra, 1955
2.24
Kitchell, Iva, 1947
3.1
Kreutzberg, Harald, 1947-1951, undated
3.2
Lang, Pearl, 1956
3.3
Leath, A. A., undated
3.4
Lebrun, Rico, undated
3.5
Leeder, Sigurd, 1956
3.6
Limón, José, 1956
3.7
Limón, José, and the Julliard Dance
Theater, 1956, undated
3.8
Linn, Bambi, and Rod Alexander, undated
3.9
Lippincott, Gertrude, 1950
3.10
London Festival Ballet, 1955
3.11
Louis, Murray, 1964, undated
3.12
Marceau, Marcel, 1955-1958
3.13
Marchowsky, Marie, 1956-1957, undated
3.14
Mariscano, Merle, 1958
3.15
Massine, Leonid, undated
3.16
Mettler, Barbara, late 1940s
3.17
Nagrin, Daniel, 1966
3.18
New York City Ballet, 1949-1958, undated
3.19
Nikolais, Alwin / Henry Street Playhouse Dance Company,
1955-1970, undated
3.20-22, osf 1
O’Donnell, May, 1956
4.1
Original Ballet Russe, 1946
4.2
Paris Opera Ballet, 1948
4.3
Pennsylvania Ballet, 1971
4.4
Philadanco, 1982
4.5
Primus, Pearl, 1946
4.6
Rao, Shanta, undated
4.7
Royal Ballet, 1967
4.8
Sadler’s Wells Ballet, 1949-1955
4.9
Shankar, Udi, 1949-1952
4.10
Shawn, Ted, undated
4.11
Shearer, Sybil, 1948-1955
4.12
Slavenska, Mia, 1944
4.13
Slavenska-Franklin Ballet, 1953
4.14
Sokolow, Anna, 1956, undated
4.15
St. Denis, Ruth, 1957
4.16
Takei, Kei, undated
4.17
Tallchief, Maria, 1951, undated
4.18
Taylor, Paul, undated
4.19
Teresa and Luisillo, Ballets Espagnols, 1954
4.20
Theatre Dance, Inc., 1951
4.21
Vashi and Veena, 1951-1952
4.22
Weidman, Charles, 1946
4.23
Wigman, Mary
Biographical sketch and notes by Russell,
undated
4.24
Clippings, 1956-1975
4.25
German Dance Art by Mary Wigman, translated by Carl
Reissner, 1935, undated typescript
4.26
Mary Wigman Studio, fliers and brochure,
1950-1959
4.27
Souvenir program for American tour presented by Sol
Hurok, circa 1932
4.28
Ximenez and Vargas, circa 1958
4.29
Yugoslav National Folk Ballet, undated
4.30
Subseries B. Venues and Producing Organizations, 1945-1997,
undated
American Dance Festival, undated
5.1
Ballet for America, 1946
5.2
Bennington College, 1955
5.3
Connecticut College School of the Dance (New London, Conn.),
1950-1958
5.4
Dance Notation Bureau, 1972
5.5
Germantown YWCA (Philadelphia, Penn.), 1948
5.6
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, 1950-1953
5.7
Julliard School of Music, Department of Dance,
1951
5.8
Laban Institute of Movement Studies / Labanotation,
1951-1979
5.9
New Dance Group Festival Series, 1945
5.10
Philadelphia College Dance Council, 1949
5.11
School of Performing Arts (New York, N.Y.), 1957
5.12
Students’ Dance Recitals, 1953
5.13
Swiss Association of Professional Dancers and Gymnasts,
International Holiday Courses, 1952-1956
5.14
Terry, Walter, The Dance World columns in the New York Herald
Tribune, 1950-1956, undated
5.15
University of Illinois (Orchesis), 1956
5.16
University of Pennsylvania, 1951-1953
5.17
University of Wisconsin (Orchesis), 1948-1997,
undated
5.18-20
The Y Dance Center,
1956-1958, undated
5.21
Subseries C. Printed Material and Album, 1943-2003,
undated
Autograph album signed by dancers, 1943, undated
6.1
Dance publications and films, fliers and brochures,
1953-1987, undated
6.2
Jobs and Futures for Dance Majors, reprinted from
Mademoiselle, 1950
6.3
Series II. Photographs, 1952-circa 1956, undated
13 negatives of ships in a harbor, undated
osb 7
Printouts from 13 negatives of ships in a harbor, undated
6.4
B&W print of Hitler, undated
6.5
International Holiday Courses in Montreux
Class photographs, 11 B&W prints of Margaret
Erlanger, Joan Grant, Harald Kreutzberg, Ellen Moore, Rosalia
Mereno[?], Mary Wigman, Rhoda Winter, and others, [1952]
6.6
Personal photographs, 16 B&W prints of teachers and
fellows students including Margret Dietz, Rosalia Chladek, Nahami
Abbell, and Ellen Moore, 1952-circa 1956, undated
6.7
Wigman, Mary
Head shot, 1 B&W print, undated
6.8
In Berlin[?], 3 B&W prints, undated
6.9
Series III. Correspondence, 1936-1959, undated
A-L, 1936-1957, undated
6.10
N-V, 1947-1959, undated
6.11
Wigman, Mary, 1952-1959
6.12
Unidentified, 1956
6.13
Photocopy of original box of correspondence with Russell’s notes, undated
6.14
Series IV. Movement Therapy and Personal Papers, 1951-2010
Dog training article titled Modern Dance and the Mastino in
Center Stage, 2010
6.15
Headley-Whitney Museum, brochure, undated
6.16
Movement therapy
Association for Humanistic Psychology, conference program and
clipping regarding Russell’s presentation, 1983
6.17
Body Code: The Meaning in Movement by Warren Lamb and
Elizabeth Watson, fliers, circa 1979-1987
6.18
C. G. Jung Educational Center of Houston, flier,
1980
6.19
Institute for Experimental Learning and Development, flier
for Russell workshop, early 1960s
6.20
Motion and Emotion, article by Russell in Dance Magazine,
1958
6.21
Philadelphia State Hospital
Clippings, 1970-1971
6.22
Movement Therapy Discipline, Philadelphia State Hospital,
manual/procedural document, 1977
6.23
Resumes, 1974-circa 1980
6.24
University of Wisconsin term paper and grade report,
1951
6.25
Performance-related clippings, 1952-2003, undated
6.26
Index of Correspondents
- Aid for the Allies (The Emergency Aid of Pennsylvania)--6.9
- Bohrod, Aaron--6.9
- Brown, N. O. (Norman O.)--6.9
- Dallapiccola, Luigi--6.9
- Dietz, Margret--6.9
- Fowler, Freelon M.--6.9
- Fuller, Rebecca (Impulse Publications)--6.9
- Hill, Martha (Julliard School of Music)--6.9
- Kroll, Leon--6.9
- Lee, Virginia (Ballet Arts)--6.9
- Lowe, Warner L. (Alfred Adler Consultation Center and Mental Hygiene
Clinic)--6.9
- Nimura, Yeichi--6.10
- Rainer, Elsa--6.10
- Soyer, Raphael--6.10
- Terry, Walter--6.10
- Van Tuyl, Marian--6.10
- Vashi--6.10
- Wigman, Mary--6.11
- Unidentified correspondent Margaret (probably Margret Dietz)--6.12