Department of Theater and Dance records

Record Group

Identifier: RG-03-041

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Records of the Department of Theater and Dance at Union College. Theater program records include scrapbooks, clippings, and photographs of performances. Dance program records include Gail George materials predating the founding of the program, facility plans for the Henle Dance Studio, course syllabi, porfolios, recordings, photographs, ephemera used for instructional purposes, and other materials documenting the history of dance at the College. Dance program digital files were created by Miryam Moutillet in 2022 to document the Winter Dance and Steinmetz Day performances.

Dates

Creation: 1929 - 2023

Creator

Department of Theater and Dance (Organization)
George, Gail Wood, 1933-2008 (Person)
Moutillet, Miryam (Person)

Administrative History

Dance Program

1996-1999

Visiting Guest Artist- part time appointment sponsored by Charles Lothridge' 44 in the Department of Performing Arts

Winter Dance Concerts and Steinmetz Dance Performances were presented in the Dance Studio in the Visual Arts Building

1999

Cancellation of the Dance Program by the AAC under Dean Linda Cool For more info refer to the book: Creation and Cancellation of the Dance Program

1999-2001

Miryam Moutillet resided and studied Nihon Buyo - Traditional Japanese Dance in Osaka, Japan

2001-2004

Director of the Dance Program in the Department of Performing Arts A half-time position appointed by Christine Sorum, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of Faculty

2005

Director of the Dance Program half-time position, appointed by Therese McCarthy, Interim Dean of Faculty

Creation of the minor in Dance: A total of six credits are required including three in dance courses, 1 in theatre and 2 full credits in technique dance classes

2006

Artist in Residence/Director of the Dance Program

Full time position appointed by Therese McCarty, Interim Dean of Faculty

Creation of the Department of Theater and Dance

First Steinmetz Dance Performance at the Nott Memorial

2007

First proposal submitted to Dean David Hayes for the construction of a home for dance

Creation of the dance program logo

2008

Senior Artist-in-Residence appointed by Therese McCarty, Dean of Faculty First concept shows for the Winter Dance Concert 2008, Whirled in Flux Directed by Miryam Moutillet at the Yulman Theater 3rd Steinmetz Dance Performance at the Nott Memorial

2009

The first Stephanie C. Davis Dance Residency was created by Miryam Moutillet and sponsored by Dr. Gustave' 59 and Mrs. Susan Davis. At Union, the residency includes a master class, and a lecture demonstration by the company's artistic director. At The Egg, Performing Arts Center in Albany, the dance company's show is attended free of charge by any interested Union students, faculty and/or staff.

2010

M. Moutillet is awarded the Donald Brate Distinguished Advising Award

2011

Creation of the Joan Gould Scholarship, sponsored by Joan Gould' 76. This scholarship financially helps students that are interested in attending dance classes at Union. Practica are not supported by the college and not part of the college tuition. The Dance Program is a self-sustained program, administrated by the Director of Dance.

2012

Construction of the Henle Dance Pavilion, on the committee to select the best design for the Dance Program. Making decisions on material and the interior design of the building.

2013

In June, President Stephen Ainlay inaugurates the Henle Dance Pavilion

2014

Theater and Dance Department Ten-Year review

2015

The Gail and Carl George Annual Fund, sponsored by Dr. Carl George. This financial aid gives us the privilege to welcome guests' artists and lecturers that can enrich our programming of the Dance Program

2017

Technique dance classes at Union will be part of the curricular and free of charge Voted by the AAC. Minor in Dance resized after the 2014 Ten-Year Review

2018

Miryam Moutillet was endowed at the Steinmetz Dance Performance and received the title of Gustave L. Davis' 59 and Susan S. Davis Director of Dance

2020

Due to Covid, the Steinmetz Dance Performance is presented virtually Due to Covid, the Stephanie C. Davis Dance Residency is cancelled Due to Covid, the Bali mini-term is cancelled

2021

The Winter Dance Concert 2021, Resilience directed by Miryam Moutillet presented dance pieces filmed and projected on the Taylor Music Building. The audience attended the show outside feet in the snow, or view the presentation on Webinar

Due to Covid, Steinmetz Dance Performance is once more presented virtually

Due to Covid, the Bali mini-term for the second time is cancelled

2022

Search for a new Director of Dance, Miryam Moutillet is leaving Union at the end of the Academic Year

Extent

31.05 Cubic Feet

19 Boxes

106 Gigabytes (32 video files)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Born-digital materials are integrated into their corresponding series based on content. Video recordings were ingested into our digital preservation repository. As part of the processing work conducted by archives staff, some intellectual reorganization was undertaken to allow subsequent material to be easily integrated into a single system of arrangement.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Dance program video files must be accessed using the computer in the Special Collections Reading Room. Advance notice is required for use. Box 18 contains DVD-R discs containing digital images which have not been migrated at this time. If interested in viewing this material, please contact Special Collections and Archives for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Programs and posters were transferred in various accessions in 2021. The bulk of theater program records as maintained by Professor Charles Stickler were transferred to Special Collections from Hattie St. in May 2022. Dance program materials were curated by Miryam Moutillet and transferred to Special Collections in May and June 2022. Digital files from the Dance Program are contained on optical media and one external hard drive created by Moutillet.

Processing Information

Records processed by Matthew Golebiewski. Digital video files in this collection were received on an external hard drive using the ExFAT file system. Copies of the original files were normalized for preservation in Preservica.

Statement on Harmful Content

This collection includes some historical materials that contain negative representations and racist stereotypes regarding American Indians and African Americans. Such materials should be viewed in the context of the time period in which they were produced. Schaffer Library and Special Collections and Archives do not endorse the views expressed in such materials.