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.
Call Number:
Performing Arts Collection
PA-00209
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. An advance appointment is required to view photographic negatives
in the Reading Room.
Administrative Information
Acquisition:
Gifts and purchases, 2012-2013 (12-05-015-P, 13-04-004-P, 13-07-012-G,
13-07-013-G)
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.
Related Material
Additional holdings for Mary Wigman are located in the Ransom Center Dance Collection.
Separated Material
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.
