Ruth Page Collection Update + a Surprise Find

RUTH PAGE COLLECTION UPDATE…

We’re almost finished uploading all of the Ruth Page films to the Ruth Page Collection Finding Aid (we have about 25 films more to go). After that we will be uploading the collection’s videos, whose formats range from 2″ and 1″ open reel formats to the more familiar cassette varieties of Betacam and Betacam SP.  Thanks to a grant from the NEA and Donnelley Foundation, we were able to ship the tapes out to Bay Area Video Coalition to have digital preservation files made of each video. Be on the lookout for these uploaded videos in the upcoming months! The content of the videos range from oral history type interviews with Ruth Page collaborators to taped rehearsals and performances.

Pamela Krayenbuhl

I’d also like to remind you all that none of these Ruth Page Collection films or videos are fully cataloged quite yet (more on our decision to publish these materials early here). But we have good news! Thanks to another grant from the NEA, we’re currently in the beginning stages of cataloging. As we’ve mentioned before, describing a dance collection can be tricky and requires a deep understanding of dance and dance history.  We are delighted to welcome Pamela Krayenbuhl on board to complete this project. Pam is a PhD student in Screen Cultures and a Mellon Foundation Fellow in Interdisciplinary Studies at Northwestern University, and holds an MA in Screen Cultures and a Graduate Certificate in Critical Theory from Northwestern as well as a dual BA with highest honors in Rhetoric and Interdisciplinary Studies from U.C. Berkeley. Her research focuses on screendance, primarily dance film, while her other academic interests include intermediality, adaptation, authorship, and American popular culture. Pam is also a ballet dancer, choreographer, photographer, and poet. Pam’s dance background and academic interests will certainly prove invaluable throughout the year long process to catalog CFA’s Ruth Page Collection dance films and videos.

A SURPRISE FIND….

While uploading the remaining films we came across what we think to be a pretty rare find. It’s a 16mm camera original reversal print featuring another pioneering Ruth of dance – Ruth St. Denis (1879 – 1968). In the reel (embedded below) Ruth performs her famous East Indian Nautch dance….enjoy!