Kirstein 100: A Tribute Online Exhibition
Out of the Shadows, Into the Light
by Laura Raucher
NYCB Archivist
“...Lincoln, who was a genius, devoted a large part of his genius to making it happen for Mr. Balanchine, which is the most devoted, selfless activity you can imagine... he made it possible for him to make dances. It is that American thing that I find so admirable, that you have to give art to society... What Lincoln did is part of a great tradition that still continues.” — Clement Crisp, 2001
Over six months ago during the short, dark days of winter, inspired by the great sleuths of fiction—Poirot, Holmes, Lt. Columbo, the intrepid Miss Marple—I began to shine a searchlight in an effort to find the clues that would illuminate the largess and breadth of a man who spectacularly, more often than not, put others “center stage” while working his magic from less public platforms. Peering through the database records in the New York City Ballet Archives was a priceless, revelatory experience from which the understanding that Lincoln Kirstein was, as described by English critic Clement Crisp in 1996, “one of those rare talents who touched the entire artistic life of their time: ballet, film, literature, theater, paintings, sculpture, photography—“becomes abundantly clear. In this, the centennial year of his birth, it is the moment for Kirstein to stand “center stage.”
The NYCB Archives house hundreds of records reflecting Kirstein’s struggles and challenges, setbacks and triumphs; his literary, critical, theatrical, administrative, and personal history. It became evident early on, with just a glance at the life of this complex man, that a wealth of intriguing material would emerge. Narrowing the selection of wonderful artifacts down to a manageable number for an on-line exhibition would prove a great challenge.
With the opening of each heavy, charcoal grey archival box, there is a moment of intrigue and anticipation. Each of the Archives five collections—the George Balanchine Trust Collection, Ballet Society Collection, School of American Ballet Collection, New York City Ballet Collection, and Tanaquil Le Clercq Personal Archive--resides in a separate, designated area, and the boxes are stuffed to overflowing with white acid-free folders. Each folder is labeled with information to correspond with a database that today contains a total of 27,725 records and grows daily. Portfolios emblazoned with promising titles constantly catch the eye. “Lincoln Kirstein Correspondence, Igor Stravinsky 1946-1952” “Lincoln Kirstein’s Memorabilia, 1941 South American Tour” “Lincoln Kirstein Correspondence, Rose Kirstein Letter During Wartime.” Where does one begin?
Promising Beginnings…
The Ballet Society Collection, donated by Nancy Norman Lassalle in 2001, contains many “precious gems” and much valuable history relating to the School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet and its predecessors, as well as Kirstein. There are 21 feet of Kirstein’s correspondence housed in the Ballet Society Collection alone. It was here that I first began my quest with “RG3/Directors & Executives, Correspondence and Subject Files, Lincoln Kirstein Correspondence, 1920-1933.”
Hidden in that first box were the cornerstones that set things in motion; Kirstein’s correspondence with Romola Nijinsky, travel arrangements to Paris, and his 1933 passport. In the summer of 1933, with Romola’s aid, Kirstein met George Balanchine in London and asked him to come to America to open a ballet school and company. In a general correspondence file dated 1933; one can feel Kirstein bursting at the seams with enthusiasm as he writes a letter to his friend A. Everett “Chick” Austin after that meeting,
“Dear Chick, This will be the most important letter I will ever write you as you will see. My pen burns my hand as I write: words will not flow into the ink fast enough. We have a real chance to have an American ballet in 3 years time. When I say ballet—I mean a trained company of young dancers—not Russians—but Americans…. Do you know Georges Balanchine?...”
A year later, Kirstein writes another letter, this time to his father, on The Hound & Horn stationary, announcing.
“I don’t know how seriously you will take my word for it, but I do feel that I have a very definite calling in relation to the School of American Ballet…The School is something that expands constantly, that has a direct tangible return, and that has a future as lively as people’s bodies.”
Kirstein decided to shut down his publication, The Hound & Horn, to focus his time and funds on the School of American Ballet. Wonderful letters, such as this one to his parents, provide a rare and intimate view of Kirstein’s passion for ballet; his struggles and, his need of counsel.
Try, try and try again…
The Ballet Society Collection houses the single most documented tour in the NYCB Archives: American Ballet Caravan’s tour to South America in 1941. American Ballet Caravan was a precursor company to New York City Ballet. Highlights from this monumental adventure, managed by Kirstein, are included in this exhibition. To my great delight, a box with the unpromising title, “RG8/A-V Materials, Photographs, Antecedents,” holds four folders containing many age-worn photographs from this tour, including dancers enjoying life on board ship, boarding trains en masse, discovering foreign street markets, and rehearsing onstage with Balanchine. Kirstein oversees every administrative detail in regards to the tour and writes candidly about travel and financial difficulties during the journey, as well as, the effects World War II was having on South America.
After the war, Balanchine and Kirstein founded Ballet Society in 1946, which was renamed the New York City Ballet in 1948. Kirstein stated in The New York City Ballet, “Our proposals were often reckless or, I suppose, ‘pretentious.’ One thing we never considered was ‘success.’ There would be no compromise with good taste or established standards.” Yet, as this exhibition shows, New York City Ballet and its predecessors did achieve great success and, in 1964, a theater of its own to call “home.” Kirstein’s dream, first expressed so vigorously in 1933, to develop and lead a prestigious American ballet company and school, had come true.
A World of Influence
The New York City Ballet Archives also contain information about Kirstein that is completely unrelated to his roles with SAB and NYCB, or even dance itself. Over the decades, Kirstein served on several boards, was involved in a profusion of local, national and international projects, and was sought out for advice by countless individuals and organizations. During his lifetime, Kirstein was involved with the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), American National Theatre And Academy (ANTA), The Dressage Institute, the Shakespeare Theater Festival in Connecticut, served as Managing Director of City Center for Music & Drama, and was a member of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Planning Committee, to name but a few of his many appointments. . Documents such as the minutes of board meetings, budgets, telegrams, planning materials and correspondence abound. The exhibition highlights his two journal publications, correspondence with The White House and a sampling of his various enterprises.
The Centennial Exhibition
All items in this exhibition were carefully extracted from the New York City Ballet Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the artifacts are housed in the Ballet Society Collection. The focus of this exhibition is Lincoln Kirstein and his character as well as his role in building the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet as we have come to know them today. Personal artifacts and items demonstrating his involvement in literature and theater are also on display as is evidence of Kirstein’s political connections. We have included photographs, letters, publications, scripts, awards, memorabilia, notebooks, budgets and even an invitation to a presidential inauguration. A total of 64 images are broken down into five sections; Personal Papers, School of American Ballet, Precursors, New York City Ballet, and The White House, Projects & Publications.
No Other
In 1978, Kirstein wrote,
I’ve never doubted (God’s) existence. If proof has been needed for me, it has been to have had everything I’ve ever needed or wanted —Balanchine, his company, our school, dancers, a theatre. I require no other.
As the School of American Ballet eyes its 75th anniversary in 2009 and New York City Ballet continues to shine in this, its 59th year, it cannot be denied that these stunning American cultural achievements exist and endure because of the bold and grand vision of Lincoln Kirstein.
All previously published and unpublished material by, or owned by, Lincoln Kirstein is © the year of publication, with the rights now held by the New York Public Library (Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations). It is not to be reproduced in any form without prior written permission.
