Collection Summary
George Zoritch Collection 1914-2002
(bulk 1943-1987)
1914-2002
(bulk 1943-1987)
ML31.Z67
Zoritch, George, 1917-2009
159 items
1 container
0.5 linear feet
English
Russian
Collection material in English and Russian
Music Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
George Zoritch was a ballet dancer in the post-Diaghilev era of the early twentieth century. The bulk of the George Zoritch Collection consists of photographs (most of them reprints), augmented by several periodicals, programs, clippings, and articles documenting his career.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Baronova, Irina--Photographs.
Danilova, Alexandra, 1907-1997--Photographs.
Hightower, Rosella--Photographs.
Markova, Alicia, Dame, 1910-2004--Photographs.
Massine, Leonide, 1896-1979--Photographs.
Preobrajenska, Olga, 1870-1962--Photographs.
Slavenska, Mia--Photographs.
Tallchief, Maria--Photographs.
Toumanova, Tamara, 1919-1996--Photographs.
Zoritch, George, 1917-2009--Interviews.
Zoritch, George, 1917-2009--Photographs.
Zoritch, George, 1917-2009.
Zoritch, George, 1917-2009.
Organizations
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
Ballets russes du Col. W. de Basil.
Subjects
Ballet dancers--Photographs.
Ballet dancers.
Ballet.
Form/Genre
Articles.
Clippings (Information artifacts)
Photographic prints.
Programs (Documents)
Provenance
Gift; George Zoritch; 1998
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Processing History
The George Zoritch collection was processed by Judy Estey in 2009. Emily Flanigan updated the finding aid and coded it for EAD format in 2016.
Related Material
The Library of Congress Music Division houses the [Judith Chazin-Bennahum Photograph Collection
Relating to Antony Tudor] , the Larry Colwell Dance Photographs, and the Herta
Moselsio Photograph Collection. Additional photographs of ballet and dance are
found in the George Bain Collection, Arnold Genthe Collection, Carl Van Vechten
Collection, and the dance portfolio of photographer Barbara Brooks Morgan, all
accessible through the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of
Congress.
Copyright Status
Materials from the George Zoritch Collection are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
Access and Restrictions
The George Zoritch Collection is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], George Zoritch Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Born June 6, 1917, in Moscow, Russia, George Zoritch began dancing at an early age. His
teachers included Pavel Petroff, Theodore Vasilieff, and later the renowned Olga
Preobrajenskaya. At age 15, Zoritch auditioned successfully for the Ida Rubenstein
Ballet company; he later danced with the Russian Classical Ballet. Zoritch danced
with all of the companies that were successors to Diaghilev's Ballets Russes,
including Colonel W. de Basil's Ballets Russes; Sergei Denham's Ballet Russe de
Monte Carlo; and the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. He traveled extensively
through Europe, South America, and North America and taught from 1973 to 1987 in the
Dance Division of the University of Arizona. He died November 1, 2009, in Tucson,
Arizona.
Scope and Content Note
This one-box collection offers iconography and published materials documenting the life and dance career of George Zoritch.
The Photographs series includes his performances in ballets such as
Afternoon of a Faun
,
Le Spectre de la rose
, among many others, with a number of the century's greatest dancers, including Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova, Mia Slavenska, Rosella Hightower, and Tamara Toumanova. Also included are photographs of Zoritch with ballet teacher Olga Preobrajenskaya and choreographer Léonide Massine. It also includes numerous travel photographs, photographs with other dancers and Zoritch's family. Later photographs document him at social functions with artists in film and dance.
The Miscellany series includes clippings, interviews with Zoritch, reviews of his memoir
Ballet Mystique: Behind the Glamour of the Ballet Russe
, among other published material documenting his career. A three-part article on Zoritch in the Russian magazine
Ballet
as well as materials that detail Zoritch's contributions to the Dance Division at the University of Arizona are also included.
Organization of the George Zoritch Collection
The Collection is organized in two series:
-
[
Photographs, 1914-1997
](pho)
-
[
Miscellany, 1995-2002
](mis)
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Photographs, 1914-1997
1914-1997
Most of the photographs are recent reprints of historic photographs. Subjects include ballets of the 1930s and 1940s as well as informal scenes of Zoritch with his artist colleagues.
Photographs are arranged by subject as follows: ballets alphabetical by title, Zoritch alone and Zoritch with others, composites, family, artwork and awards, celebrities, Tamara Toumenova.
1/1
Afternoon of a faun [L'après-midi d'un faune],
1958
1958
With Taina Elg; John Lindquist, photographer, Serge Lido, photographer.
1/2
Antinois,
1953
1953
With George Skibine; Serge Lido, photographer.
1/3
Bal des jeunes filles, 1951
1951
With Maria Tallchief.
1/4
Bogatyri, 1938
1938
With Mia Slavenska; Maurice Seymour, photographer.
1/5
Cakewalk,
1958
1958
With Nina Novak; Serge Lido, photographer.
1/6
Coppelia,
1961
1961
Guest artist in Teatre Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1/7
Del amor y la muerte,
circa 1951
circa 1951
1/8
Devil's Holiday,
1940
1940
With Alexandra Danilova, Frederick Franklin; Maurice Seymour, photographer.
1/9
Don Quixote,
1954-1962
1954-1962
Maurice Seymour, photographer.
1/10
Dona Inez de Castro,
1956
1956
Annamarie Heinrich, photographer.
1/11
Gaîté Parisienne,
1940
1940
Carl Van Vechten and Serge Lido, photographers.
1/12
Giselle,
1958
1958
With Margrethe Schanne; Hannes Kilian, photographer.
1/13
La legende des trois soeurs,
1953
1953
With Olga Adabache, Jocelyne Vollmar and Jacqueline Moreau; Serge Lido, photographer.
1/14
Les sylphides,
1939, 1952-1957
1939, 1952-1957
With Mia Slavenska, Alicia Markova, Irina Borowska, Jaqueline Moreau, Rosella Hightower, Tatiana Karina, Helga Manson, Denis Bourjois, Joyce Vanderveen, Jaqueline Wallmar; Henry Clay Gibson, photographer, Maurice Seymour, photographer.
1/15
New Yorker,
1943
1943
With Leo Perper, artist; Henry C. Gibson, photographer.
1/16
The nutcracker,
1952
1952
With Rosella Hightower.
1/17
Orphée,
1937
1937
Television broadcast; with Irina Baronova.
1/18
Promenade,
1934
1934
With Natasha Bojhkovic, Juliana Enakieva, Raisa Kousnetzova, Eleanora Mara, Cathleen Crofton, Bojhkovic, P. Petroff, Slava Toumine, Dimitry Rostoff, Ann
Northcott and Molly Picon.
1/19
Rouge et noir,
1939
1939
With Nini Theilade; Richard Tucker, photographer.
1/20
La sonnambula [The sleepwalker],
circa 1951
circa 1951
George Balanchine, choreographer.
1/21
Le spectre de la rose,
1952
1952
With Nancy Carlson; Serge Lido, photographer.
1/22
Swan Lake,
1951
1951
With Dany Robin, Claire Sombret, Violette Verdy, Brigitte Bardot; Serge Lido, photographer.
1/23
Symphonie fantastique,
1937
1937
With Betty Low, Lubov Rostova, Maurice Seymour, Nina Verchinina, Tamara Toumanova, Leonide Massine, Mark Platoff; Maurice Seymour, photographer.
1/24
Zoritch alone
1933-1939, 1954-1960, 1973, 1985, undated
1933-1939, 1954-1960, 1973, 1985, undated
Studio and informal photographs of Zoritch; many are reproductions of earlier photos.
1/25
Zoritch with others,
1936-1940
1936-1940
Travel photos while on tour with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and at Warner Bros. Studio in Hollywood.
1/26
Zoritch with others,
1951-1966, 1980
1951-1966, 1980
With artists and with students. Includes: photograph of 1951 Paris newspaper photo of Zoritch with other celebrities at masked ball in Venice, Italy; Olga Preobrajenskaya teaching a class in 1952.
1/27
Zoritch with others,
1992-1997
1992-1997
With artists and students. Includes Zoritch's visits to the Heritage Museum and Diaghilev House in Russia.
1/28
Composite photographs,
1929-1942, 1953-1962, 1981, undated
1929-1942, 1953-1962, 1981, undated
Reprints of two or four individual photographs on same sheet, with a mix of informal, travel, and performance subjects. Each scene is identified by Zoritch on the back.
1/29
Family,
circa 1914, 1919-1923, undated
circa 1914, 1919-1923, undated
Reproductions of Zoritch family photographs, including a photograph of a painting of his ancestor Count Semeon Gavrilovich.
1/30
Artwork and awards,
undated
undated
Photographs of iconography and awards displayed in Zoritch's home.
1/31
Celebrities,
1938-1940, 1958-1968, undated
1938-1940, 1958-1968, undated
Includes: group of four ballerinas of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (Mia Slavenska, Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova, Irina Baronova); reproductions of autographed photographs (Preobrajenskaya, Valentina Pereyaslavec, Yvette Chauviré, Loretta Young, and Eleanor Powell).
1/32
Tamara Toumanova, Beverly Hills, California,
1977-1980, 1996
1977-1980, 1996
Includes: Zoritch visiting Tamara Toumanova; Toumanova with Taitiana Riabouchinska and Irina Baronova at Ballet Russe retrospective exhibit celebration; Zoritch at Tamara Toumanova's grave.
1
Miscellany, 1995-2002
1995-2002
Clippings, articles, flyers, and a dance program documenting Zoritch's career.
1/33
Clippings,
2000-2002, undated
2000-2002, undated
Photocopies of newspaper clippings, flyers, and periodical articles. English translations of Russian publications provided by Zoritch.
1/34
Ballet magazine,
1995-1996
1995-1996
Three issues of Russian-language magazine Ballet, featuring autobiographical articles by Zoritch; English transcripts provided by Zoritch.
1/35
Dance Expression,
2002
2002
Issue includes article on Varna International Competition, where Zoritch sat on press jury.
1/36
Dance Program,
2001
2001
Performance titled "Odyssey 2001" at University of Arizona.