Research Catalog

Title

Chicago Allied Arts, Inc. records, 1922-1929.

Author

Chicago Allied Arts, Inc.

Supplementary Content

Finding Aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Bolm, Adolf, 1894-1951.
• Carpenter, John Alden, 1876-1951.
• De Lamarter, Eric, 1880-1953.
• Karsavina, Tamara.
• Page, Ruth, 1899-1991.
• Remisoff, Nicolas.

Description

0.63 linear feet (2 boxes)

Summary

The Chicago Allied Arts, Inc. records are chiefly comprised of correspondence, but the collection also includes some contracts, financial records, and drafts of legal documents concerning the establishment and operations of the short-lived organization, which produced a series of programs of music and dance in Chicago from 1924-1927.

Subjects

• Performing arts sponsorship > Illinois > Chicago
• De Lamarter, Eric, 1880-1953 > Correspondence
• Carpenter, John Alden, 1876-1951 > Correspondence
• Bolm, Adolf, 1894-1951 > Correspondence
• Chicago Allied Arts, Inc
• Financial records
• Chicago (Ill.) > Social life and customs > 20th century
• Contracts
• Correspondence
• Remisoff, Nicolas > Correspondence

Genre/Form

• Contracts.
• Correspondence.
• Financial records.

Biography (note)

• Chicago Allied Arts, Inc. was an organization formed in 1924 for the purpose of presenting small-scale ballet and music performances in Chicago.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

• Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 175

OCLC

NYPG06-A122

Author

Chicago Allied Arts, Inc.

Title

Chicago Allied Arts, Inc. records, 1922-1929.

Biography

Chicago Allied Arts, Inc. was an organization formed in 1924 for the purpose of presenting small-scale ballet and music performances in Chicago. In doing so, it brought together Eric De Lamarter's Solo Orchestra and the Ballet Intime of Adolph Bolm. Modeled somewhat along the line of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, the project was to be funded through the guarantees of individual sponsors. Composer John Alden Carpenter was one of the group's founders and took the lead in organizing the programs and attracting additional donors. Using his social connections, Carpenter assembled a list of supporters that included many of the most prominent names in Chicago society, including members of the Aldis, Goodman, McCormick, and Ryerson families. The earliest programs put on by Chicago Allied Arts also featured international guest stars, such as the ballerina Tamara Karsavina, to augment the dance ensemble. The first program, which took place at the Eighth Street Theatre on November 27, 1924, set the pattern that would be followed in subsequent seasons: the first half of the program presented the orchestra on stage, while the second part was devoted to dance. Bolm choreographed most of the dance pieces, many of which gave a prominent role to Ruth Page. Russian-born scenic designer Nicolas Remisoff, who had developed a reputation through his earlier work with the Chauve-Souris cabaret, created the front curtain, costumes, and sets for the entire first production, as well as the group's logo. These initial performances were met with critical praise and quickly followed by a second program in January 1925. Much of this same creative team reunited for a second and third season of programs (1925-1927), which perhaps were even more progressive in outlook. Among the highlights were a fully staged performance of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, the premieres of several new Bolm ballets, including Bal des Marionettes (Erik Satie) and Visual Mysticism (Aleksandr Scriabin), Page's The Flapper and the Quarterback (Clarence Loomis), and a special gala performance for the visiting Queen Marie of Romania (November 14, 1926). Although plans for an ambitious new season were announced for March 1927, that program never materialized. In July 1927, it was reported that Chicago Allied Arts, Inc. was to suspend its activities for one year, but the organization, which had been responsible for presenting some of the most innovative programs of new music and dance to take place in Chicago, never reemerged.

Indexes

Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Connect to:

Request Access to Special Collections (Dance Division) material

Finding Aid

Added Author

Bolm, Adolf, 1894-1951.

Carpenter, John Alden, 1876-1951.

De Lamarter, Eric, 1880-1953.

Karsavina, Tamara.

Page, Ruth, 1899-1991.

Remisoff, Nicolas.

Research Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 175