Research Catalog

Interview with Charles L. Reinhart.

Title: Interview with Charles L. Reinhart. April 27 and May 11 and 12 2016.
Author: Reinhart, Charles L.
Publication: 2016.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Performing Arts Research Collections to submit a request in person.	Audio	Supervised use	*MGZMT 3-3064	Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance

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Description

4 streaming files (approximately 6 hours) : digital +

Summary

Streaming audio file 1, April 27 (approximately 42 minutes). Charles L. Reinhart speaks with Jodee Nimerichter about his childhood in Summit, New Jersey during the Great Depression, including anecdotes about his early experiences with dance and movement, and the Jewish community there; briefly, the development of his outlook on life, especially while at college during the McCarthy era; the lasting impression of growing up during the Great Depression; his feelings about being Jewish and the anti-semitism he experienced while attending high school in Chatham, New Jersey; early dance-related experiences that made a big impact on him, and the first live dance performance he saw, in Korea while serving in the United States Army during the Korean War; attending Rutgers University at Newark, receiving a basketball scholarship and his studies there.
Streaming file audio 2 (approximately one hour and 6 minutes). Charles L. Reinhart continues to speak with Jodee Nimerichter about being drafted into the United States Army for service in the Korean War; more about the Army, including his duties and basic training in the Transportation School; being shipped out to Korea and his re-assignment as a clerk-typist while there; briefly, meeting his lifelong friend Ted Steeg [also known as "Gar"] in his Army unit; his personal life and jobs before and after his Army service, including the conservatism of the McCarthy era in the United States, his high school friend Donny Mantel, and his reasons for moving to New York City; meeting Dick Pleasant and Isadora "Izzy" Bennett through his temporary job at a stenography service while attending the School of Law at Columbia University; moving to Denmark for graduate school; more about his experiences in Denmark especially the open social environment there as compared to the United States at that time; an anecdote about meeting Victor Borge and Art Buchwald while working as a guide for the Danish tourist office; meeting Ted Shawn following the ceremony in which Shawn was honored by [King Frederick IX] of Denmark in 1958 and the letter Shawn wrote to him about working at Jacob's Pillow; briefly, his travels in Asia, while a booking agent on behalf of Bennett, for the first Asia Society Performing Arts program; anecdotes from his time as a tour manager for the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Phakavali performing arts group of Thailand.
Streaming file audio 3, May 11 (approximately one hour and 38 minutes). Charles L. Reinhart speaks with Jodee Nimerichter about meeting Ted Shawn in Denmark and Isadora Bennett's role in their introduction; experiences while working at Jacob's Pillow in the summers of 1960 and 1961, including several anecdotes about Ruth St. Denis; briefly, his reaction to seeing Donald McKayle's Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder at Jacob's Pillow; briefly, Shawn's programming for the festival at that time; first meeting Paul Taylor in 1962 through Bennett and becoming manager for the Paul Taylor Dance Company; briefly, the artists he represented at his dance management company [Charles Reinhart Management, Inc.]; an anecdote about economic realities for Taylor at that time; anecdotes about the Paul Taylor Dance Company's California tour; several anecdotes about Nathan Clark, a fan of the Taylor Company, who followed and supported the company on its world tours; the company's tour to the Spoleto Festival [Festival of Two Worlds] in Italy, including interactions with Rudolf Nureyev; the circumstances that led to his summer job as theater manager [with the title of Executive Director] at the American Dance Festival in 1963 [at that time known as the Connecticut College School of Dance/American Dance Festival]; more about his relationship with Taylor; Norman Singer's role in abolishing the New York City "blue laws" in connection with the performances of Anna Halprin's Parade and Changes, in the early 1960s; managing the Paul Taylor Dance Company, including his role in the incorporation of the company, and in the performance by the Royal Danish Ballet [Kongelige Danske ballet] of Taylor's Aureole in 1968; briefly, other artists he represented including Glen Tetley, Don Redlich, Lucas Hoving, and Meredith Monk; an anecdote about setting up a tour for Meredith Monk; briefly, Twyla Tharp and Laura Dean as dancers in the Paul Taylor Dance Company; sources of funds, presenting organizations and theaters for modern dance in the 1960s including "Mac" [W. McNeil] Lowry of the Ford Foundation, the 92nd St. Y, City Center [of Music and Drama (New York, N. Y.)], and the Billy Rose Theatre; working with presenters Norman Singer, "Dick" [Richard Barr], and Harvey Lichtenstein to produce dance performances at City Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the ANTA Theatre [ANTA Washington Square Theatre (New York, N.Y.)] in the 1960s, including anecdotes about Monk and Deborah Hay; Alvin Ailey's break-out performances at the ANTA Theatre; the failed National Dance Foundation project; the National Endowment for the Arts' dance touring program, in particular the Paul Taylor Dance Company's first tour in Illinois; his role in the National Endowment for the Arts' Artists-in-Schools Program; "Teddy" [Theodora] Weisner's invitation to him to direct the Connecticut College School of Dance in 1968 and his meeting with the Connecticut College president, Charles Shain; his first season as Director of the American Dance Festival, including an anecdote about Twyla Tharp's performance; more anecdotes about the choreographers and performances in his first years as director, including Meredith Monk and Laura Dean; some of the projects involving avant-garde theatre companies collaborating with choreographers; meeting Doris Duke; the impact of Shain's retirement and Reinhart's decision to separate American Dance Festival from Connecticut College as an entity; the process to select a new location for American Dance Festival including an anecdote about Terry Sanford and Duke University hosting his visit to Durham, North Carolina.
Streaming file audio 4, May 12 (approximately one hour and 34 minutes). Charles L. Reinhart speaks with Jodee Nimerichter about the American Dance Festival moving from Connecticut College to Duke University; his partnership with Martha Myers, Dean of the American Dance Festival school; his commitment to supporting choreographers he believes in; briefly, how the Free to Dance, Black Traditions project was started; the American Dance Festival Repertory Company featured in Ted Steeg's television documentary [in 1972], including an anecdote about a rehearsal led by Charles Weidman of Doris Humphrey's With my red fires; the shift from foundation-based funding to corporate and board-based funding for dance; meeting Sam Scripps and Luise Scripps through Balasaraswati and the Scripps' giving of funds to the American Dance Festival throughout the years; more about his relationship with the Scripps; his relationship with dance critics over the years, including John Martin, Clive Barnes and Anna Kisselgoff; an anecdote about writing, as a critic, for the Springfield Republican newspaper; the expansion to include international companies at the American Dance Festival in the 1980s including an anecdote about meeting Robin Howard and presenting the London Contemporary Dance Company; his support of modern dance companies internationally, including in France as well as China with Yang Mei-qi and Guangdong [Experimental Dance Company]; the world tour that he went on with his wife, Stephanie Reinhart, to lecture on American modern dance, sponsored by the United States Department of State; briefly, co-directing the American Dance Festival with Stephanie; co-directing with Stephanie the dance programming for the [John F.] Kennedy Center [for the Performing Arts], including anecdotes about some of the companies and themes they programmed such as the Batsheva Dance Company and the Balanchine Festival; his recognition of Shen Wei's talent as a choreographer and the founding of Shen Wei Dance Arts; his personal motivation for directing the American Dance Festival for 43 years including his admiration for dancers; briefly, what he sees as his victories and challenges as the Director of the American Dance Festival as well as some of his personal values; his relationship with Maria Alba and the founding of the Alba/Reyes [Spanish Dance Company]; his current project: American Association of Artists and Audiences; his continued relationships with artists including Taylor, Tharp, Martha Clarke, Anna Halprin, and Pilobolus; his admiration for Pilobolus; the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award to honor the lifetime achievement of choreographers.

Alternative Title

Interview with Charles Reinhart
Dance oral history project
Dance audio archive

Subject

Genre/Form

Sound recordings.
Oral histories.

Note

Interview with Charles L. Reinhart conducted by Jodee Nimerichter on April 27 and May 11 and 12, 2016, in New York City for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division Oral History Project.
For transcript see *MGZMT 3-3064.
As of March 2023, the audio recording of this interview can be made available at the Library for the Performing Arts by advanced request to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, dance@nypl.org. The audio files for this interview are undergoing processing and eventually will be available for streaming.
Title supplied by cataloger.

Access (note)

Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.

Funding (note)

The creation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.

Call Number

*MGZMT 3-3064

OCLC

1017473772

Author

Reinhart, Charles L., interviewee.

Title

Interview with Charles L. Reinhart. April 27 and May 11 and 12 2016.

Imprint

2016.

Type of Content

spoken word

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

audio

Type of Carrier

online resource

volume

Digital File Characteristics

audio file

Restricted Access

Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.

Event

Recorded for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts April 27 and May 11 and 12, 2016 New York (N.Y.)

Funding

The creation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Added Author

Nimerichter, Jodee, interviewer.

Reinhart, Charles, interviewee

Research Call Number

*MGZMT 3-3064

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