12/13/51 Guide to the National Academy of Dance/National Academy of Arts Records National Academy of Dance Records Finding Aid Authors: Elizabeth Hartman, Hannah Jellen, Somer Pelzcar, and Nolan Vallier.

© Copyright 2015 The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music. All rights reserved.

2015-09-24
236 Harding Band Building 1103 South 6th Street Champaign, IL, 61820-6223 URL: https://archives.library.illinois.edu/sousa/ Email: schwrtzs@illinois.edu Phone: 217-244-93093 Fax: 217-244-8695
This finding aid was encoding in EAD by Archon 3.21 from an SQL database source on March 29th, 2024. The collection description/finding aid is written in English
Guide to the National Academy of Dance/National Academy of Arts Records 1967/2015 The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music Overview of the Collection National Academy of Dance/National Academy of Arts Records 1967-2015 1971-1985 12/13/51 The National Academy of Dance 2.50 English The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
236 Harding Band Building 1103 South 6th Street Champaign, IL, 61820-6223 URL: https://archives.library.illinois.edu/sousa/ Email: schwrtzs@illinois.edu Phone: 217-244-93093 Fax: 217-244-8695
Historical Note:

The National Academy of Dance (and later, the National Academy of Arts) was a residential conservatory of dance and music that operated in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois from 1972-1978 and again from 1982-1987. The Academy was the brainchild of University of Illinois English Professor Dr. Gilbert D. Wright. Although he was not a regular connoisseur of dance, Wright was inspired by a Royal Ballet School performance that he saw during a 1966 research trip to London, when he returned to the university he decided to develop a similar residential ballet conservatory in Illinois.

Wright began laying the groundwork for the National Academy of Dance in 1969 when he formed Illinois Foundation for the Dance and became a board member for the American Ballet Theater. In 1971, the Foundation launched an Extension Division to provide ballet training, soliciting teachers from current and retired faculty at the University of Illinois. Despite his initial plans to locate the school in the Chicago metropolitan area, the Academy ultimately opened in Urbana-Champaign, which was experiencing a cultural explosion during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At this time there were few institutions in America that provided quality ballet training for young dancers, and the new Urbana-Champaign residential dance academy generated great interest across the country. During the Academy's first auditions in the spring of 1972, nearly 250 students auditioned for entry into the school from major cities around the nation.

With a total of 63 students, the National Academy of Dance opened in the fall of 1972, functioning as a charter school that offered academic courses and a high school degree through the University of Illinois High School. In 1974, after two years of high enrollment, the Academy expanded by adding a music program to its curriculum. As a result the school changed its name to The National Academy of Arts (NAA) with the two performance disciplines designated within the school as the National Academy of Music (NAM) and National Academy of Dance (NAD). In addition to offering high school degrees with specializations in music and dance, the Academy later considered offering humanities degrees for students focusing on technical theater and production but this new academic concentration was never implemented.

In 1975, a company of student dancers formed an apprentice semi-professional dance company called the National Academy Ballet. A year later the company evolved into a professional company and changed its name to the National Ballet of Illinois (NBI) - a move that was considered by some Academy faculty and supporters to be controversial. Also beginning with the 1975-1976 school year NAA also offered a purely academic-only program as part of its curriculum for non-NAD and NAM students who enrolled in Academy.

After student enrollement peaked in 1977, funding problems for both the Academy and its professional company became a serious issue which eventually forced the closure of the school in 1978. As a result five properties owned by the Academy were sold at auction to cover its debt, and the Academy eventually was able to reopen in 1982. However, after five more years of shrinking student enrollment and growing financial commitments the Academy was closed again in 1987.

During the height of its activity, the National Academy of Arts maintained several buildings in the Urbana-Champaign area including their central facility, the Inman Hotel in downtown Champaign. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, 230 students graduated from the Academy and found careers in such venues as Broadway, at the River North Dance Theatre, the Ballet Tucson, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra. A reunion of past graduates of the Academy took place in Champaign, Illinois on July 17th and 18th, 2015.

Access Terms

This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Personal Name: Clara Rolland Gilbert Wright Lupe Serrano Paul Rolland Price Boday Topical Term: Ballet Champaign, Illinois Dance Dance Education Music Music -- Illinois -- Art and Literature
Administrative Information Acquisition Information:

Gift.

Related Materials:

See Also: The National Academy of Arts Collection, 12/13/50.

Arrangement of Materials:

Organized into two series: Series 1, Administrative and Production Records, 1969-2015, and Series 2, Photographs and Memorabilia, 1967-1983. Each series is arranged first by subject and then chronologically therein.

Scope and Contents

Consists of financial records, meeting minutes, news clippings, correspondence, performance programs, photographs, and memorabilia documenting the opening, operation, management, curriculum, faculty, student life, and closures of The National Academy of Dance and its later iteration as the National Academy of Arts. Also contains materials related to a reunion of Academy students that took place in 2015.

Detailed List of Contents id182100 Administrative and Production Records 1969-2015 Scope and Contents

Consists of meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, contracts, publicity materials, scrapbooks, and production records documenting the management and operation of the National Academy of Dance as well as student, faculty, and staff life. The series is organized in four subseries: Sub-series 1, Operational Records, Sub-series 2, Student and Faculty Records, Sub-series 3, Publicity Materials, and Sub-series 4, Production Materials.

id182101 Operational Records, 1969-1982 id182111 1 1 Dr. Gilbert Wright's proposals and notes for National Academy of Dance and National Ballet of Illinois circa 1969 id182112 1 2 Board of Directors minutes and correspondence, 1 of 2 1975-1977 id182113 1 3 Board of Directors minutes and correspondence, 2 of 2 1978-1980 id182114 1 4 National Academy of Art correspondence 1978-1982 id182115 1 5 Financial records and correspondence 1970-1979 id182116 1 6 Funding, trust contracts and pamphlets undated id182117 1 7 Academic program materials 1970-1977 Scope and Contents

Contains course descriptions, class schedules, curriculum plans

id182118 1 8 Repertory dance companies, basic agreement 1977-1980 id182119 1 9 Student health correspondence 1974 id182120 1 10 Administrative policies and correspondence regarding student life 1971-1975 id182121 1 11 Accreditation: report pamphlets and clippings concerning North Central Association visitng committee 1976-1977 id182160 2 1 Scrapbook 1 1967-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains organizational charts, statement of historical development, goals and functions, budgets, student and faculty-staff statistics, facilities photographs, student photographs, promotional pamphlet, quotes from students and faculty-staff, correspondence, and news clippings relating to the Academy. Though some materials in this scrapbook pertain to other series, the entire scrapbook in housed here in Series 1 to maintain its integrity.

id182102 Student and Faculty Records, 1971-2015 id182122 1 12 Faculty: general materials 1971-1977 Scope and Contents

Contains appointment annoucments, news clippings, personal correspondence and biographies

id182123 1 13 Faculty: Stella Applebaum 1972-1976 Scope and Contents

Contains publicity materials, correspondence, news clippings, employee contract

id182124 1 14 Faculty: Alexander Bennett 1976-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings

id182125 1 15 Faculty: Peter Franklin-White 1974-2001 Scope and Contents

Contains photographs, correspondence, and news clippings

id182126 1 16 Faculty: Michael Maule, Marjorie Bresler circa 1976 Scope and Contents

Contains appointment annoucements

id182127 1 17 Faculty: Carl Schultz, Julius Robinson, Clara Rolland circa 1977 Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings

id182128 1 18 Faculty: Lupe Serrano 1975 Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings

id182129 1 19 Faculty: Chester Wolenski circa 1986 Scope and Contents

Contains publicity materials

id182130 1 20 Faculty: Gilbert and Colleen Wright 1975-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence and news clippings

id182131 1 21 Company rosters 1972-1975 id182132 1 22 National Academy of Arts yearbooks 1975-1977 Scope and Contents

Includes National Academy of Arts 1975 and 1976/1977 yearbooks

id182133 1 23 Reunion materials circa 2015 Scope and Contents

Contains reunion programs, alumni statements, news clippings

id182103 Publicity Materials, 1967-2015 id182134 1 24 Graduation programs 1973-1985 Scope and Contents

Contains graduation programs for 1973-1978, 1983, 1985

id182135 1 25 Program booklets, 1 of 2 1967-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains booklets for National Academy of Dance, National Academy of Arts, National Academy of Music, and the Illinois Foundation for the Dance

id182138 1 26 Program booklets, 2 of 2 1978-1985 Scope and Contents

Contains booklets for National Academy of Arts

id182139 1 27 National Academy of Arts performance programs, posters, and press packets 1967-2000 id182140 1 28 Performance programs 1972-1984 id182141 1 29 Ballet from the National Academy of Arts programs 1983 id182142 1 30 Materials related to other dance and art organizations 1975-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains reports, programs, and pamphlets relating to the arts, but not produced by the National Academy of the Arts

id182143 1 31 On Pointe newsletter 1970-1975 Scope and Contents

Contains On Pointe the newsletter for the Illinois Foundation for the Dance, as well as Foundation publicity correspondence

id182144 1 32 First closing of the National Academy of Arts Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings

id182145 1 33 Facilities materials and news clippings 1972-2015 Scope and Contents

Articles and news clippings related to National Academy of Dance facilities primarily from 1972-1985, with additional 2015 materials about old facilities.

id182146 1 34 Fundraising and publicity 1971-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings and newsletters

id182147 1 35 Closing of first National Academy of Arts and opening of second Academy 1978-1987 Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings, press releases

id182148 1 36 National Ballet of Illinois publicity materials 1977-1979 Scope and Contents

Includes photographs

id182149 1 37 National Ballet of Illinois clippings 1974-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains articles and reviews

id182150 1 38 News clippings - general public relations announcements 1971-1981 id182151 1 39 Performance notice and reviews, 1 of 2 1971-1978 id182152 1 40 Performance notices and reviews, 2 of 2 1977-1980 id182161 2 2 Scrapbook 2 1972-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings concerning student life, performances, facilities and funding, backing ground and beginnings of second Academy, obituraries.

id182156 2 3 Scrapbook 3 1972-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains news clippings concerning performances, faculty, and the Academy in general.

id182178 1 id182177 1 National Ballet of Illinois poster circa 1972
id182104 Production Materials, 1972-1985 id182153 1 41 Roo Dunn's rehearsal notes and materials 1983-1984 Scope and Contents

Contains National Academy of Arts May 1983 materials

id182154 1 42 Roo Dunn's production notes and materials 1972-1985 Scope and Contents

Contains National Academy of Arts materials - Fall/Winter 1985.

id182155 1 43 Roo Dunn's production book 1985 Scope and Contents

Contains National Academy of Arts December 1985 production book; includes correspondence. See Oversize Portfolio Case 1 for two stage lighting maps related to these materials.

id182157 2 4 Ballet staging diagrams and photographs 1977 id182180 1 id182175 1 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Playhouse Theatre Lighting Plot May 5, 1984 id182176 1 Krannert Center Colwell Playhouse Light Plot December 1985
id182105 Photographs and Memorabilia 1967-1983 Scope and Contents

Consists of photographs and textiles documenting student life, rehearsals, and performances of the Academy between 1967 and 1983. Additional photographs are located in Series 1, Sub-Series 1 (Box 2, Folder 1).

id182165 2 5 Ballet photographs circa 1971 id182166 2 6 Ballet photographs 1971-1978 id182167 2 7 Ballet photographs 1971-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains ballet performance photographs from National Academy of Arts and Nationla Ballet of Illinois.

id182168 2 8 Ballet photographs 1971-1978 id182169 2 9 Photographs 1972-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains photographs detailing campus life, rehearsals and performances of the Academy as well as the National Ballet of Illinois; also includes some portraits. Some photographs have descriptions (names, dates) written on the back.

id182170 2 10 Roo Dunn photo album 1976-1978 Scope and Contents

Contains photographs detailing student life, facilities, students. Includes portraits with names.

id182171 2 11 Roo Dunn ballet photographs and negatives 1982-1983 id182172 2 12 Roo Dunn ballet photographs circa 1983 id182107 3 Pointe shoe undated Scope and Contents

Accession number 2015.121351.002 One heavily-used satin pink pointe ballet shoe with pink ribbon laces. On the outer fabric of the shoe, there are notes and autographs written in black pen.

id182174 4 Embroidery 1977 Scope and Contents

Contains framed embroidery designed and executed by Elsa Dunn. Creme background with blue National Academy of Arts logo and lettering.

id182109 1 National Academy of Arts t-shirt circa 1977 Scope and Contents

Accession number 2015.121351.003. Light blue t-shirt, heavily stained, with black script reading "National Academy of Arts."