TitleInterview with Friderica Derra de Moroda, 1977
NamesDerra de Moroda, Friderica, 1897-1978 (Interviewee)Harris, Dale, 1928-1996 (Interviewer)
CollectionDance Oral History Project
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1977-08
Library locationsJerome Robbins Dance DivisionShelf locator: *MGZTL 4-659
TopicsAngiolini, Gasparo, 1731-1803Derra de Moroda, Friderica, 1897-1978 -- InterviewsCecchetti, Enrico, 1850-1928Nationalsozialistische Gemeinschaft "Kraft durch Freude"National socialism and danceDance -- Research
GenresOral historiesInterviews
NotesContent: Interview with Friderica Derra de Moroda conducted by Dale Harris at her home in Salzburg, Austria on August 26 and August 27, 1977 for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division's Oral History Project. Additional physical form: The content of discs 1-3 is also available in streaming file format, available only on site at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. (Discs may also be used only at the Library.)Source characteristics: Sound quality is good. The recording is marred by mild "tape hiss" and occasional short gaps, but for the most part the speakers' voices are easily intelligible .Venue: Recorded by Dale Harris 1977, August 26 and 27, Salzburg, AustriaFunding: The conservation 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.
Physical DescriptionAudiotape reelExtent: 1 audiotape reel (approximately 2 hr.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips., half-track
DescriptionStreaming file 1 (disc 1), August 26, 1977 (approximately 58 minutes). Friderica Derra de Moroda speaks with Dale Harris about her dance research including with respect to dance notation; the many errors she has uncovered in dance history publications ; creating a bibliography of her dance collection; Cyril W. Beaumont; meeting [Tamara] Karsavina and studying with [Enrico] Cecchetti; performing in English music halls; her dance training and recitals; her activities during World War II in Berlin as the head of the ballet company of the National Socialist organization Kraft durch Freude [Nationalsozialistische Gemeinschaft "Kraft durch Freude"]; her internment as a British citizen in 1944 [ends abruptly].
Streaming file 2, first part (disc 2), August 26, 1977 (approximately first 35 minutes). Friderica Derra de Moroda speaks with Dale Harris about her moving to Austria after the end of World War II; her dance school in Salzburg; the state of dance in Germany [primarily before World War II] including teachers and dancers she knew; her impressions of Isadora Duncan; Heinrich Kröller; her family background and first professional performances, in Riga; dance and the Salzburg Festival; her view of dance today; her role as a representative of English dance when she was working at Dancing times magazine [ends abruptly but continues directly on disc 2].
Streaming file 3, latter part (disc 3), August 26, 1977 (approximate 29 minutes). Friderica Derra de Moroda continues to speak with Dale Harris about people she met while working at Dancing times; more on her performing and teaching in England; her dissatisfaction with how Cecchetti technique is taught today, for example with respect to port de bras; Tamara Karsavina; more on technique and its teaching including Cecchetti's barre exercises; her thoughts on dance performances she has seen recently; John Cranko; Alan Carter and Heinz Rosen [ends abruptly].
Disc 4, August 26, 1977 (approximately one hour). Friderica Derra de Moroda speaks about her association with Anton Dolin, Alicia Markova, and the Markova-Dolin Ballet; her classes with Leonide Massine; the popularity of dance including ballet in the music halls of Germany and Austria in the early 1900s; her typical performance program; [Bronislava] Nijinska as a teacher; more on [Enrico] Cecchetti and his classes, including an anecdote about Lydia Kyasht and his views on [Leonide] Massine's choreography; Cecchetti as a dancer including his great skill as a mime; the origins of technique classes for professional dancers and of the barre; problems with dance scholarship; Arthur Haskell as a dance writer; her impressions of Alicia Markova, Anna Pavlova,Tamara Karsavina, Margot Fonteyn, Alexandra Danilova, Lydia Lopukhova, and others; [the Ballets russes production of] The sleeping princess; cast members including Olga Spessivtseva, Cecchetti, and Nijinska [ends abruptly].
Disc 5, August 27, 1977 (approximately one hour). [Begins abruptly.] Friderica Derra de Moroda speaks with Dale Harris about several male ballet dancers; Kyra Nijinska; character dancing including some of the sources of national dances she performed; national dances in Germany and Austria including their fostering by the National Socialists; current dance scholarship in the United States; the plans for her dance collection [now the Derra de Moroda Dance Archives at The University of Salzburg]; her work on Gasparo Angiolini; more on her multi-national background including why she writes in English; other dance collections including an anecdote about Gigi [Genevieve Oswald]; more on her collection [ends abruptly].
Type of ResourceSound recording
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersNYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12118471RLIN/OCLC: 80794529 Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 8bc67260-c30b-0133-0b52-60f81dd2b63c
Rights StatementThe copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
Item timeline of events
-
-
-
-
-
-
