Description: You are bidding on: “Virginia Sampler” Pristine Lovers; original art/design by Charles Elson 1947; signed verso with United Scenic Artists Stamp; gouache, ink and watercolor on board, approx 9 ½" x 12 ½"; some wear, soiling, rippling, but still Very Good see photos RARE Charles Elsen (1910-2000) was a designer whose work was seen on Broadway (over 30 productions), at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC and regionally. Over the years, he designed lighting, sets and costumes. And also taught at Hunter College (NYC), University of Iowa and elsewhere. “Virginia Sampler, with book and choreography by Valerie Bettis, music by Leo Smit and setting and costumes by Charles Elson, was an interesting and unsuccessful experiment. It had only a sketchy story about the disruption of the conventional pattern of a Virginia town, in the period after the American Revolution, by the arrival of strangers, frontiersmen, soldiers and a mysterious Woman on Horseback. The ensuing conflicts were not fully developed in ballet terms; they merely served the purpose of contrast and color. The dramatic tensions were slight and the emotional range was narrow. This limitation was partly deliberate, to suit the modest size of the work, partly due to peculiar circumstances. Miss Bettis, who has an established reputation in the field of expressional dance, both as a choreographer and a performer, had no experience in the ballet idiom. Because of her particular background, she was used to a different kind of dance impulse and dynamic response, another kinesthetic pattern and a more directly intuitive projection of emo- tional states. The result was altogether unsatisfactory, since the dancers went quasi-rnechanically through the motions prescribed in the choreography, but evidently, through no fault of theirs, did not fully grasp the essential meaning they were called upon to convey.”“Ballet in America: The Emergence of an American Art” By George Amberg; 1949; New American Library of World Literature & Duell, Sloan & Pearce, Inc. The ballet was performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. International Buyers should know that I use the Ebay International Shipping Program. Photos are considered an essential part of the description, please examine carefully. Please ask any questions before the end of the auction. I am happy to answer any and all question. Please pay within 3 days of auction end. All items in as-is condition. No refunds unless it can be established that the item was not accurately described (photos are considered an essential part of the description). Thanks!
Price: 69.99 USD
Location: Stamford, Connecticut
End Time: 2024-11-08T21:59:55.000Z
Shipping Cost: 5.5 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Genre: Classical, Opera & Ballet
Industry: Music
