Guide to the J. Yvonne Parker Papers, 1938, 1947-1984 SPEC.TRI.0099 Finding aid prepared by Lindsay Resnick Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2023 May This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2023-07-18T17:31-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard J. Yvonne Parker Papers SPEC.TRI.0099 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 3.7 Cubic feet 1938, 1947-1984 Josephine Yvonne Forbus Parker (1921-2006) was a dancer, choreographer, dance and movement teacher, and researcher of dance history who spent most of her career at Yale University. The J. Yvonne Parker Papers, dated 1938, 1947-1984, contains materials related to the education and professional career of J. Yvonne Parker. (8) 5" letter document boxes; (1) 5" legal document box English Parker, J. Yvonne Arrangement of Materials

Materials in the J. Yvonne Parker papers are arranged chronologically, and alphabetically by folder title within the same date.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. TRI.2023.0003: Jarrett Parker, 2022 May

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], J. Yvonne Parker Papers, SPEC.TRI.0099, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Ohio State University

 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Contains open reel audiotape.

 Access to Materials

Audio/visual materials may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. The remainder of this collection is available for patron research, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: Lindsay Resnick, 2023 May; Finding aid written by: Lindsay Resnick, 2023 May; ATS student employees, 2023 May

 Biographical Note

Josephine Yvonne Forbus Parker (1921-2006) was born in France to American parents. She earned degrees from Bradford Junior College, Connecticut College, and the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (as of 1963, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro). Later, Parker taught dance in Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina before accepting a position as a dance instructor and stage movement consultant at the Yale School of Drama in 1964. Parker later became a lecturer in Opera at the Yale School of Music, where she worked simultaneously to her position in the School of Drama. In addition to full-time instruction at Yale, Parker served as a freelance movement consultant for various performances and organizations throughout her career. She was a Board Member of the Dance Notation Bureau and the National Council of the Arts in Education. Parker died at age 85 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 Scope and Contents

The J. Yvonne Parker Papers, dated 1938, 1947-1984, contains materials related to the education and professional career of dancer, choreographer, dance and movement teacher, and researcher J. Yvonne Parker. The collection includes correspondence, coursework, teaching notes, personnel and salary records, and publications from throughout Parker's career, focusing mostly on her role as a faculty member at Yale University. In addition, the collection contains Parker's master's degree thesis, "Little Man and Kinetic Abstraction" as well as magnetic tape recordings that are related to the thesis; and Parker's research on historical forms of dance. Also included in the collection are materials related to Parker's membership in various professional organizations, including the Dance Notation Bureau and the National Council of Arts in Education. A small portion of the J. Yvonne Parker Papers is composed of personal correspondence such as holiday cards. The majority of folders in this collection retain the titles originally given by Parker.

 Dance Notation Bureau (New York, N.Y.) National Council of Arts in Education Parker, J. Yvonne Yale University Correspondence Dance teachers--United States--20th century Dance--History Dance--Research--20th century Dance--Study and teaching--20th century Financial records Open reel audiotapes Programs (documents) Research (documents) Research notes Résumés (personnel records) Theses Universities and colleges--Faculty--United States--20th century Women choreographers--United States--20th century Women dancers--United States--20th century History of Dance research and notes 9 1 1938, 1948-1983 "From the Estate of J. Yvonne Parker" binder 1 1-2 1947-1980 Folkwangschule binder 9 2 1948-1951 Albrecht Knust dance notation course notebooks 1 3 1950-1951 Dance Notation Bureau fundraising and reorganization 1 4-5 1950, 1960-1969 Dance Notation Bureau Effort-Shape Training Program 2 1 1 6 1950, 1961-1982 Articles about modern dance and sculpture 2 2 1950-1972 Curricula vitae, salary correspondence, and other professional material 2 3-4 1951-1980 Editorial research reports index 2 5 1953-1967 Philosophy of aesthetics 9 3 1954-1965 Dance Notation Bureau history and research materials 2 6 1955-1971 Original performance programs 2 7 3 1 1955-1983 "The Dance Program at Sycamore College: Its Initiation, Problems, and Methods" 3 2 1956 May "Little Man Kinetic Abstraction" 3 3 1957-1959 Memorabilia 3 4 1957-1972 "Little Man Kinetic Abstraction" performance recording 8 1 circa 1958 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements Audiotape; Approximate run time: unknown "Little Man Kinetic Abstraction" and "Lively" performance recording 8 2 circa 1958 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements Audiotape; Approximate run time: unknown "Little Man Kinetic Abstraction" and "Murder" performance recording 9 1 circa 1958 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements Audiotape; Approximate run time: unknown Dance Notation Bureau intermediate certificate coursework 3 5 1958 "Contrasting Approaches to Choreography as Illustrated by Two Dances" Master's thesis 3 6 1958 Music for dance 3 7 1958-1971 Erika Thimey Dance Theatre 3 8 1959, 1979 "Anthropological Bases of Dance" notebook 3 9 circa 1960 "Counting for Classwork" and "A New Look at the Joos Classics" drafts by Laura Maris Campbell 9 4 1960 North Carolina College at Durham 3 10 1960-1961 Alvin Ailey Dance Theater 9 5 1962 Dance Notation Bureau reorganization hassle 3 11 1963, 1968-1969 Modern Dance Council of Washington, D.C., Incorporated 4 1 1964 Yale Drama School correspondence and pay stubs 4 2 1964-1971 Dance Notation Bureau Effort condensation 4 3 1965 "Children's classes" notebook 4 4 circa 1965 "Effort: An Introduction" and "Effort-Shape Analysis of Movement" by Irmgard Bartenieff 4 5 circa 1965 Connecticut Commission on the Arts and New Haven Arts Council 4 6 1965-1967 Dance Notation Bureau bylaws, policies, and other material 4 7 1965-1970 National Council of the Arts in Education correspondence and meeting minutes 4 8 1965-1971 Personal correspondence 4 9-10 1965-1984 National Council of the Arts in Education conference packet 4 11 1966 "The World of Dance" original production notes 5 1 1966 Yale School of Drama record of classes 5 2 1966-1967 Yale School of Drama teaching materials 5 3 1966-1967 National Dance Guild 5 4 1966-1968 Yale School of Drama faculty meeting minutes 5 5 1966-1970 Yale School of Music correspondence and publications 5 6 1966-1983 Connecticut College dance workshops 5 7 1966 July-August "The Role of the Arts in Education: a Prospectus" 5 8 1966 October 27 National Council of the Arts in Education conference packet 5 9 1967 New Haven Dance Ensemble 5 10 1967-1971 Pro-Dance 5 11 1967-1977 Connecticut Commission on the Arts report 6 1 1967 January-April Yale School of Drama Alumni Newsletter 6 2 1967 May-1969 May Yale University Alumni Magazine 6 3 1967 June Yale School of Drama record of classes 6 4 1967 September-1968 April Arts/Worth 6 5 1968-1971 "Proceedings of the Seventh National Conference on the Arts in Education" 6 6 1968 September 3-1968 September 6 Yale University strike correspondence and publications 6 7 1969-1970 Dance Notation Bureau correspondence and meeting minutes 6 8 1969-1971 Yale University "Study Commission on Governance" and "Coeducation" reports 6 9 1970-1971 Dance workshop master classes 7 1 circa 1971 Yale University Drama 8 class register 7 2 1971-1972 "A Report to the President from the Committee on the Status of Professional Women at Yale" 7 3 1971 May Yale University History of Dance course 7 4 1972-1984 Robert Moulton acting workshop 7 5 1972 June 14 Morris dances and country dances 7 6 1970 Court and Renaissance dance notes 7 7 circa 1977 Yale University commencement programs 7 8 1977, 1980-1981 Yale University A. Bartlett Giamatti Inauguration program 7 9 1978 October 14 Yale School of Drama class notes 7 10 1978-1981 Yale University teaching binder 7 11-12 1978-1984 Yale School of Music "Bulletin" 7 13 1978 July 20 Pre-classic dance forms research 8 1 1979-1982 Yale School of Music correspondence with Frank Tirro 8 2 1980 August-September Yale School of Music Drama and Stage Movement class materials 8 3 1981 Yale School of Music course evaluations and correspondence 8 4 1981-1982 Yale University Faculty Handbook 8 5 1981 February "A Brief Survey of Dance History" drafts 8 6 1982 "History of International Dance" binder 8 7 1982-1983 "A Brief Survey of Dance History" draft 8 8 after 1982