The exhibit, “Hanya Holm: When Modern Dance Came to Colorado,” will be displayed from April 26 through June 21, 2010.

Hanya Holm: When Modern Dance Came to Colorado features materials from the Carson-Brierly Dance Library, which is part of Penrose Library’s Special Collections and Archives. The Carson-Brierly Dance Library is dedicated to the documentation and representation of the entire spectrum of dance, with emphasis on dance in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.

The exhibit contains images and records from the Marshall and Carolyn Durand Brooks Photography and Dance Collection, Carson-Brierly Photograph Collection, the Central City Opera House Association Records, and the University of Denver Historical Photograph Collection. Marshall Brooks, who later married Carolyn Durand Brooks, a dancer in Holm’s original company, had close personal ties to Holm, and took many of the candid photographs of Holm featured in the exhibit.

The online portion of the exhibit features oral histories from the Friends of the Carson-Brierly Dance Library “Living Legends of Dance” project of individuals who studied and worked with Holm. These include: Alfred Brooks (a soloist in Holm’s company and later teaching assistant), Lillian Covillo (cofounder of the Colorado Ballet and a Holm student), and Vera Sears (director of the Children’s Dance Theatre in the Lamont School of Music).

For more information about the Friends of the Carson-Brierly Dance Library or to learn more about supporting Special Collections and Archives collections, contact Ashley Buderus, Penrose Library Development Director: 303-871-3958 or Ashley.Buderus@du.edu.or visit our website.

(Image credits: Picture 1: Hanya Holm Portrait circa 1935, Marshall Brooks – Picture 2: DU Lamont Childrens Dance Theatre, between 1940-1960 Photographer; Marshall Brooks, Collection: Vera Sears Papers – Picture 3: Portrait of former Hanya Holm student, Freidann Parker, 1950 Photographer: Marshall Brooks, Marshall and Carolyn Durand Brooks Photography and Dance Collection)