Stuart Sebastian Papers

The collection includes correspondence, both personal and professional from colleagues in the dance world, Dayton Ballet administrative materials and performance records, photographs, clippings, materials pertaining to his dance teaching activities, and personal items including diplomas and school papers.

Series I, Subject Files, are arranged alphabetically by correspondent or subject and cover the years 1978-1991. They contain personal and professional correspondence to Sebastian from colleagues in the dance world as well as friends and family. Also contained within these files are papers pertaining to the Dayton Ballet and to Sebastian and his artistic work with other dance companies and schools. Files also contain letters written by Sebastian on both personal and professional subjects. Other items include photos of dancers and news clippings pertaining to the person or subject within the files.

Series II contains miscellaneous administrative records for the Dayton Ballet Company. Of note in this series are several artistic and philosophy statement: the DBC Five-year Plan, the Touring rationale file, the Two-year Artistic Plan contained in the New Works Budget file, the Report to the DBC Board, and the handwritten outline of Stuart's teaching philosophy contained in the DBC Administrative Records file. There are copies of Stuart's evaluations of individual dancers in the DBC Administrative Records file. This series also contains several long range planning reports, including one from William H. Inglis, an independent consultant. Records also show the merger of the Dayton Ballet School with the Jon Rodriquez Ballet School. There is a file of press releases and another of miscellaneous DBC correspondence. The files of this series are arranged alphabetically by subject or file title. Span dates are 1967-1990.

Series III consists of performance records of the DBC with Sebastian as Choreographer and Artistic Director. It also contains records of his work as an independent/visiting choreographer. These records are broken down into five sub series as follows:

1: Dayton Ballet Company

2: Dayton Ballet Touring Company

3: Ballet Festivals, and

4: Antwerp/Camelot performance.

The files of this series contains press releases,correspondence, clippings, stage notes and designs, programs, costume charts, itineraries, and schedules pertaining to performances.Span dates are 1968-1989.

Series IV contains materials pertaining to Sebastian's teaching activities. Included are lecture notes, invitations, itineraries,and correspondence. Papers in this series demonstrate the range of Sebastian's audiences and students, from high school dancers to professionals. Span dates are 1980-1989.

Photographs, Series V, contains mostly black and white photographic prints, although there are also a fair amount of color 35mm snapshots. A large number of the images are either publicity or performance photographs of Stuart. There are also photographs taken by Sebastian in conjunction with a photography class he took while attending American University. The photographs in the series are only partially labeled and identified on the back by Stuart. The series also contains some color slides and 35mm proof sheets. Photographs date from ca 1973 until the late 1980's.

The newspaper clippings in Series VI are mostly reviews of performances in which Sebastian either danced, directed, or choreographed. Also included are feature articles about Stuart and his career and general feature articles about the Dayton Ballet Company. The majority of the clippings are from local Dayton papers, and many contain only a single reference to Sebastian. Span dates are 1966-1990.

Series VII, Personal, includes a selection of Stuart's creative writing efforts, and autobiography written for a class assignment, passports, high school diploma, birth certificate, and a program from his ten-year high school reunion. Last in this series are materials from a few courses taken at American University, a paper on a dinner with philosopher Mortimer Adler, and a play by Sam Shepherd. Span dates are 1950-1989.

The miscellaneous correspondence in Series VIII contains letters and cards from various friends and associates in the dance world. Subjects range from personal life to professional dealings to politics. Span dates are 1982-1986.

Series IX, Over sized Materials, includes Sebastian's diploma from American University, ballet posters and programs, costume drawings, over sized photographs, and prints.

Series X, Computer File Printouts, is a hard copy of Sebastian's files from his personal computer. It is a mass of unorganized material which has been arranged by the archivist into chronological order. Information in these printouts include Ballet annual reports, budget and expense reports, rehearsal schedules, program notes, and correspondence, both personal and professional. Span dates are 1984-1990.