Janet Collins—“To Be Enjoyed”

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Notes

The article appeared as “Janet Collins: A Spirit That Knows No Bounds” in Dance Magazine, February 1997: 66–71.

Collins's scrapbook collection is housed at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

Zachary Solov remarks that, during her career at the Met, Collins learned choreography slowly, with a tendency to overanalyze the movement. This would explain why it took her three years to choreograph her solo concert—although in her defense, ample time is a luxury choreographers often do not have. Collins's talents lay in dancing, painting, and teaching; she even developed a theory of teaching dance to the deaf at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf in The Bronx in New York City.

Although Collins studied modern dance with Horton, Dunham, and Humphrey, her ballet instructors included Harold and Lew Christensen, Mia Slavenska, Adolph Bolm, Cia Fornaroli, and Carmelita Marraci—an impressive list. Historically, African Americans have studied ballet more often than is generally recognized; segregation has precluded awareness of what was occurring in the African American world. Furthermore, European immigrants were willing to teach African Americans, giving them private lessons that enabled them to receive high-quality training.

What infuriated Collins was that she did not earn any money from doing this work. After the musicians and support staff were paid, Collins actually owed the management company two hundred dollars.