Scope and Contents

The Helen R. Stevenson Collection of the Records of the Windsor Ballet and the Northern Connecticut Ballet is comprised of seven scrapbooks, two photograph albums, and one linear foot of miscellaneous business records, choreography notes, and photographs. All the materials are from the personal records of Helen Stevenson, Artistic Director of the Ballets. The business records include Northern Connecticut Ballet board minutes for 1987-1997; contracts with principal dancers; publicity materials, and a collection of programs for the Nutcracker and Spring Gala productions in Windsor. One series includes Stevenson’s resume and her curriculum for beginner levels of ballet instruction.

Although the Society’s collection does not include her work on Cape Cod and is unable to document the entirety of Helen Stevenson’s career, the scrapbooks and choreography notes do provide a sense of the style and breadth of her work during this time period. Seven scrapbooks contain photographs and mementos from the years 1976-1982. Helen Stevenson was choreographer for all the productions featured in the scrapbooks and she assembled the albums from her collection of personal memorabilia. The productions documented include Broadway shows produced by the Windsor Youth Theatre and the Windsor Jesters, evidence of an active performing arts community in Windsor, CT.  The scrapbooks contain performance programs; casual photos of rehearsals, performances, and cast parties as well as professional photographs of the dancers; notes of appreciation and thanks from cast and parents; reviews and announcements published in the local newspaper; birthday and get well cards.

The ballet Cinderella is the most completely documented production. The collection contains a detailed choreography, technical notes, some sketches for the set design and costumes, professional photographs, and rehearsal notes regarding the December 1978 performance in Windsor, CT. The collection also includes watercolor sketches for costumes for the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Coppélia and sets of performance photos taken by photographers Richard C. Holbrook, South Yarmouth, MA between 1976-1982; James Fournier of Windsor, CT, in the late 1980’s; and Creative Camera of East Windsor Hill, CT, in the 1990s.