Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The Margit Heskett Collection includes 2 cubic feet of correspondence, files, literary productions, printed materials, news clippings, photographs, sound recordings and motion picture film documenting her life as a dancer, scholar and innovative instructor of dance at Bowling Green State University from 1965-1979.

The collection was donated to the Center for Archival Collections by Mrs. Heskett in April 2008. No restrictions have been placed upon its use for scholarly purposes. WBGU Television maintains copyright control over filmed dance sequences included in the collection. Eric Honneffer completed the finding aid in August 2008.

Biographical Sketch

Margit Blochova Heskett taught dance at Bowling Green State University in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation from 1965 until her retirement in 1979. Modern and folk dancing were her specialties. The University Performing Art Dancers were formed during her tenure. She also organized dance workshops for the community, led dance troupes on tours and traveled extensively in Europe where she studied and performed. Her passion for the arts, dance and movement has inspired her over the years to share her gift with not only high school and college students but with hospitalized veterans, the elderly and the physically and mentally handicapped. Her big heart has also made room for a number of adorable, small dogs.

Margit B. Heskett, a native of Czechoslovakia, was born in Teplice in northwest Bohemia. While in her late teens she and her parents fled their homeland and came to the United States in the wake of World War II. Her father, an architectural engineer settled the family in New York. Margit enrolled at Columbia University to study architecture. Her deep interest in the arts, however, prompted her to change her major. She received her B.S. degree in physical education from Wittenberg University and in 1964 completed her M.A. in dance at Columbia. Before coming to BGSU she had taught elsewhere in Ohio: Fairborn City Schools in Fairborn, Antioch College in Yellow Springs and Central Catholic High School in Springfield.

After her retirement from BGSU in 1979 she traveled and conducted private dance instruction and exercise classes. In 1978 she established at the university the Bloch/Heskett Ethnic Arts Award in memory of her mother. By the mid to late 1980's she returned to BGSU to teach part-time in the Department of Ethnic Studies. As a scholar of eastern European cultures, her classes focused primarily upon European immigration to the United States and German and French language for travelers. Currently she is completing her memoirs.

Scope and Content

The Margit B. Heskett Collection includes a variety of documents which when taken together comprise a relatively complete picture of her life beginning with her youth in Teplice, Czechoslovakia in the 1920's and 1930's through her post retirement years and the completion of her memoirs in 2008. The correspondence and news clippings provide considerable detail about her life in dance, her associates, her folk dancing studies abroad, her vast interest in the arts and her commitment to Ethnic Studies at BGSU. The photographs are a comprehensive document of Mrs. Heskett's childhood, career, and friendships.;

Researchers of dance would find useful the documents and notes recording the dance notation, choreography and musical accompaniment for staging various dance productions Margit Heskett directed during her time at BGSU. An original production of Antigone was filmed by the university television station, WBGU, as a documentary in the late 1960's. The collection contains performance details and musical accompaniment by Paul Paster for this television program. No film copy of this production is included.

The collection does, however, include performance footage of several dance selections by the university performing dance group, Orchesis, (some featuring Margit Heskett) filmed by WBGU between 1966 and 1970. This visual record of Mrs. Heskett and her dancers is a valuable resource to anyone interested in studying dance at the university during this time period. The collection also contains programs printed for university dance performances offering additional details about the productions.

Researchers should bear in mind that some correspondence and printed materials within the collection are in Czech, German and French languages.

Series Description

CORRESPONDENCE

INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE
1938-2007 scattered
Arranged chronologically
Letters were sent to Margit Heskett by colleagues, friends, and individuals and concentrate primarily upon issues relevant to her position as dance instructor and educator.

REFERENCE LETTERS
1945-1988 scattered
Arranged chronologically
This correspondence was sent from employers and colleagues and documents Margit Heskett's career accomplishments.

FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE
1946, 1951, 1953, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
These letters were sent to Karl and Flora Bloch, Margit Heskett's parents.

SUBJECT FILES

CLASS FILES
n.d.
These contain a few printed materials relevant to Margit Heskett's teaching of European culture and her own PhD research in dance.

MEMOIR FILES
1926-present scattered
The files contain copies of photographs, clippings and other documents used in preparation of the Heskett memoirs for publication.

RESEARCH ABROAD FILES
1970-1979 scattered
Arranged chronologically
Correspondence, credentials, summaries, reports, travel itineraries are included from Mrs. Heskett's dance research, instruction, and performance in Europe.

VIKTOR MALCEV FILES
1968
The files of Czech dancer/choreographer Viktor Malcev contain documents in the Czech language devoted primarily to details about the ballet Narodniho.

LITERARY PRODUCTIONS

M. HESKETT PUBLICATIONS
1962-2002 scattered
Printed copies of Margit Heskett's literary works are included.

DANCE PRODUCTION RECORDS
1966-1976 scattered
Most arranged by name of production
Includes documents and notes pertinent to the choreography, musical/vocal accompaniment and artistic elements of particular BGSU dance productions performed while Margit Heskett was dance instructor.

MISCELLANEOUS LITERARY WORKS
2000-2001, n.d.
Publications and literary manuscripts by colleagues and friends of Margit Heskett are included.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

LEGAL DOCUMENTS
1939, n.d.
Copies of Margit Heskett's citizenship papers are included.

PRINTED MATERIALS

PRINTED MATERIALS
1941-1999
Arranged by type of documents
Documents featured can include materials from both BGSU and elsewhere for dance performance programs and handbills, workshop/ course descriptions, Health Physical Education and Recreation conference/ meeting materials, travel brochures, invitations of various kinds, news clippings and the like are featured.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS

PHOTOGRAPHS
1925 -
Arranged by topic
The photographs include images of Margit Heskett, her family, friends, colleagues, student dancers, travels and pets.

MOTION PICTURE FILM
1966-1970
WBGU filmed dance productions on two units feature Margit Heskett and the university performing dancers. Digital recordings of these films are included in the collection.

AUDIO RECORDINGS

AUDIO RECORDINGS
1951, 1978, n.d.
Three LP's can include brief dance accompaniment (vocal and instrumental) and four Czech folk dances.

ARTWORK

ARTWORK
n.d.
Features a watercolor by Margit Heskett when she was a child.

ARTIFACTS

ARTIFACTS
1967-1971
Charm bracelet with charms given to Margit Heskett on the occasion of the performance of various BGSU dance productions.

Inventory

Box 1

Folders

1. Incoming correspondence (some non-English), 1938- (scattered)
2. Reference letters (some non-English), 1945-1988
3. Family correspondence, 1946, 1951, 1955, n.d.
4. Class file - Danish culture, n.d.
5. Class file - PhD research file (some non-English), n.d.
6. Memoir file - documents, 1953, 1996, n.d.
7. Memoir file - documents (some non-English), 1953-2000 (scattered)
8. Memoir file - book introduction, n.d.
9. Memoir file - news clippings, 1967-1983
10. Memoir file - photos, 1926-1983 (scattered)
11. Memoir file - photos, c. 1970 -
12. Research abroad files (some non-English), 1970-1981
13. Same - IREX (some non-English), 1976-1979 (scattered)
14. Viktor Malcev file (Czech), 1968
15. Viktor Malcev file (Czech), 1968
16. Viktor Malcev file (Czech), 1968
17. Ohio Dance Directory by Mary Titus and M. Heskett, 1962
18. Articles by M. Heskett, 1967, 1978, n.d.
19. Contemporary Dance in Schools and Communities, by M. Heskett, 1966
20. Review of Contemporary Dance..., no author, 1969
21. Class paper "An analysis of Three Phases of the European Theater", by M. Heskett, 1969
22. Resume, 1972, 1978
23. Article "Doggie and Owner Training" by M. Heskett, 2002

Box 2

Folders

1. Dance production - Antigone, Oedipus, 1966
2. Dance production - fragile originals of folder 1, 1966
3. Dance production - The Theban Plays, c. 1966
4. Dance production - Antigone (music) by Paul Paster, 1966
5. Dance production - Mirrors, 1966
6. Dance production - It's One World, 1976
7. Dance production - Come and Be, n.d.
8. Dance production - misc. dance arrangements, etc., n.d.
9. Dance production - notes of M. Heskett, n.d.
10. Dance production - BGSU dance repertoire & Composers, 1969
11. Dance production - musical compositions Composed for M. Heskett dances, n.d.
12. Dance production - scored poems for dance by Louis Horst, et al, n.d.
13. Miscellaneous literary works - "The Waves" by Ursula Behringer, 2000
14. Miscellaneous literary works - literary anthology with work by Ursula Behringer (German), 2001
15. Miscellaneous literary works - unpublished short story by Oddmund Ljone, n.d.
16. Margit Blochova Heskett citizenship papers (copies) 1939, n.d.
17. BGSU dance programs, 1966-1975, n.d.
18. BGSU dance handbills, 1970, 1972, n.d.
19. BGSU dance workshop publicity, 1969-1981, n.d. (scattered)
20. BGSU Swan Club program, 1971
21. New World Dance Co. publicity, 1974, n.d.
22. The Arts in the Education of Exceptional Children, n.d.
23. Other dance programs (some non-English), 1941-1977, n.d.
24. Other dance course, workshop publicity (some non-Eng.), 1958-1981 (scattered)
25. Other dance workshops, 1962-1977 scattered

Box 3 Folders

1. Toledo International Festival program , 1975
2. Autographed programs, 1969, n.d.
3. Publicity - Erick Hawkins Dance Company, 1966-1967
4. Invitations - (German), 1972, 1978
5. Travel postcards, n.d.
6. Brochures about Teplice and Czech culture, 1946, n.d.
7. Certificate from obedience class - Milenka Heskett, 2002
8. Dance and music terminology, n.d.
9. Clark County Teachers workshop summaries, 1958
10. Misc. publications from the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 1962-1969 (scattered)
11. Meeting agendas, publications of the Ohio Association For Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 1961-1969 (scattered)
12. Publicity for BGSU Ethnic Studies travel abroad, 1981-1987 (scattered)
13. Program from M. Heskett recognition concert, 1999
14. Publicity from the Duncan Center (Czech) (The center's Founder Eva Blazickova was a student of M. Heskett), 1993
15. News clippings - M. Heskett, 1961-1999 (scattered)
16. News clippings - M. Heskett's students, 1966-1992 (scattered)
17. News clippings - BGSU dance groups, 1966-1973 (scattered)
18. News clippings - misc., 1989-
19. Photo album pages - M. Heskett as a youth, 1930's
20. Photographs - M. Heskett, 1925-
21. Photographs - M. Heskett dancing, 1938-
22. Photographs - M. Heskett's Slimnastics class, 1972
23. Photographs - M. Heskett's family, 1975-1980
24. Photographs - M. Heskett's governess Oshka and family, 1938-
25. Photographs - M. Heskett's friends, 1935-
26. Photographs - M. Heskett's friends - Beerman Family, 2007
27. Photographs - M. Heskett's friends - Gould Family, 1963
28. Photographs - M. Hesketts's friends - Wallace Family, 2006-2007
29. Photographs - M. Heskett's friends - Heller Family, n.d.
30. Photographs - M. Hesketts's friends - Kobel Family, n.d.
31. Photo album - Central Catholic High School dancers, 1965
32. Photographs - BGSU dancers, 1970's
33. Photographs - Other dancers taught by M. Heskett, 1950's
34. Photographs - Trips abroad while teaching, 1978
35. Photographs - Pet dogs, 2002-2003
36. Photographs - Misc., c. 1930-
37. CD's WBGU dance films - Orchesis, Danse Moveaux 1966, c. 1970
38. Audio recording - "Enchanted" by Betty Mee Champlin, 1951
39. Audio recording - 4 Czech folk dances , 1977-1978
40. Audio recording - "Song of a Refugee" , n.d.
41. Artwork - M. Heskett watercolor made when 8 yrs. old, n.d
42. Charm bracelet, 1967-1971

OVERSIZED Box 1

Items

1. WBGU 16mm motion picture film - Orchesis, 1966
2. WBGU 16mm motion picture film - "Danse Moveaux", c. 1970
3. Newspaper front page reporting the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (German), 1914
4. Commercial video (dub) "Fire and Ice", 1971 (unplayable)

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