Joan Russell Archive

The archive of Joan Russell consists of her papers and related materials from her career as a dance educator. Russell's work at Worcester Training College is particularly well-represented within the archive, as are her activities relating to the Laban Art of Movement Guild and Dance and the Child international (daCi). Materials within the archive include:

• teaching plans, lesson plans and syllabi;
• conference materials and lecturer manuscripts;
• notes and texts of choreography by Russell;
• manuscripts of Russell's books;
• materials (not necessarily dance-related) that provided Russell with ideas and inspirations;
• teaching materials and samples of children's work;
• photographs of productions at Worcester Training College;
• photographs of teaching at Worcester Training College and within schools;
• audio-visual materials relating to Russell's life and work.

The archive additionally includes an audio recording of Brenda Jones speaking about Joan Russell and the Joan Russell archive.

Joan Mercedes Russell (1921-1989) was a prominent dance educationalist. Russell studied at the Laban Art of Movement Studio from 1948-1950 under Rudolf Laban and Lisa Ullmann, whose ideas greatly influenced her.

In 1948 Russell joined Worcester Training College (later Worcester College of Higher Education) as a Lecturer. She was subsequently promoted to Principal Lecturer and Head of the Dance Department, which she established. Alongside teaching at the College, Russell choreographed and produced works for the College's annual performances. In addition to her work at Worcester, she also taught both children and teachers on numerous short dance courses and lectured in schools, colleges and universities in Britain and abroad. Russell additionally chaired Worcester Dance Group, the Laban Art of Movement Guild, Dance and the Child International (daCi), and the Modern Educational Dance Section of the Association of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education.

Russell was committed to modern dance, creative dance and dance drama, and sought to spread these to children of all ages and levels of dance experience. As a practising Christian, she additionally instigated a number of ventures involving dance with religious worship. In 1981 she was awarded an MBE for services to Dance in Education.

Russell was the author of three books: Modern Dance in Education (London: MacDonald and Evans, 1958); Creative Dance in the Primary School (London: MacDonald and Evans, 1965); and Creative Dance in the Secondary School (London: MacDonald and Evans, 1969).

Material arranged at time of cataloguing according to the format-based classification scheme which was then in use by the National Resource Centre for Dance.

Material is available to view in the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections Research Room.

Access to some collection items may be restricted, for instance where sensitive personal or commercial information has been identified during cataloguing, or to protect very fragile items. The Archives team will advise of any restrictions that may be in place.

All records are open to public access under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 unless subject to specific exemption. Records containing personal information on individuals are subject to the terms of UK Data Protection legislation.

Brenda Jones donated the archive to the National Resource Centre for Dance in 1992. Jones subsequently donated additional material to the archive after 1992, including the deposit of Joan Russell's Laban Guild pendant in 1998.

A catalogue for the collection is available to view on the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections online catalogue .

Collection level description created by the National Resource Centre for Dance at time of cataloguing. Revised by Melanie Peart in 2021, and further revised by Simon Mackley in 2024.

This Archives Hub description prepared by Simon Mackley in May 2024. Please see the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections online catalogue for any subsequent amendments.

All requests to publish or otherwise reproduce material from the archive should be directed to archives@surrey.ac.uk in the first instance. Unauthorised copying or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

The collection was deposited with the National Resource Centre for Dance following Joan Russell's death, in line with her wishes. Preservation and cataloguing of the archive were funded by a grant from the Follett Initiative.

The films within the archive were transferred to digital videotape and DVD in 2006.

University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections hold the following related collections:

• Dance and the Child International (daCi) Archive [collection reference: DC];
• Laban Art of Movement Guild Archive [collection reference: LG];
• Rudolf Laban Archive [collection reference: L];
• Lisa Ullmann Archive [collection reference: LU].

In addition, published copies of Joan Russell's books are held within the core collections of the National Resource Centre for Dance, University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections.