Alison D'Amato | Photo by Cheryl Mann

Professor and Assistant Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs Alison D’Amato has been awarded a short-term research fellowship from The New York Public Library. The fellowship, which supports scholars outside the New York metropolitan area, is intended to aid in graduate-level, post-doctoral, and independent research in the arts and humanities.

D’Amato’s research centers on Los Angeles dance history—specifically, the life and work of legendary ballet teacher Carmelita Maracci.

Maracci, who died in 1987, famously rejected long-held beliefs and traditions of the dance establishment, namely classical ballet. She was heralded as one of the most talented ballerinas of her time but never formally joined a major company. Instead, she found footing as a teacher and was influential in developing young artists. The New York Times noted people like Agnes de Mille, Cynthia Gregory, Robert Joffrey, Allegra Kent, Bella Lewitsky, Jerome Robbins, and Donald Saddler in an obituary.

“Maracci made an indelible mark on the dance world from the 1930s to the early 1950s, stunning audiences with powerful technique and an idiosyncratic style, yet her performance career did not bring the fame that many felt she deserved,” said D’Amato. “I see Maracci’s career, evocatively self-described as ‘unplanned oblivion,’ as a testament to the vexed relationship between Los Angeles dance and its history, as well as a provocation to interrogate the measures by which we assess historical significance.”

D’Amato’s interest in Maracci is part of the broader context of an overdue excavation of Los Angeles dance history, probing the legacies of those who have been marginalized, forgotten, or narrowly missed renown.