We’ve talked about Akron and the Ohio Ballet in a previous blog post, but not about the annual Akron Dance Festival, also known as the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival. Now in its 13th year, the Festival honors the legacy and work of Ohio Ballet’s co-founder, Heinz Poll.
Spread out over several weeks of the summer, the Festival includes the community at all levels. With public performances and dance classes for both young and old alike, it’s just part of what makes Akron unique.
If you are looking into the work of Poll, Akron Summit County Public Library’s collection of slides from the Ohio Ballet is a great place to start. He choreographed many performances for the Ohio Ballet, and was instrumental in their success. Today we are looking at an image from one of these performances, Songs Without Words. Created for the Netherlands Dance Theater by Hans van Manen in 1977, and performed by the Ohio Ballet in 1990.
Courtesy Akron Summit County Public Library
Thanks to Akron Summit County Public Library for sharing this collection with the Digital Public Library of America!