Accession - Cylla von Tiedemann Fonds

Identity area

Reference code

Title

Cylla von Tiedemann Fonds

Date(s)

  • 1981-2009, 2019 (Creation)

Level of description

Accession

Extent and medium

21 Banker boxes and 1 oversize box

• Textual – 0.5 meters

• Audio

  • 1 CD-R; 62:10
  • 1 CD; 18:25

• Data

  • 195 CD-R; 158 GB
  • 40 DVD-R; 125 GB

• Video

  • 63 MiniDV; duration ca. [3,906:00]
    • 8 DVD; duration 365:15
    • 5 DVD-R; duration ca. [475:51]

• Photographs

  • 57; 8 x 10 in – Colour
  • 397; 8 x 10 in – Black and white (B/W)
  • 895; 8 x 10 in, contact sheet – Black and white (B/W)
  • 17; 8 x 10 in, contact sheet – Colour
  • 144,816; 35mm, neg – Black and white (B/W)
  • 3,663; 35mm, neg – Colour
  • 1; 8.5 x 11 in – Colour
  • 458; 5 x 6 cm, neg – Colour
  • 24; 5 x 7in – Colour
  • 59; 5 x 7in – Black and White (B/W)
  • 82; 5 x 6 in – Black and White (B/W)
  • 4; 5 x 4 in – Colour
  • 46; 5 x 4 in – Black and White (B/W)
  • 4 x 4.5 cm, neg – Colour
  • 487; 4 x 6 in – Colour
  • 142; 6 x 4.5 cm – Colour
  • 71; 6 x 6 cm, neg – Black and White (B/W)
  • 18; 9.5 x 3.5 in – Black and White (B/W)
  • 2; 11 x 9in, neg – Black and White (B/W)
  • 359; 2 x 3 in, slides – Black and White (B/W)
  • 32; 3.5 x 4.5 in – Colour

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Cylla von Tiedemann is a world-renowned photographer and is one of Canada’s most sought-after performance photographers. She grew up in Germany and immigrated to Canada to expand her career in her early 30s. She has become renowned for capturing points in movement and dance. Von Tiedemann is a performing arts photographer, educator, and visual artist with an impressive and wide-ranging work. She is renowned for her works in dance portraiture and live theatre photography; she is also involved with film, music, and the visual arts. Von Tiedemann’s photography ranges from portraits of dancers and performers to production documentation for notable national and international organizations, including the National Ballet of Canada, Stratford Festival, Mirvish Productions, Toronto Dance Theatre, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma’s SILK Road Project, among many others. Beyond her usual works of performing arts photography, Cylla has collaborated on numerous multi-media projects, and her recent collections of work involve dancer-focused digital collages.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The Cylla von Tiedemann Fonds is separated under series based on her works with various institutions:
Series 1 – 14
Series 1: Press Media Material
Series 2: National Ballet commissions
Series 3: Stratford Commissions
Series 4: Tale of a Mask
Series 5: India; 1998-2000
Series 6: Cambodia Margie Gillis
Series 7: Dance Company
Series 8: Rhombus Media
Series 9: Tarragon Theatre
Series 10: Toronto Dance Theatre
Series 11: Personal Earlier Negatives
Series 12: National Ballet Yearbook
Series 13: Early Photography

Series 1: Press Materials

The first series contains the collection of press materials that Von Tiedemann accumulated throughout her career, that her work was featured in. Her works have been featured in magazines such as the National Ballet of Canada magazines seasons and in programs and pamphlets (in English and French) such as the Ballet of British Columbia, Stratford Festivals, Danse-Cité and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. The Press Materials also includes her very own exhibition cards and invites. Lastly are the press clippings from Globe and Mail, and other newspaper publications.

Series 2: National Ballet commissions

Cylla von Tiedemann had many partnerships and collaborations with the Canada’s National Ballet, and this series features much of her work. The National Ballet of Canada was founded in 1951 with the goal of presenting the best of classical and contemporary ballet. Today the company is among the world’s finest, and Von Tiedemann has been involved in many of the earlier production photography portraits and stills. Within the collections contains commissions labeled and separated by job titles or Von Tiedemann’s original category labels. Various National Ballet negatives taken by Von Tiedemann includes productions from Married Widow, Les Sulphides-the four temperaments-elite synocopatrows, Arabian Nights, and Nutcracker. The series contains mostly negatives and black and white contact sheets of dancer performances and portraits. The second series is separated into three subseries from National Ballet commission and the second is the National Ballet Portraits (1990-1995), and lastly is the National Ballet Yearbook (1992-1995) various negatives of dancers performing on stage and some portraits of dancers.

Series 3: Stratford Commissions

Cylla von Tiedemann is renown for her performance photography, and she has done much at the Stratford Festival. In brief, the Stratford festival began when the railway industry pulled out of Stratford in the early 1950s, and journalist Tom Patterson had an idea for breathing new life into his native city’s economy: a festival of Shakespearean theatre. They did not have a venue, only a tent. From there it grew and is now the company has many venues and has a state-of-the-art technical systems and equipment, the theatre is a space in which the Festival and artists from across Canada can imagine and create. Within the collection the jobs are separated by titles and Von Tiedemann’s original category labels. Similar to the National Ballet series, most of the works are negatives with black and white contact sheet and prints. Plays and performances includes Equus the setup photos, Oedipis rex, and Filumere-on the run negatives, Richard III, Death of a Salesman, Romeo & Juliet, and more. There are also negatives from special events that includes a visit from the Queen. Cylla von Tidemann’s work has been used on Stratford’s website and in their seasonal programs.

Series 4: Tale of a Mask

In this series, it contains the screenplays and drafts of Terry Watada’s work. The titled play is on fiction retelling of immigration and crimes in Canada, focusing on a first-generation Japanese immigration family. Terry Watada is a Toronto writer with many productions and publications to his credit. His publications include Light at a Window (manga, HpF Press and the Greater Toronto National Association of Japanese Canadians 2015), and other works in poetry. Just like the focus of Tale of a Mask, his works primarily focuses on the Japanese Canadian history and their experience in Canada.

Series 5: India

This series features Von Tiedemann’s personal and work-related work on her trip in India. Also included in the series is the Peter Chan’s visit to India and Indonesia, and mostly slides of Lata Pada, founder, and artistic director of Sampradaya Dance Creations.

Series 6: Cambodia Margie Gillis

Includes mainly DVD-R data disks and videos of MiniDVD. The collection shows various clips and cuts from her travels and work in Cambodia, Norway, St John, and Vancouver. People included in the tapes are Margie Gillis, Martha, Holly Hocks, and Peter Chin. Lastly, it includes settings in Martha’s Vineyard and Cloud Piece and Wood dance Margie Robin in Wasser.

Series 7: Dance Company

The series includes commissions and works from various dance companies in Canada. Companies and works includes Denise Fujiwara’s Fujiwara Dance Inventions. Fujiawa is one of the founders of T.I.D.E. (Toronto Independent Dance Enterprise) and negatives of her dances are in this series. In 1991 she formed her own company, Fujiwara Dance Inventions, to house the development of her solo projects. The next company is Claude Moore. Claude’s Moonhorse Dance Company was founded in 1996 which specifically celebrates the work of senior dance artists, continues to develop meaningful relationships and programming that serve to connect senior dance artists and the public. This series includes her work in Children’s Dance and Subway-shot, portraits, mode test and wedding shots.
The third is the Canadian Stage company, founded by Dora Mavor Moore in 1938 first called the Village Players. Today Canadian Stage is one of Canada’s leading contemporary performing arts organizations. In the collection Von Tiedemann photograph their production on Midsummer nights dream, Les Belles Soeurs, and the Beauty Queen of Leename.
Lastly, are the job-related photography shots for Canadian Broadcast Corporation also known as the CBC. Production shots from the House of Martin Guerre, Hard Hearts, and dancers Jan Oddie and Maggie Gill.

Series 8: Rhombus Media

Rhombus Media is a Toronto-based production company and has produced a number of theatrical feature films, TV drama, documentaries and performing arts programmes the over the past 44 years. The collection includes works that Cylla von Tidemann took under Rhombus Media. Most of the formats are negatives of Sheena MacDonald Portrait, director shot, and headshots of Barbara Sweet.

Series 9: Tarragon Theatre

The ninth series is based on Cylla’s work with the Tarragon Theatre. The Tarragon Theatre is one of Canada’s main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country. The theatre was founded by Bill and Jane Glassco in 1970. The series contains mostly negatives and prints of various performers. Including production shots of King Fisher Days headshots, and Little Mercy’s fist murder. This also includes various headshots, and an email correspondence from Kirk Thomson to von Tiedemann on the prints.

Series 10: Toronto Dance Theatre

The Tenth series includes the negatives and prints of various dancers from the Toronto Dance Theatre. The Toronto Dance Theatre was founded in 1968 by dancer and choreographers Peter Randazzo, Patricia Beatty, and David Earle. The company quickly became popular with their charismatic dancers and a repertoire of original work created in collaboration with Canadian composers and designers. The series also contains work from NY Times and from Christopher House.

Series 11: Personal Earlier Negatives

The eleventh series contains the personal and earlier works of Von Tiedemann. Most of the formats in the collections are negatives and a few black and white prints of various dancers, actors and landscapes from her work and personal travels. People in these sections includes Yseult & Robert, Nicholas & Graeme, Graham McKelvie, Maxine Heppner, Margie Gillis, Marie Josée Chartier, and Eryn Trudell. As noted in the finding aid, many of the performers in the series shows nudity. Travels includes Indonesia, Italy, South France, and Vancouver. Production companies also included in the series are Mirvish Production, ARMS, Deaf Planet show, Destination foundation, and Nightwood Theatre.

Series 12: Early Photography
This series spans the years of the late 1980s to early 1990s. It contains the early photography of Von Tiedemann, which includes dancers, performers, personal peers, and trips. Mainly includes works on portraits and photo shots for Danny Grossman. Danny Grossman is a Canadian dancer, choreographer, and activist. His performance in the series are Devine Air, Age of Darkness, Memento Mori, Ces Plaisirs and more. He created the Danny Grossman Dance Company which produced his political dances James Harcourt, San Miguel de Alleude, Roshar-show, David Arthur, and others.

Series 13: Miscellaneous

The Miscellaneous section includes a variety of CDs that contain her collection of digital files. The disks contains the digital version of her photographs, which includes her commissions for dancers and performers. They also contain the commissions from Koresh Dance Company, Dance Boom festival, and Dance Advance; productions such as Touching Wild Horses, Child star, and the Producers.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

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Preservation concerns may limit access, consult archivist rights

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Media Commons does not own copyright of collection materials. Consult rights holder for reproduction(s).

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Finding aids

Contact archivist for further finding aid information

Allied materials area

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Dates of creation revision deletion

Created on July 25, 2023 by Khadija Alexander

Language(s)

  • English
  • French

Script(s)

Sources

Back Lane Studios. “Past Mentors”. https://backlanestudios.ca/aw-team-member/bob-sandler/
Moonhorse dance theatre. “Artist Statement.” https://www.moonhorsedance.com/company
Moonhorse Dance Theatre. “Claudia Moore.” https://www.moonhorsedance.com/claudiamoore
Astro Frame. “Cylla von Tiedemann.” https://www.astroframe.ca/
Fujiwara Dance Inventions. “Denise Fujiwara.” https://www.fujiwaradance.com/copy-of-about
Canadian Stage. “Our Mandate and History.” https://www.canadianstage.com/about/our-mandate-history
Rhombus Media. “About Rhombus Media.” http://rhombusmedia.com/about/
Donna Child Fine Art. “Cylla von Tiedemann.” https://donnachildfineart.com/artists/tiedemann-cylla-von/

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