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= Genevieve Oswald = Genevieve Mary Oswald (August 24, 1921 – March 19, 2019), daughter of Jeanette (née Glenn) and Charles T. Oswald, was an American dance researcher and archivist. As the founder for the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) dance collection. She worked tirelessly as the curator for 43 years to ensure that dance was given the proper documentation it deserved. What started out as a small two-shelf section. in the NYPL Music Division slowly turned into “one of the world’s most renowned centers for dance research" which is now known as the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Her passion for the job and dedication to the art form earned her the nickname, “The Soul of the New York Public Library Dance Collection.” undefined For recognition of her hard work in the dance community, she won countless awards, her first being the in 1956.undefined

She wrote and contributed to countless documents, including pieces in regards to dance pedagogy, reflections of her life as a curator, and furthermore, the action of archiving material. Some of her work includes “The Chest of Dance Treasures in American Libraries,” published by Dance Chronicle in 1995 and “Some Random Observations on the Teaching of American Dance History,” published by the Congress on Research in Dance in 1970. After her time as the NYPL Dance Collection curator, she retired with the title Curator Emerita of the Dance Collection. Additionally, she served as an archival consultant for many countries, taught dance history at New York University, and served as a coordinator for the Americas Center of the World Dance Alliance.undefined On March 19, 2019, at the age of 97, she died at her home in Santa Clarita, California. She is survived by her daughter, Anne Johnson, son, Charles John Johnson, and her grandchildren.

Early Life and Education
Genevieve Oswald was born in Buffalo, NY on August 24, 1923 to a Jeanette and Charles Oswald; she was the oldest of her three sisters. While her mother’s occupation is unknown, her father worked as a shipping company clerk. undefined

She attended the Sacred Heart Academy in Buffalo; thereafter, she moved on to pursue a bachelor’s of science in music composition at the North Carolina College for Women, now known as University of North Carolina at Greensboro.undefined During her time working in the public library’s music division, she met her late husband, Dean Leslie Johnson (d. 1981), who was a music graduate student at the time. The two married in 1949 and went on to have two children, Anne and Charles.

Oswald hoped to write music for a modern dance company, therefore one of her undergraduate courses included a modern dance course, in which she was able to hone in on her skills as both a performer and writer. In addition, as a lyric soprano, she performed in concerts, where her and her father realized she had a talent for singing. After completing her undergraduate degree, Oswald sought a postgraduate education at The Julliard School of Music under her father’s encouragement that she pursue a career as a vocal artist. During her time at Julliard, at first she worked as a ticket seller at Penn Station, undefined but then got a job at the New York Public Library so she could “earn a living.” It was with this position, and thanks to Chief of the Music Division Carleton Sprague Smith, that she was first introduced to the dance material within the music division. What is now a division containing centuries’ worth of archival material was originally comprised of 375 books and a “few” folders of clippings.

Career
After graduating from New York University Graduate School of Music and Columbia University School of Library Service, Oswald was given the challenge of enlarging the collection that Smith requested she work on. In an interview from 1999, she admits that after Smith told her that he wanted to see what she could make of the current collection, she decided to “build up the greatest collection on American dance possible.”undefined What contributed greatly to the division’s expansion were the donations and help from other dancers and artists around the world. The first thing that Oswald did was acquire the Denishawn Collection from American Dancer, Ted Shawn and then the Humphrey-Weidman Collection. She also received donations from first- and second- generation dancers such as Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and Hanya Holm.undefined Not only did she acquire famous collections, but she hosted a series of exhibitions called "Dance and Its Allied Arts" that comprised of borrowed material from Walter Toscanini, son of Arturo Toscanini. Her work and persistence to the mission paid off as the Walter and Arturo granted the division with one thousand dollars, and then 10 years later, their entire historical collection. At this point, Oswald’s collection was comparable to those of European collections from around the world. Not only was the division home to archives of American dance, but historical material as well.

Soon after, her and Smith thought of an idea more grand than what they had been currently working with. At the time, Blanchett Rockefeller, John Rockefeller’s wife, was involved with the International Council at the Museum of Modem Art. Oswald and Smith were tasked with creating something that would eliminate the potential “dismay” John would feel due to his wife’s attention to the council. During this conversation, Oswald had the idea of a library museum already in her mind. After the discussion, Oswald and Smith tried to identify all the collections that would be housed in their potential museum; they made a book that displayed what their vision would be, printed it on Japanese paper, and sent it to John Rockefeller. Once Rockefeller accepted the idea of a library museum, it was decided that they’d move into the Lincoln Center; the growing division that was originally housed in the music division was made into a division of its own in 1964. Not only that, but they were granted with their own separate quarters and staff. Despite her retirement in 1987, she continued to be active and serve in the dance community. What is now one of the most renowned libraries in the world, started as a small shelf within a music division and “it would not have been possible without the work of one woman, Genevieve Oswald.” undefined