photographs Nijinsky’s career ended in 1917. As he had never been filmed, Dodge realized that the only available means to experience Nijinsky’s greatness would be through photography. While in Paris taking ballet lessons and with the foresight to preserve a photographic record, Dodge proceeded to order prints from the photographers who had taken studio portraits of Nijinsky in his various roles. At times skipping meals to afford them, he assembled the most comprehensive collection of photographic images of Vaslav Nijinsky. By 1937 memory of Nijinsky had faded, prompting Dodge to help revive interest by donating his collection to the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library. Practically every book on Nijinsky has borrowed from the Dodge collection, beginning in 1934 with Nijinsky by his wife Romola. After Dodge's numerous failed attempts to publish a book of his entire collection, in 1975 Lincoln Kirstein produced Nijinsky Dancing, drawing from half of Dodge’s collection. Under Acknowledgements, Lincoln Kirstein writes: Kirstein comments on viewing Dodge's performance to Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy" in 1935: Dance partners (selection) Dodge created his earliest choreography in 1922 for all-male ensembles. In 1930, Dodge formed a male trio with Jack Nile, and Arthur Mahoney who he had met during their engagements at the Metropolitan Opera House. The same year, Dodge met Mura Dehn, a recent Russian émigré, when they each presented their jazz dance numbers in the Billy Rose Show “Sweet and Low.” As Dehn states, their pieces were “A daring jump into the Modern-Grotesque for the producer: a first such experiment in a commercial musical.” They formed a professional dance relationship and appeared in each other’s choreography. Dodge filmed their dances c1937. They frequented the Harlem and Savoy Ballrooms, “and always had tumultuous discussions about art, dance, theatre, comedy. He rarely accepted other people’s understanding of his theories, even if they repeated them ‘verbatim’. He suspected it to be a superficial echo, rather than an inner experience.” Dodge was instrumental in Dehn’s appreciation of the importance of film for dance. Dance performances (selection) Films (selection) Dodge opened a studio at 52 E. 8th Street mid-1930s where he filmed dancers: "See Yourself As Others See You...Have Your Act or Dance Filmed" Dodge filmed a number of his dances with Mura Dehn and other partners. Video transfers are available in the Dance Division of the New York Public Library. (see also External links) Roger Pryor Dodge Archive: