ERICK HAWKINS DANCE COMPANY • 78 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10011 • (212) 255-6698

Monday the 12th

[1983]

Dear Virgil,

I have been expecting any day now to report. First, to thank you for allowing us to rescore the sonata-symphony. I think Brad has done an excellent job. There are maybe a couple of spots that might be clarified, that he will digest as it is done, but it really sounds like a million dollars! What was really wonderful is that so many aspects of your original beautiful orchestration were translated quite completely.

I have heard by some grapevine that you had contemplated coming down to the Greenwich School I thinl Wednesday. I really wish you won't bother. Thex whole thing has beena fiasco. The idea, which I acauiesced to, was to make money so that the debts could be paid - like the Parson Weems royalties.

Instead, last week we LOST thousands! It is a depressing place. Unless we have to cancel everything, maybe yku would come later, to Symphony Space or Marymount. But if you really felt you should come now, come Thursday when we might have a better response and setup. Again, my thanks.

At this moment, I am about to throw in the spohge, but I'll let you know what hapge it is.

ERICK HAWKINS FOUNDATION
ERICK HAWKINS DANCE COMPANY
ERICK HAWKINS SCHOOL OF DANCE

78 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10011 (212) 255-6698

**BENEFACTORS:**
(Donations over $100,000)
National Endowment for the Arts
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

**SPONSORS:**
(Donations over $10,000)
American Dance Festival
Bohen Foundation
New York State Council on the Arts
George Franklin
Humphrey Noyes
Sallie Wagner

**DONORS**
(Donations over $1000)
New York Community Trust
Alcoa Foundation
Amalgamated Bank
Citibank/Citicorp
Gilman Foundation
Heller Foundation
Julius Isaacs Estate
Monsanto Company
Old Dominion Foundation
Virgil Thomson Foundation
Dr. William Gilmore
Morris Golde
John R. Graham
Phillip Johnson
Jean Pettibone
Richard Pettibone
Jessica Roth
Mary Shannon Strudwick
Roger L. Stevens
Peter Strauss
Alfred Vinton

**ARTISTIC COLLABORATORS:**
Stanley Boxer
Henry Cowell
David Diamond
Lucia Dlugoszewski
Ralph Dorazio
Carlos Dyer
Robert Engstrom
Robert Evett
Ross Lee Finney
Robert Fitzgerald
Helen Frankenthaler
Ralph Gilbert
James Harker
Alan Hovhaness
Hunter Johnson
Willa Kim
Henry J. Kurth
Arch Lauderer
Ralph Lee
Michio Mamiya
Keith Martin
Bohuslav Martinu
Robert McBride
Charles Mills
Robert Motherwell
Isamu Noguchi
Maurice Ohana
Raya
Robert Richman
Wallingford Riegger
Ray Sais
Dorrance Stalvey
Philip Stapp
Tad Taggart
Toru Takemitsu
Virgil Thomson
Charlotte Trowbridge
Gregory Tucker

**BOARD OF DIRECTORS:**
Charles Boultenhouse, President
Erick Hawkins, Treasurer
James Reedy, Secretary
Peter Augay
Lucia Dlugoszewski
Mary Dorazio
Ralph Dorazio
Robert Engstrom
Phillip I. Fried
W. Robert Ingram
Lillian Kiesler
Penelope Shaw
Peter Shaw
Mary Shannon Strudwick
Andrew Wargo

August 1, 1983

George Stevens, Jr.
American Film Institute
Kennedy Center
Washington, D.C. 20566

Dear Mr. Stevens,

We are very excited that Virgil Thomson has been named as a recipient of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honor for his contribution to the performing arts; specially because the Erick Hawkins Dance Company has in its current repertory a work commissioned by Erick Hawkins from Virgil Thomson: PARSON WEEMS AND THE CHERRY TREE, ETC. This dance work has been a hit in England, France and Italy as well as all over the United States. It is such an audience pleaser it has never been dropped from the repertory. We are ready to put it on the stage in whole or in part. It has the unique quality of of being both appealing to the most sophisticated viewers and to children. In seattle 12,000 children were held spellbound. It is amusing, colorful and photogenic. In short, we recommend it visually and musically. The score is an absolute charmer.

And we have another work: HURRAH! to the music of this great American composer.

I have enclosed a brochure that has photographs of both works and quotations from the press.

I cannot tell you lengths to which we will go to be part of this celebration.