Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Della Davidson Papers
- Dates:
- 1998-2011
- Creators:
- Davidson, Della.
- Abstract:
- The Della Davidson Papers document Davidson's activities as a Professor of Dance at the University of California, Davis and California State University, Long Beach.
- Extent:
- 2 linear feet
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Della Davidson Papers, D-554, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains materials related to Davidson’s teaching and activities at UC Davis and California State University, Long Beach.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Della Davidson was an acclaimed choreographer, dancer, mentor, and professor who was prominent in the Bay Area dance community before joining the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance in 2001. Davidson was born Mary Adele Davidson on December 20th, 1951 in El Paso Texas but was raised in Michigan. She began her ballet training in elementary school and sought to build a professional career when she moved to New York in 1972. However, Davidson’s stature, six feet tall on pointe, presented difficulties in classical partnering that she didn’t encounter in modern dance; a style she discovered while at Michigan State. Having also completed a choreography apprenticeship at the University of Utah and earning a master’s degree in dance and theater from the University of Arizona in 1983, Davidson was selected to co-direct the San Francisco Moving Company with choreographer Ellen Bromberg. By 1986, she formed the Della Davidson Dance Company in San Francisco. In addition, Davidson studied at both the Alvin Ailey School and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. Davidson was an innovative choreographer who merged the physicality of dance with narrative elements. As a choreographer, Davidson created more than 40 works, with many focused on themes about women’s lives, their positions in society, and gender stereotypes (“Fierce/Pink/House”). Other works considered human mortality and existence (“The Desire to Return to the Safety of Day.”). Two of her standout pieces include “Night Stories: The Eva Luna Project,” and “The Weight of Memory.” Davidson joined the UC Davis Department of Theater and Dance in 2001 and was a faculty member until the time of her death in 2012. She mentored many dancers and choreographers and was a core contributor in developing an interdisciplinary M.F.A. at the University. Davidson also was the founder and artistic director of the Sideshow Physical Theater at UC Davis. Over the course of her influential career Davidson earned many awards and commendations, including the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography by Dance Bay Area and the 1990 North American Choreography Award. In 2003 Davidson was named the UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow and received a $25,000 award for excellence in professional achievement. Davidson was the 2012 recipient of the Dancer’s Choice Award. Della Davidson died on March 13, 2012 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In June 2012, her work “and the snow fell softly on all the living and the dead…” was performed as a tribute by local and Bay Area dancers at UC Davis’ Wright Hall Main Theater. After her death the Department of Theater and Dance at UC Davis also created an endowment fund in Della Davidson’s name to support the training and travel of student choreographers and to provide artistic residencies. The performance studio at Nelson Hall on the UC Davis campus was also named after Davidson in 2014.
- Processing information:
-
The biography was written by Sacramento State Public History graduate student Isabella Mediati. Michelle Trujillo updated this finding aid in 2026.
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Della Davidson Papers, D-554, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621