An Interview with Gladys Bailin

An Interview with Gladys Bailin

A documentary dance film of an international performer and choreographer, and her impact on the School of Dance.

A tireless champion of dance as an art form, Gladys Bailin has inspired generations of dancers with her keen wit, amiable humor and discerning eye. In her endeavors as a performer, choreographer, teacher, administrator and mentor, she is perennially creative, rigorous and energetic. In this interview, Bailin reflects on her early training in New York City with dance legend Alwin Nikolais, her international career as a performer and choreographer, and her impact on the School of Dance at Ohio University. 

In 2019, Bailin established University Libraries’ Alwin Nikolais/Murray Louis/Gladys Bailin Archive Fund to preserve and promote access to these unique dance collections for use by researchers in years to come. Highlighted in this video are photos from those collections as well as images from the University Photographer Archive, Bailin’s personal collection, and Bailin’s 2020 oral history interviews.