Mysteries from the Video Archives

Dance Concert Rehearsal, probably 1998

Digitizing much of the BFS dance department's video collection for the BFS Archives video collection yielded unidentified rehearsal videos and one music concert video. Most of these videos seem to have been created after 2000. One dance concert rehearsal video seems to be from 1992 or 1998: that video was dated "Monday, March 2" and the only years with that day and date, which also add up for this video, are 1992 and 1998, but I'm pretty sure it's 1998 since I know some of the dancers in the clip personally. This archivist would greatly appreciate your assistance in identifying the years in which these five videos were created. Please lend a hand and comment below.

A shy princess from BFS's Once Upon A Mattress, 1988

1988 Once Upon A Mattress - Shy

From the 1988 BFS musical production of Once Upon A Mattress comes the song "Shy" in which Princess Winnifred the Woebegone expresses her true nature as she tries to find Prince Dauntless the Drab for the very first time. And this after she swam the moat to get to the castle, much to everyone's dismay. I think Carol Burnett would be proud.

Feeling your Blue Pride? Make that Indigo

It's a throwback this fine Thursday to the "Mood Indigo" scene from the 1989 BFS original musical A Small Cabaret. A Small Cabaret was a departure from the traditional BFS musical: this ensemble production featured standards like Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," yet it also included more contemporary songs like "Miss Celie's Blues" from the film The Color Purple.

A bolt from the blue, it's true, it's you...

1987 Dames At Sea

Take two minutes to enjoy a charming duet in the BFS Middle School's 1987 production of Dames at Sea, capturing the moment when our romantic leads Dick and Ruby first meet, she swoons into his arms and they both know it's true love.

New to the Digital Archives

This week, we have a few additions to the Digital Archives.

• Two new items in Playbills: the 1980 Middle School production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience or Bunthorne's Bride and the 1982 Intergenerational Chorus performance at the CUNY NYC College of Technology's Klitgord Auditorium on Jay Street. 

Che bella voce!

Take a look back to 1993 for a fabulous rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at BFS, sung by Middle and Upper School science teacher and past athletic director Janet Villas. Big thanks for making this possible go straight out to several of my BFS colleagues: director of media services Andy Cohen for the transfer; current athletic director David Gardella for saving the original VHS; and, of course, to Janet for her beautiful voice and performance. And, wow, basketball uniforms have changed over time! 

Video killed the archivist's mind...

Interesting issues emerge with video in the BFS Archives, particularly that VHS quality sure does not stand the test of time. I've now learned that 25 years is a pretty accurate VHS lifespan. Transferring Dance Concert VHS has been the major focus in the archives recently. There are often multiple copies of each Dance Concert, so listening to the same songs over and over can drive one to the brink.

That Show Took My Breath Away...

Always fun to find playbills from BFS theatrical performances, so we are making some available as they emerge from the school's archives and from personal collections. While more playbills are in the archives, we have scanned only a few programs

Close Harmony, of course!

It is a musical time in the Archives. A faculty member's recent request to see the highly-acclaimed Academy Award winning documentary Close Harmony sparked nice memories. Filmed at BFS during the 1979-80 school year, Close Harmony was directed by alum parent Nigel Noble and chronicles the Intergenerational Chorus, which was the brainchild of our Lower School music teacher of the time, Arlene Symons. The Intergenerational Chorus was comprised of BFS 4th and 5th graders and their senior citizen pen pals from another choral group Arlene led, from the Council Center for Senior Citizens of the National Council for Jewish Women's Brooklyn Section. This wonderful collaboration brought joy, friendship and music into the lives of both groups

Our School Songs, Part 2

The second school song written for BFS is The BFS Alma Mater.  The lyrics were written by noted sci-fi author and BFS alum Edgar Pangborn '24 and the music was composed by BFS music teacher J. Trevor Garmey during the 1920s. Read also Our School Songs, Part 1.

Our School's Songs, Part 1

For many years, students at BFS have been singing the wonderful song Simple Gifts as the official school song of BFS. Introduced in the 1970s or 1980s during a choir concert, the Shaker dance song Simple Gifts was quickly adopted as our school's much-beloved song.

There are, in fact, two earlier school songs which were written for BFS many years ago. As with Simple Gifts, these songs were learned by all BFS students, and sung at school events.