Letter to Mrs. Hollander from Bob Smith, of the Minneapolis Star Evening
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Title
Letter to Mrs. Hollander from Bob Smith, of the Minneapolis Star Evening
Date
13-Mar-68
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR
EVENING
425 Portland Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415
ROBERT W. SMITH
Executive Editor
March 13, 1968
Mrs. Roy W. Hollander
Sixth Avenue North Road
Wayzata, Minnesota
Dear Mrs. Hollander:
I am sorry it has taken a bit of time to give you this response to your complaint about Peter Altman's review of "The 3-Squared Circus," but I did want to check all facets of the matter.
The one thing that concerned me most was the allegation that Peter had not stayed for the whole performance and had indeed presumed to write a criticism of the production based on viewing only a small fraction of it. Peter assures me that he did indeed stay for the whole performance, and others have corroborated his assurance.
Since he did, therefore, see the whole performance, I must grant him the right, as a not inexperienced critic, to write about it as he saw it. He found it gravely lacking in concept and imagination; his criticism was not so much, you may recall, of the performance of the dancers as of the material they were given to work with.
It was suggested that Peter has some sort of grudge or contempt for Loyce Holton and/or the Contemporary Dance Playhouse. Again, Peter says he not only feels no such hostility toward Miss Holton but he admires her efforts and went to "The 3-Squared Circus" with a certain degree of pleasant anticipation. I am enclosing a copy of an article which he wrote in 1967 about this same group; judge for yourself whether it reflects anything but friendly good wishes for the Contemporary Dance Playhouse and Miss Holton.
I guess all that I can say is that you are certainly within your rights to think that critic Altman is wrong; I do not think you can legitimately challenge his integrity or his motivations.
Thank you, however, for taking the trouble to come in and talk to me personally about this.
I assume you will share this with others of the friends of the Contemporary Dance Playhouse who shared your doubts about Mr. Altman's integrity.
Very truly yours,
(Signature: Robert Smith)
RWS:gh
EVENING
425 Portland Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415
ROBERT W. SMITH
Executive Editor
March 13, 1968
Mrs. Roy W. Hollander
Sixth Avenue North Road
Wayzata, Minnesota
Dear Mrs. Hollander:
I am sorry it has taken a bit of time to give you this response to your complaint about Peter Altman's review of "The 3-Squared Circus," but I did want to check all facets of the matter.
The one thing that concerned me most was the allegation that Peter had not stayed for the whole performance and had indeed presumed to write a criticism of the production based on viewing only a small fraction of it. Peter assures me that he did indeed stay for the whole performance, and others have corroborated his assurance.
Since he did, therefore, see the whole performance, I must grant him the right, as a not inexperienced critic, to write about it as he saw it. He found it gravely lacking in concept and imagination; his criticism was not so much, you may recall, of the performance of the dancers as of the material they were given to work with.
It was suggested that Peter has some sort of grudge or contempt for Loyce Holton and/or the Contemporary Dance Playhouse. Again, Peter says he not only feels no such hostility toward Miss Holton but he admires her efforts and went to "The 3-Squared Circus" with a certain degree of pleasant anticipation. I am enclosing a copy of an article which he wrote in 1967 about this same group; judge for yourself whether it reflects anything but friendly good wishes for the Contemporary Dance Playhouse and Miss Holton.
I guess all that I can say is that you are certainly within your rights to think that critic Altman is wrong; I do not think you can legitimately challenge his integrity or his motivations.
Thank you, however, for taking the trouble to come in and talk to me personally about this.
I assume you will share this with others of the friends of the Contemporary Dance Playhouse who shared your doubts about Mr. Altman's integrity.
Very truly yours,
(Signature: Robert Smith)
RWS:gh
Collection
Citation
“Letter to Mrs. Hollander from Bob Smith, of the Minneapolis Star Evening,” Gallery, accessed November 8, 2026, https://gallerytemp.reclaim.hosting/items/show/403.