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The Conservatory Institutional Records, 1967-2023

 Collection
Identifier: 11-01-001

Dates

  • 1967-2023

Access:

Open for research. Many folders throughout the collection are restricted due to the information containing financial, personal, and contact information about various people and organizations within the collection. Folders in Series I: Subseries I, Series II: Subseries III, Series IV: Subseries I, Series V: Subseries I, and Series V: Subseries II are restricted due to the financial information they contain. Folders in Series I: Subseries III, Series II: Subseries I, Series II: Subseries II, Series III: Subseries I, Series III: Subseries III, Series III: Subseries IV, Series IV: Subseries I, Series V: Subseries I, Series V: Subseries III, Series V: Subseries IV, Series V: Subseries V, Series V: Subseries VII, Series V: Subseries VIII, Series V: Subseries X, and Series V: Subseries XI are restricted to the personal information they contain of students, faculty, and board members within the collection.

Biographical Sketch of Kristin Degnan Boonin

Kristin Schleich-Degnan-Boonin fell in love with the art of ballet when her father took her to see a production of Swan Lake. Beginning her training, Degnan Boonin portrayed a squirrel in a production of Hansel and Gretel. Reaching her teens, she frequently landed roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Degnan Boonin studied with Jozia Mieskowski at the former Wilkes-Barre Ballet Theatre, and left high school early to pursue a professional career at the Louisville Ballet. She danced with El Ballet Suleano in Venezuela, both the American Dance Ensemble and Ballet Petrov in Pittsburgh, and Ballet Metropolitan in Columbus, Ohio. Kristin began her professional career performing in the American Dance Ensemble under the direction of Nicholas Petrov, a figure who would influence her later balletic productions. Kristin and Peter met while performing together in this company, and returned to Northeast PA together to begin their dance company, Ballet Northeast, in 1983. They continued to dance professionally, splitting their time between NEPA and Pittsburgh (Brianna Schunk).She earned her bachelor’s degree in dance from Point Park College, now known as the University of Pittsburgh. In 1983 Degnan-Boonin and her late husband, Peter Degnan, established the Degnan Ballet Center (DBC). This was later combined with Ballet Northeast. In 1991, Degnan and Degnan-Boonin added dance to Wilkes University through the Encore Summer Intensive Program. This program offered classes in music, theatre, and dance for high school students. The two taught this intensive from 1991 to 1998 while also teaching at the DBC. During the early years of the DBC, Kristin Degnan-Boonin not only worked as a choreographer and restager, she was also seen as the prima ballerina. In 2010, the Conservatory was officially added as a part of Wilkes University. She retired from Wilkes University in 2024 to focus on travel, family, and health. Degnan-Boonin herself said “As you begin something like this you can never fully realize the impact it had on your students and your own life.”
References:

https://www.timesleader.com/archive/1134521/degnans-calling-keeps-her-on-her-toes

https://www.timesleader.com/archive/155296/news-features-1407426-curtains-for-kristin

https://www.wilkes.edu/campus-directory/kristin.degnan.aspx

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/42105e35-d346-486b-aecf-595b60244521

https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/b74df6af1981457ea3e63202a16d4488.pdf

https://www.timesleader.com/archive/950292/peter-degnan-january-18-1999-peter-degnan-45-of-fall-street-in-ashley-died-monday-at-mercy-hospital-in-wilkes-barre-after-being-stricken-ill-at-home

Historical Sketch of The Conservatory:

The music building at Wilkes University opened in mid-1969 as part of the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts. The Conservatory, first known as the Wilkes Community Conservatory, was founded by Jean Anastasia in 1988. Originally only focused on music, Anastasia herself taught guitar, music theory, and general music for elementary school age children at the conservatory. Anastasia was determined to set the conservatory up for success. Through her time there, she raised enrollment nearly 250%. In 1996, Nina Davidowitz took over for Anastasia as the Director of the Conservatory. The conservatory then started incorporating theatre classes, mainly for high school students. Kristin Degnan-Boonin and her late husband, Peter Degnan, established the Degnan Ballet Center in 1983. They founded the DBC as a school of classical ballet. With the Encore summer intensive program, a program the two founded, they introduced classes in music, theatre, and dance to high school students. They taught this program from 1991 to 1998 while also teaching and running the DBC. The primary instructors of the Degnan Ballet Center are past members of the Artistic Staff of Ballet Northeast, where Degnan-Boonin and Degnan played large roles. This company worked in tandem with the Conservatory through the two. Ballet Northeast originally performed “Cinderella” in 1986 at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, and it became one of their signature pieces. Choreographed by Peter Degnan and Kristin Degnan-Boonin, the ballet featured approximately 80 dancers, from ages 5 to 86. Julie Degnan, just like her parents, also danced and was one of the stars of the conservatory. Julie went on to dance professionally, but ultimately gave up dance to pursue other career options. Ballet Northeast lives on today at Wilkes University, having merged a decade ago into the Wilkes Conservatory. The company continues to produce two shows annually - the Nutcracker in December, and a June production, which varies from year to year. The studio recently celebrated its 40th season with its production of The Nutcracker in December 2023, Kristin’s final year as the Director of Dance at Wilkes University before her retirement (Brianna Schunk). Looking into modern day, the training of the Degnan Ballet Center students derives from the classical Russia’s Kirov Ballet. There is space for every student, no matter their training level; beginning with pre-ballet and progressing through seven levels of classical dance training from beginner through intermediate to advanced. The goal of this is to support a healthy self-esteem of the dancers, personal and artistic maturity, and make sure that each student learns proper technique. The conservatory offers orchestral instruments, piano, voice, guitar, classical ballet, Indian classical dance, specialty workshops, and master classes.
References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-anastasia-089a8980/details/experience/

https://www.wilkes.edu/about-wilkes/arts/conservatory/degnan-ballet-center/index.aspx

https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/b74df6af1981457ea3e63202a16d4488.pdf

https://www.happeningsmagazinepa.com/2013/05/16/ballet-northeast-presents-cinderella/

Extent

26 boxes (26 document boxes, 1 legal sized box, 1 oversized box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance:

The collection is a mix of Music department and Conservatory department records found in The Dorothy Dickson Darte Center. These materials were transferred to the Wilkes University Archives during the summers of 2024 and 2025.

Acquisition:

The Conservatory Institutional Records were transferred to Wilkes University Archives in Summer 2024 and Summer 2025 through Brianna Schunk, Conservatory teacher.

Copyright:

Wilkes University retains copyright of the Conservatory materials.

Series Descriptions

The Conservatory Institutional records consists of eight series with subseries and subsubseries that cover The Conservatory, as well as the various organizations it has been involved with. Within each series, there are distinct subseries organizing the different materials found throughout the collection.

Processed By:

Maddie Meier, Archives Work-Study, Fall 2024-Spring 2026, edited and supervised by Suzanna Calev, Wilkes University Archivist, Fall 2024-Spring 2026.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository

https://archivepublic.wilkes.edu
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)

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