This collection was created and donated by three alumni of the Jordan College of Music Dance Department class of 1962-Dixie Durr, Rebecca Obenauf, and Elizabeth Crall. Originally, the collection was organized into a series of manila envelopes, a plastic standing file, four notebooks (two steno, one hardback and one three-ring binder), and a large scrapbook. The notebooks and the scrapbook were created by Rebecca Obenauf.

Due to conservation concerns, the spiral steno notebooks had their wires removed and are stored in envelopes, the notes were removed from the three-ring binder and the cover was retained (the rest was discarded), and the scrapbook has been disassembled and the pages stored with their photocopies.

The entire collection is housed in two manuscript boxes and one oversize box. In the first manuscript box, there are 28 folders. Folder one has the collection guide, an item level inventory of the collection (completed by Butler personnel), and the donation letter from the compilers of the collection. Folders 2 through 4 contain personal remembrances, clippings, and notes pertaining to the donors individually. Five through 8 are dedicated to George Verdak, a professor at the Jordan College of Music Dance Department from 1958 until his death in 1985. They contain pictures, clippings, drawings by Verdak (he was well known for his abilities as an artist), and class and dance notes taken by Rebecca Obenauf, who served as Verdak's assistant for at least one academic year, 1960-61.

Folders 9 through 10 contain brochures that document the dance program and faculty. Folder 11 contains hand drawn and computer generated diagrams of the original campus between Delaware and Pennsylvania streets in downtown Indianapolis, as well as some of the buildings on that campus. There are notations about furniture placement and some remembrances of other architectural details as well. Folders 12-18 hold the programs from the ballet company's 'recitals' (several scenes which stand alone as separate, independent dances) and 'shows' (an entire dance with a common theme, such as 'The Nutcracker'). Shows have their own folder, while the recitals-due to space considerations-have been split into folders based on size of the program and year. There are also programs of shows by the drama department and the YM/WCA in which the donors participated.

Folder 19 contains photocopies of the news clippings which were originally tucked inside the programs in Folders 12-18. These are primarily reviews of the various recitals and shows.

Folders 20 through 23 are production notes, costume designs, dance notes and rehearsal announcements and schedules for the 1960 production of 'The Nutcracker.'

Folders 24-28 are the same sort of notes for several of the shorter scenes (possibly from a recital in 1961).

In box 2, there are ten negative sleeves, nine folders and 6 envelopes. The negative sleeves hold one color slide and strips of negatives of photos from the 1961 production of "Romeo and Juliet." The folders contain all of the photographs for this collection. Most of these photos have been marked on the back or otherwise labeled with names and locations of the subjects.

The six envelopes are the notes and notebook cover. Envelope one is the cover of the three-ring binder. It has been retained because of the various markings and university seal which are on it. Envelopes two through six contain the class notes of Rebecca Obenauf, from 1958-59 and one other year that has not been dated.

Box three is an oversize document box, and has three folders. Folder one contains two oversize original documents (which have been photocopied and appear in the appropriate folders in box 1): a 1959 copy of the class requirements for a degree in dance through the Jordan College School of Music and a pink photocopy of a 1923 dance flier.

Folder two contains the photocopies of Rebecca Obenauf' s scrapbook, including images of any notations that were removed for conservation purposes which identified the subjects of photographs and dated several other items. The third folder contains the actual pages of the scrapbook. Due to the highly acidic nature of these pages, the photocopies should be used whenever possible.