KATHERINE DUNHAM

KATHERINE DUNHAM
1914-2006
DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER, SONGWRITER, AUTHOR,
EDUCATOR, AND ACTIVIST WHO WAS TRAINED AS AN
ANTHROPOLOGIST. SHE STUDIED CULT AND POSSESSIONTRANCE DANCES IN THE CARIBBEAN.
DUNHAM HAD ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DANCE CAREERS
IN AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN THEATER OF THE 20TH CENTURY
AND HAS BEEN CALLED THE "MATRIARCH AND QUEEN MOTHER
OF BLACK DANCE".
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS SHE MAINTAINED THE KATHERINE
DUNHAM DANCE COMPANY, THE ONLY PERMANENT, SELFSUBSIDIZED AMERICAN BLACK DANCE TROUPE AT THAT TIME,
AND OVER HER LONG CAREER SHE CHOREOGRAPHED MORE
THAN 90 INDIVIDUAL DANCES
BESIDE HER SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTIONS, DUNHAM PRODUCED
TALENTED DANCERS, TEACHERS, AND CHOREOGRAPHERS.
KATHERINE DUNHAM
KATHERINE DUNHAM
BORN IN CHICAGO , SHE DANCED FOR RUTH PAGE AND ON HER
OWN.
IN 1943 SHE APPEARED IN THE BROADWAY MUSICAL, CABIN IN THE
SKY.
FROM THERE SHE WENT TO HOLLYWOOD APPEARING IN MOVIES.
HER OUTSTANDING SUCCESSES WERE THE TROPICAL REVUES IN
THE 1940’S THAT SHE STAGED AND PERFORMED WITH HER
COMPANY.
IN 1945 SHE OPENED HER OWN SCHOOL TO ESTABLISH A
TECHNIQUE THAT WOULD BE AS IMPORTANT TO THE WHITE MAN AS
WELL AS THE BLACK MAN AND TO TAKE BLACK DANCE OUT OF THE
BURLESQUE AND MAKE IT MORE DIGNIFIED.
THAT JAZZ HAS A LARGE INFLUENCE ON ALL TYPES OF DANCE
TODAY IS DUE TO DUNHAM AND THE SUCCESS OF HER AIMS.
KATHERINE DUNHAM IN TROPICAL REVUE
PEARL PRIMUS
1919-1994
AFRICAN AMERICAN DANCER, ANTHROPOLOGIST, AND A
SERIOUS CONCERT DANCER. SHE STUDIED WITH MARTHA
GRAHAM, DORIS HUMPHREY, CHARLES WEIDMAN, HANYA
HOLM, AND LOUIS HORST.
SHE COMPOSED DANCES ABOUT THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
IN AFRICA AND AMERICA.
EARLY IN HER CAREER SHE SAW THE NEED TO PROMOTE
AFRICAN DANCE AS AN ART FORM WORTHY OF STUDY
AND PERFORMANCE.
PRIMUS’ WORK WAS A REACTION TO MYTHS OF
SAVAGERY AND THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
AFRICAN PEOPLE. IT FOCUSED ON MATTERS SUCH AS
OPPRESSION, RACIAL PREJUDICE, AND VIOLENCE.
PEARL PRIMUS
JAZZ DANCE
JAZZ WAS NOT ACCEPTED AS AN ART FORM.
ART INCLUDED ONLY HIGH-MINDED, NOBLE, DRAMATIC
EXPRESSIONS OF HUMANITY.
IT AUTOMATICALLY EXCLUDED ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE
COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL.
ENTERTAINMENT WAS NOT A WORTHY GOAL, AND JAZZ
WAS A VERY POPULAR FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT.
ALSO JAZZ HAD SEXUAL CONNOTATIONS THAT WERE NOT
ACCEPTABLE TO MODERN DANCERS.
THEY REGARDED SEX AS A NOBLE FULFILLMENT OF MAN’S
DEEPEST NATURE AND NOT EQUATED WITH A GOOD TIME.
JAZZ TAKES A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE BODY, WHICH
COMES FROM ITS AFRICAN ORIGIN.
ORIGINS OF JAZZ DANCE
WE SAY SOMETHING IS JAZZY IF IT’S LIVELY, SNAPPY, AND
OUT OF THE ORDINARY-IT SWINGS.
THE ORIGIN OF JAZZ IS IN AFRICA WITH THE MUSIC AND
MOVEMENT OF PRIMITIVE TRIBES, AND THEN IN THE
DEVELOPMENTS AMONG AFRICAN SLAVES WHO WERE
BROUGHT TO THE WEST INDIES AND THE AMERICAS.
THE SWINGING RHYTHMS AND PELVIC THRUSTS OF JAZZ
MOVEMENTS EXPRESS A SEXUAL ABANDON THAT SOME IN
SOCIETY HAVE FOUND OFFENSIVE.
IT TOOK A WHILE BEFORE SERIOUS DANCERS COULD
RECOGNIZE DUNHAM’S WORK AND TREAT IT WITH
RESPECT.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
AFRICAN DANCE
A. CROUCHED BODY WITH SPINE FLEXIBLE AND LOOSE
B. A STRONG ATTACK THAT PROPELS MOVEMENT SHARPLY
BACK AND FORTH.
C. MOVEMENT THAT STARTS FROM THE PELVIC REGION
AND CONTINUES OUTWARD.
D. MOVEMENT THAT SHIMMIES, SHAKES, AND TREMBLES.
E. A TENDENCY TO IMPROVISE, WHICH ALLOWS FOR
FREEDOM OF INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION.
JAZZ SHARES THESE SAME CHARACTERISTICS.
THEATRICAL JAZZ DANCE
JACK COLE-1911-1974
KNOWN AS THE FATHER OF THEATRICAL JAZZ DANCE.
COLE IS REMEMBERED AS THE PRIME INNOVATOR OF THE
THEATRICAL JAZZ DANCE HERITAGE.
EARLY ON HE DECIDED TO PURSUE DANCE WITH THE DENISHAWN
DANCE COMPANY LED BY RUTH ST. DENIS AND TED SHAWN.
COLE ALSO PERFORMED WITH DORIS HUMPHREY AND CHARLES
WEIDMAN, BUT EVENTUALLY LEFT THE MODERN DANCE WORLD
FOR COMMERCIAL DANCE CAREER IN NIGHTCLUBS
HE WAS MOST FAMOUS IN HOLLYWOOD FOR HIS WORK WITH RITA
HAYWORTH AND MARILYN MONROE.
HE COMBINED THE STYLES OF BALLET AND MODERN DANCE WITH
THE RHYTHMS AND ISOLATIONS OF AFRICAN AND EAST INDIAN
DANCE TO CREATE A JAZZ DANCE TECHNIQUE.
JACK COLE
REHEARSING
ZIEGFIELD
FOLLIES
TAP DANCE
TAP DANCE EVOLVED FROM THE INFLUENCE OF IRISH JIG AND
AFRICAN TRIBAL DANCE.
JITTERBUG , CHARLESTON, RUMBA, SAMBA, AND CONGA ARE
HYBRID FORMS OF AFRICAN AND COURT DANCE MOVEMENTS.
JUBA IS A STEP DANCE LIKE A FLAT-FOOTED JIG WITH THE
ADDITION OF HIPS AND SHOULDER MOVEMENTS. IT BECAME A
SHUFFLING CIRCLE DANCE WITH IMPROVISED ANIMAL MOTIONS
AND GESTURES.
RING SHOUT WAS ANOTHER AFRICAN CIRCLE DANCE WITH
CLAPPING, STAMPING, AND SHUFFLING WITH RHYTHMIC HEEL
TAPPING.
THE OUTSTANDING CHARACTERISTICS OF THESE DANCES WAS
THE SYNCOPATED TAPPING, STAMPING AND SWINGING
MOVEMENTS WHICH LED TO TAP DANCING.
THE ELEMENT OF IMPROVISATION DERIVED FROM AFRICAN
DANCE IS STILL A DOMINANT CHARACTERISTIC OF TAP DANCE.
TAP DANCE ARTISTS
BILL ‘BOJANGLES’ ROBINSON 1878-1949
HE GAINED GREAT SUCCESS AS A NIGHTCLUB AND
MUSICAL COMEDY PERFORMER, AND BECAME ONE OF THE
TOASTS OF BROADWAY.
NOT UNTIL HE WAS 50 DID HE DANCE FOR WHITE
AUDIENCES, HAVING DEVOTED HIS EARLY CAREER
EXCLUSIVELY TO APPEARANCES ON THE BLACK THEATER
CIRCUIT.
HE APPEARED IN THE FILM BLACKBIRDS OF 1928 WHICH LED
TO A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN FILMS MOST NOTABLY WITH
SHIRLEY TEMPLE.
BILL “BOJANGLES” ROBINSON
THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS
FAYARD - 1914-2006 AND HAROLD -1921-2000
BEGAN DANCING AS CHILDREN IMITATING ALL THE BLACK
VAUDEVILLE ACTS INCLUDING BILL ROBINSON.
THEY GAINED FAME APPEARING AT THE COTTON CLUB IN
HARLEM.
THEIR FAME TOOK THEM TO HOLLYWOOD TO APPEAR IN
FILMS.
THE NIGHTCLUB AND CONCERT CIRCUIT TOOK OVER THEIR
CAREER.
THEY ARE REMEMBERED FOR THEIR UNIQUELY ATHLETIC
STYLE.
THE NICHOLAS
BROTHERS IN
STORMY WEATHER
AMERICAN BALLET
ACHIEVEMENTS IN MODERN AMERICAN BALLET BEGINNING
IN THE 1930’S CENTERED AROUND THE NAMES OF:
A. GEORGE BALANCHINE
B. JEROME ROBBINS
C. AGNES DE MILLE
D. ANTONY TUDOR
E. EUGENE LORING
F. WILLIAM DOLLAR
G. THE CHRISTENSEN BROTHERS
H. RUTH PAGE
LINCOLN KIRSTEIN 1907-1996
LIKE DIAGHILEV HE WAS AN IMPRESARIO WHO DABBLED IN
SEVERAL ARTS. HE WANTED TO FOUND A SCHOOL AND
COMPANY FOR HOMEGROWN BALLET IN AMERICA. HE
CHOSE GEORGE BALANCHINE, A RUSSIAN, TO ACCOMPLISH
THIS.
GEORGE BALANCHINE
1904-1983
BORN IN ST. PETERSBURG, HE STUDIED BALLET AND MUSIC.
HE LEFT RUSSIA IN 1924 WITH A TOURING COMPANY FOR
EUROPE INCLUDING ALEXANDRA DANILOVA AND TAMARA
GEVA.
HE WAS APPOINTED CHIEF CHOREOGRAPHER OF BALLET
RUSSE WHERE HE CREATED APOLLO AND PRODIGAL SON.
AFTER DIAGHILEV’S DEATH HE DRIFTED AROUND.
KIRSTEIN WAS IMPRESSED BY APOLLO IN 1927 AND ASKED
BALANCHINE TO COME TO AMERICA IN 1933 AND
BALANCHINE ACCEPTED.
LINCOLN KIRSTEIN (LEFT)
GEORGE BALANCHINE
BALANCHINE
IN 1934, KIRSTEIN AND BALANCHINE FOUNDED THE SCHOOL
OF AMERICAN BALLET AND A PERFORMING GROUP A YEAR
LATER.
BALANCHINE CHOREOGRAPHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
VARIOUS GROUPS SUCH AS BALLET CARAVAN, AND
BALLET SOCIETY, FORERUNNERS OF NYC BALLET.
ON BROADWAY BALANCHINE CHOREOGRAPHED THE SHOW
ON YOUR TOES FEATURING THE BALLET SLAUGHTER ON
10TH AVE.
HE CONTINUED TO CHOREOGRAPH SUCCESSFULLY FOR
BROADWAY AND HOLLYWOOD.
IN 1948 NY CITY CENTER INVITED HIS GROUP TO BECOME
THE RESIDENT DANCE COMPANY AND NYC BALLET WAS
BORN.
SLAUGHTER ON 10TH AVENUE
TAMARA GEVA, BALANCHINE’S
1ST WIFE
THE BALANCHINE DANCER
BALANCHINE’S MOTTO: BALLET IS WOMAN.
THE BALANCHINE LOOK- STREAMLINED GIRLS WITH LONG
LEGS AND NECKS WHO WERE EXCEEDINGLY THIN.
HIS DANCERS WERE SPEEDY AND SLEEK AND AS FLEXIBLE
AS GUMBY.
THIS IDEAL HAS SHAPED THE FASHION FOR ALL BALLET
DANCERS FROM THEN ON.
SUZANNE
FARRELL,
BALANCHINE’S
MUSE
BALANCHINE STYLE
FOR THE MOST PART, BALANCHINE’S WORKS ARE WITHOUT ANY
PLOT.
HE STRIVES TO SHOW THE MUSIC THROUGH MOVEMENT.
HIS SPATIAL GROUPINGS ARE SIMPLE. DANCERS ARE OFTEN
LINKED TOGETHER, HOLDING HANDS AND WEAVING IN AND OUT.
FLASHY, BRILLIANT LEG WORK EMPHASIZING SPEED IS HIS
HALLMARK.
AT ALL TIMES THE MOVEMENTS COMPLEMENT THE MUSICAL
MOODS AND STRUCTURES.
HIS STYLE IS REFERRED TO AS NEOCLASSIC.
THE LEGS ARE PARALLEL SOMETIMES, THE FOOT MAY BE FLEXED
OR THE HAND BENT SHARPLY AT THE WRIST.
IT IS ALSO STREAMLINED. ALWAYS THE EMPHASIS IS ON SPEED.
TANAQUIL LE CLERCQ,
BALANCHINE’S 4TH WIFE
IMPORTANT BALLETS
A. APOLLO
B. PRODIGAL SON
C. SERENADE
D. WESTERN SYMPHONY
E. STARS AND STRIPES
F. CONCERTO BAROCCO
G. AGON
H. THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
APOLLO
PRODIGAL SON,
MARIA
TALLCHIEF,
BALANCHINE’S
3RD WIFE
SERENADE
WESTERN SYMPHONY
TANAQUIL LE CLERCQ
STARS AND STRIPES
CONCERTO BAROCCO
AGON
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
THE OTHER INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AMERICAN
BALLET COMPANY IS ABT.
IT HAS A MUCH BROADER STYLISTIC BASE THAN NYC
BALLET.
ITS MISSION IS TO PRESENT GREAT BALLETS IN ALL STYLES,
FROM A NUMBER OF HISTORICAL PERIODS.
ABT WAS FORMED IN 1939 WHEN RICHARD PLEASANT
BECAME MANAGER OF MORDKIN BALLET.
HE WANTED A VERSATILE ENSEMBLE THAT PERFORMS THE
GREAT CLASSICS AS WELL AS NEW WORKS BY A VARIETY
OF CHOREOGRAPHERS BALANCING ITS AMERICAN
CREATIONS WITH OTHERS OF FOREIGN ORIGIN.
ABT HAS BEEN THE MAJOR AMERICAN SHOWCASE FOR THE
GREAT CLASSICS AND HAS CONTRIBUTED ENORMOUSLY
TO THE BALLET REPERTORY OF OUR TIME.
AMERICAN CHOREOGRAPHERS
ABT COMMISSIONED BALLETS FROM FAMOUS
CHOREOGRAPHERS:
A. ANTONY TUDOR
B. LEONIDE MASSINE
C. MICHEL FOKINE
D. GEORGE BALANCHINE
E. AGNES DE MILLE
F. JEROME ROBBINS
ABT ESPECIALLY FOSTERED AMERICAN
CHOREOGRAPHERS USING AMERICAN THEMES.
AGNES DE MILLE
1905-1993
DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER/WRITER BORN INTO THE
FAMOUS DE MILLE FAMILY OF HOLLYWOOD.
SHE STUDIED AT BALLET RAMBERT IN ENGLAND THEN
JOINED ABT AS A DANCER AND CHOREOGRAPHER.
HER BEST KNOWN BALLET IS RODEO WITH SCORE BY
AARON COPLAND.
IT IS AN EXUBERANT PICTURE OF LIFE ON A RANCH WITH
COWBOYS AND COWGIRLS.
THE BALLET CLIMAXED WITH A LIVELY AMERICAN SQUARE
DANCE AND A NEW FOLK IDIOM WAS ADDED TO THE
CHARACTER VOCABULARY OF BALLET.
AGNES DE MILLE
IN RODEO
OKLAHOMA
SHE CHANGED THE WAY DANCE IN MUSICALS WERE
CREATED WITH HER WORK IN OKLAHOMA IN 1943.
THE BALLET BECAME INTEGRATED INTO THE STORY TO
FURTHER THE PLOT. NO LONGER WERE DANCES MERELY
ENTERTAINING INTERLUDES.
DE MILLE’S WORK ON AMERICAN THEMES SPAWNED OTHER
AMERICAN CHOREOGRAPHIES SUCH AS EUGENE LORING’S
BILLY THE KID
OKLAHOMA
BILLY THE KID
EUGENE LORING KNEELING CENTER
JEROME ROBBINS
1918-1998
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NATIVE AMERICAN
CHOREOGRAPHERS.
HE ALSO BECAME A NOTED DIRECTOR AS WELL AS
CHOREOGRAPHER.
HE WORKED FOR BOTH MAJOR BALLET COMPANIES, NYC
BALLET AND ABT.
ROBBINS WORKED HIS WAY UP FROM CORPS DE BALLET
TO SOLOIST IN ABT.
ROBBIN’S FIRST BALLET
FANCY FREE IS HIS FIRST HIT BALLET ABOUT SAILORS ON
LEAVE IN NYC COMPETING FOR THE ATTENTION OF
AVAILABLE GIRLS WITH A SCORE BY LEONARD BERNSTEIN.
FANCY FREE WAS AN OVERNIGHT HIT GARNERING
ACCOLADES FOR ROBBINS.
FANCY FREE
ROBBIN’S STYLE
HE HAS A STRONG PERSONAL STYLE.
HIS DANCE IS CAREFULLY STRUCTURED AND HE TREATS
HIS DANCE FIGURES AS WARM, LIVE PEOPLE WHO MAKE
SIGNIFICANT HUMAN GESTURES THAT CONVEY CLEAR
EMOTIONS.
ACUTELY CONSCIOUS OF ALL THE FORCES IN
CONTEMPORARY LIFE, HE BOLDLY EXTENDED HIS BALLET
LANGUAGE BY USING THE JAZZ IDIOM.
ROBBINS CAN BE CALLED A CONTEMPORARY FOKINE. HE
WAS INTERESTED IN EXPRESSING DIFFERENT MOODS AND
FOR SUITING THE GESTURE TO THE THEME.
WEST SIDE STORY
HE WILL GO DOWN IN THEATRICAL HISTORY AS THE
CREATOR OF WEST SIDE STORY, WHICH USES ALL
ELEMENTS OF THE THEATRE-DRAMATIC ACTION, MUSIC,
SONG, DIALOGUE, DECOR, AND DANCE-TO CREATE A 20TH
CENTURY MUSICAL ON THE ROMEO AND JULIET THEME TO
LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S SCORE.
HIS GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT WAS IN REMAINING
FAITHFUL TO THE BALLET AND PANTOMIME CONCEPT IN THE
COURSE OF THE DRAMA, CHARACTERIZING THE ACTORSINGER-DANCERS THROUGH GESTURE AND MOVEMENT
TAKEN FROM EVERYDAY LIFE BUT HEIGHTENED THROUGH
STYLIZATION.
WEST SIDE STORY
WEST SIDE STORY
BROADWAY HITS
BROADWAY MUSICALS CHOREOGRAPHED BY JEROME
ROBBINS:
A. BILLION DOLLAR BABY
B. HIGH BUTTON SHOES
C. THE KING AND I
D. PAJAMA GAME
E. PETER PAN
F. GYPSY
G. WEST SIDE STORY
H. A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM
I. FIDDLE ON THE ROOF
NYC BALLET
ROBBINS BECAME BALLET MASTER OF THE NEW YORK CITY
BALLET IN 1972 AND WORKED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY IN
CLASSICAL DANCE THROUGHOUT THE NEXT DECADE.
FOR NYC BALLET HE DID THE CAGE, AFTERNOON OF A
FAUN, AND DANCES AT A GATHERING.
HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC CHOREOGRAPHERS
OF OUR TIME.
THE CAGE
ROBBIN’S
AFTERNOON OF A
FAUN
DANCES AT A GATHERING
OTHER AMERICAN BALLET
COMPANIES
JOFFREY BALLET
ROBERT JOFFREY ALONG WITH GERALD ARPINO STARTED
A TOURING COMPANY IN THE 1960'S. THEY WERE YOUTHFUL
AND ENERGETIC AND UPDATED PRODUCTIONS.
IT IS NOTED FOR REVIVING CLASSIC WORKS AND
COMMISSIONING NEW WORKS BY MODERN
CHOREOGRAPHERS.
DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM
IN 1969 ARTHUR MITCHELL FOUNDED THE DTH AFTER
MARTIN LUTHER KING’S ASSASSINATION WANTING TO GIVE
BACK TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
DTH HAS HAD FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES AND THE COMPANY
IS CURRENTLY CLOSED TO REGROUP FINANCIALLY WITH
PLANS TO REOPEN IN THE FUTURE.
REGIONAL BALLET COMPANIES
WITH THE DANCE EXPLOSION OF THE 1960’S BALLET
COMPANIES SPRUNG UP ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
1. THERE ARE DOZENS OF FIRST RATE AMERICAN
COMPANIES.
2. THE STYLISTIC LINES BETWEEN COMPANIES ARE
BLURRING AND DISSOLVING. IN CHOREOGRAPHY, STYLISTIC
LINES BETWEEN MODERN DANCE, BALLET, AND JAZZ ARE
ALSO BLURRING.
DANCERS IN THE GOLDEN AGE
ALEXANDRA DANILOVA AND FREDERIC FRANKLIN
DANILOVA WAS RUSSIAN AND DANCED WITH BALLET
RUSSE AND ABT . FRANKLIN WAS ENGLISH AND PARTNERED
DANILOVA AND STARTED A COMPANY WITH MIA
SLAVENSKA .
ALICIA MARKOVA AND ANTON DOLIN
BOTH BRITISH BORN DANCED WITH BALLET RUSSE AND
ABT.
ALICIA ALONSO AND IGOR YOUSKEVITCH
ALONSO IS CUBAN AND STARTED THE CUBAN NATIONAL
BALLET AFTER DANCING WITH ABT. YOUSKEVITCH IS
RUSSIAN AND WAS HER PARTNER.
ALEXANDRA DANILOVA
FREDERIC FRANKLIN
ALICIA MARKOVA
ANTON DOLIN
ALICIA ALONSO
IGOR YOUSKEVITCH
DANCERS IN THE GOLDEN AGE
NORA KAYE
SHE WAS A GREAT DRAMATIC BALLERINA AND WAS THE
MUSE OF ANTONY TUDOR.
MARIA TALLCHIEF
THE FIRST, GREAT HOME GROWN CLASSICAL BALLERINA
WITH NATIVE AMERICAN BLOOD. JOINED BALLET RUSSE DE
MONTE CARLO AND BECAME BALANCHINE’S 3RD WIFE
DANCING WITH NYC BALLET UNTIL THE 1960’S.
ERICK BRUHN
GREAT DANISH DANCER WHO GAINED FAME AS ALBRECHT
IN GISELLE IN THE 1950’S.
NORA KAYE
MARIA TALLCHIEF
ERICK BRUHN
TITLE
DANCERS
IN THE GOLDEN AGE
JACQUES D’AMBOISE
MAJOR MALE DANCER FOR BALANCHINE. HE FOUNDED THE
NATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE TO BRING DANCE TO THE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN NYC.
EDWARD VILLELLA
POPULAR VIRILE, MALE DANCER WITH BALANCHINE.
EXCELLED IN BALANCHINES’ PRODIGAL SON. HE HAD
FANTASTIC ATHLETIC ABILITY AND ELEVATION ALONG WITH
EXPRESSIVENESS. FOUNDED MIAMI CITY BALLET.
JACQUES D’AMBOISE
EDWARD
VILLELLA
DANCERS IN THE GOLDEN AGE
SUZANNE FARRELL
BALANCHINE’S MUSE AND LEAD DANCER OF NYC BALLET IN
THE 1960’S. HE CREATED MANY ROLES FOR HER.
PETER MARTINS
A FREQUENT PARTNER OF FARRELL. HE IS NOW DIRECTOR
OF NYC BALLET. WAS A DANCER WITH ROYAL DANISH
BALLET BEFORE JOINING NYCB. ROBBINS AND MR. B
CREATED ROLES FOR HIM.
RUDOLPH NUREYEV
ONE OF THE GREATEST MALE BALLET STARS OF THE 20TH
CENTURY. THE FIRST TO DEFECT FROM THE SOVIET UNION
IN THE 1960’S. HAD A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH MARGOT
FONTEYN.
PETER MARTINS
& SUZANNE
FARRELL
RUDOLPH NUREYEV
DANCERS IN THE GOLDEN AGE
MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV
THE NEXT GREAT RUSSIAN DEFECTOR. HE DANCED WITH
NYC BALLET AND BECAME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF ABT IN
THE 1980’S. FOUNDED WHITE OAK DANCE PROJECT AND
BARYSHNIKOV ARTS CENTER.
MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV