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New York City Ballet

(Encyclopedia)New York City Ballet (NYCB), one of the foremost American dance companies of the 20th and 21st cents. It was founded by Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine as the Ballet Society in 1946. In 1948 th...

Ulanova, Galina

(Encyclopedia)Ulanova, Galina gälyēˈnə o͞oläˈnōvə [key], 1910–98, Russian ballerina, b. St. Petersburg. Ulanova made her debut at the Kirov Ballet (1928), where she danced until 1944. That year she becam...

Plisetskaya, Maya

(Encyclopedia)Plisetskaya, Maya mäˈyä plēsĕtsˈkäyä [key], 1925–2015, Russian dancer. Pliesetskaya became a soloist with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on graduating from its school in 1943. She soon gained...

Tallchief, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Tallchief, Maria, 1925–2013, American ballerina, b. Fairfax, Okla., as Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief. Tallchief, of Osage descent, was trained both as a pianist and a dancer. Deciding on a career in ba...

Forsythe, William

(Encyclopedia)Forsythe, William fôrsīthˈ [key], 1949–, American dancer and choreographer, b. New York City. He trained with the Joffrey Ballet (1971–73), then joined the Stuttgart Ballet (1973), becoming its...

Villella, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Villella, Edward, 1936–, American ballet dancer, b. Long Island, N.Y. Villella studied at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet, joining the New York City Ballet in 1957. He soon became a pr...

Wheeldon, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Wheeldon, Christopher, 1973–, British ballet dancer and choreographer, studied Royal Ballet School, London. An outstanding contemporary classicist, Wheeldon creates dances that are lyrical, witty, s...

Peck, Justin

(Encyclopedia)Peck, Justin, 1987–, American ballet dancer and choreographer, b. Washington, D.C. He trained at New York City Ballet's School of American Ballet, where he was influenced by the choreography of Geor...

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