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Bournonville, Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Bournonville, Auguste ōgüstˈ bo͞ornôNvēlˈ [key], 1805–79, Danish dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Bournonville studied in Copenhagen with his father Antoine, the ballet master, and in Pari...

Taglioni, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Taglioni, Maria, 1804–84, Italian ballerina, b. Stockholm. Taglioni is considered the first and foremost ballerina of the romantic period. She made her debut in Vienna in 1822 in a ballet created fo...

Dance Theatre of Harlem

(Encyclopedia)Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first black classical ballet company. The group was founded in Harlem, New York City, by Arthur Mitchell, then of the New York City Ballet, the first African-American prin...

Ashton, Sir Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Ashton, Sir Frederick, 1904–88, British choreographer and dancer, b. Guayaquil, Ecuador. He grew up in Peru and was drawn to dance after seeing (1917) a performance by Anna Pavlova there. Traveling ...

Makarova, Natalia

(Encyclopedia)Makarova, Natalia, 1940–, Russian ballet dancer, b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). She studied at the Choreographic School in her native city, graduating in 1959, and joined the Kirov Ballet. Durin...

Royal Opera

(Encyclopedia)Royal Opera, one of the principal British opera companies, based at the Royal Opera House (which it shares with the Royal Ballet) in Covent Garden, London. Formed in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Co...

Petit, Roland

(Encyclopedia)Petit, Roland rōläNˈ pətēˈ [key], 1924–2011, French dancer and choreographer, b. Villemomble. Petit joined the Paris Opéra company at 15 and in 1948 founded Les Ballets de Paris de Roland Pe...

Joffrey, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Joffrey, Robert: see Joffrey Ballet. ...

Chávez, Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Chávez, Carlos kärˈlōs shäˈvās [key], 1899–1975, Mexican composer and conductor. In 1928, Chávez established the Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, which he conducted until 1949. He was also dire...

Nijinska, Bronislava

(Encyclopedia)Nijinska, Bronislava brônēˈsləvə nyīzhēnˈskə [key], 1891–1972, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer; sister of Vaslav Nijinsky. She studied at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersbur...