Amar Ramasar facts for kids

Amar Ramasar (born in 1981) is an American ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer (a main dancer) with the New York City Ballet (NYCB). Ramasar joined the NYCB as an apprentice (a trainee) in 2000. He became part of the main group of dancers, the corps de ballet, in 2001.

In 2018, Ramasar left the NYCB for a period. However, an independent decision later said he should be allowed to return. He then rejoined the NYCB. In July 2021, the NYCB announced that Ramasar would retire in May 2022.

Amar Ramasar's Early Life and Training

Amar Ramasar was born in the Bronx, New York City. His father is of Indo-Trinidadian background. He was a former United States Marine. He worked as a computer technician when Ramasar was young. His mother, who is Puerto Rican, worked as a registered nurse. Amar was a very outgoing and talkative child. He says that no one in his family knew anything about ballet.

When Ramasar was 10 years old, he impressed a music teacher at his public school. The teacher saw his creative talents. She encouraged him to try out for the TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was one of only two children chosen from over 300 who auditioned. His parents worked full-time. So, Ramasar learned to take the New York City Subway by himself. He traveled from his home in the South Bronx to the studio on the Lower East Side. He rode public transport to get to daily rehearsals.

Ramasar took his first dance lesson in 1993. This was at the Henry Street Settlement House's Abrons Arts Center. His family did not have strong feelings about his choice to dance. He said, "My father didn't prevent me from doing it, but he didn't make it easy." When Ramasar was 14, he auditioned for the School of American Ballet. This school trains young dancers who want to join the New York City Ballet. He was accepted in 1993. There, he had his first ballet lesson.

His family did not have money to pay for his dance education. Ramasar relied only on scholarships to cover his tuition. His first years at the School of American Ballet were tough. Ramasar was years behind the other boys. Some of them were as young as six years old. He was behind in his physical strength and dance moves. He later said he felt discouraged. He saw other boys who were "turned-out and beautiful." He felt like "just a clumsy Bronx boy." He said it took a lot of willpower to stay in school. Ramasar told his teacher, Olga Kostritzky, that he wanted to quit ballet for acting. She told him, "You want to play a robber, be in movies. You want to be a prince, stay in the ballet."

Peter Martins was the director of both the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet at the time. He was very important in helping Ramasar become a better dancer. Martins gave him 10 minutes of partnering lessons after each class. Ramasar received high praise at the School of American Ballet's year-end shows. He also studied at the American Ballet Theatre's Summer Program. He also attended The Rock School for Dance Education.

Dancing with the New York City Ballet

Ramasar joined the New York City Ballet as an apprentice in 2000. He became part of the corps de ballet (the main group of dancers) in 2001. Martins chose him for the role of the Cavalier in The Nutcracker in 2001. Ramasar's father watched him dance for the first time in this role. Ramasar said, "I think then he understood." He became a soloist (a dancer who performs alone or with a few others) in March 2006. He was then promoted to a principal dancer (a top dancer) in October 2009. A critic noted that Ramasar's promotion was a good thing. They said that when younger dancers take over important roles, ballets can look new again.

As of 2010^[update], Ramasar was reported to be the only person of color who was a principal dancer in NYCB. He was quoted saying:

I actually looked at my race as an advantage because there was no one who looked like me. In New York City Ballet especially, I felt my casting has always been great. The biggest one for me was Fancy Free. If you think of that ballet's history, it's not common that an Indian guy was one of the sailors fighting for America in the 1940s. But they let me do that here. I thought, "I’m breaking boundaries that people automatically put up for a stereotypical white ballet."

In January 2019, he performed for the first time at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome. He danced in the ballet Carmen. The dance moves were created by Jiří Bubeníček.

Other Achievements

In 2000, Ramasar received the Mae L. Wien Award.

He was featured in a social studies textbook for schools. The book was called Meet the Dancers by Amy Nathan.

Ramasar appeared in NY Export: Opus Jazz. This was a 2010 film about that ballet.

Personal Life

Ramasar started dating Elysia Dawn Fridkin (also known as Elysia Dawn) in 2009. They got married in October 2011. She used to be a dancer with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She was also the artistic director of the Columbia University Ballet Collaborative. She now works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2016.

See also

• List of New York City Ballet principal dancers
• Copy of Lawsuit Against New York City Ballet