Cynthia Gregory facts for kids

Cynthia Kathleen Gregory (born July 8, 1946) is a famous American prima ballerina. A prima ballerina is a very talented and important female ballet dancer.

Her Amazing Dance Journey

Cynthia Gregory was born in Los Angeles. She started dancing when she was five years old. Her parents encouraged her to dance, hoping it would help her stay healthy. She was inspired to study ballet after watching a performance by the famous dancers Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. By age six, she was already dancing en pointe, which means dancing on the tips of her toes! When she was seven, she even appeared on the cover of Dance Magazine. Later, she got to dance with Rudolf Nureyev himself in a ballet called Romeo and Juliet. He even called her "America's Prima ballerina assoluta", which means she was considered the very best ballerina in America.

Cynthia trained with Carmelita Maracci for much of her early dancing. When she was 14, she received a special scholarship from the Ford Foundation to study with the San Francisco Ballet. She quickly became a soloist, then a main dancer, also performing with the San Francisco Opera.

In 1965, Gregory joined the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), which is one of the top ballet companies in the world. In 1967, she had a fantastic first performance as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake while ABT was on tour. Her performance in New York later that year showed everyone she was a major ballet star. Many people still remember her performance in Swan Lake as one of the best ever.

Cynthia Gregory danced many important roles. These included classical ballets like Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Don Quixote, and La Sylphide. She also performed in modern ballets. At ABT alone, she danced in over eighty different shows, and more than a dozen were created just for her!

In 1986, Cynthia Gregory was chosen to open the newly renovated Paramount Theater in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It became the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

Gregory left ABT in 1991 because she wanted to dance a wider variety of styles. She continued to perform as a special guest dancer with other companies like Cleveland San Jose Ballet until she stopped public performances in 1992.

She performed as a guest artist with many leading dance companies around the world. These included the National Ballet of Canada, Zurich Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, and Stuttgart Ballet. She even appeared in a music video for Linda Ronstadt's song “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

Today, Cynthia Gregory teaches classical ballets and coaches dancers. She also gives special dance classes to companies all over the world. She has also created her own dance pieces.

Gregory was the Chairman of the Board for Career Transition For Dancers from 1991 to 2015. This group helps dancers find new careers when they stop dancing due to age or injury. Since 2008, she has also been on the board of directors for the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation. This group helps keep the dance legacy of Isadora Duncan alive.

In 2010, the Nevada Ballet Theatre announced that Gregory would be an artistic advisor for their company and school. They even created the Cynthia Gregory Center for Coaching at their studios in Las Vegas.

Awards and Honors

Cynthia Gregory has received many awards for her contributions to dance.

• In 1975, she received the Dance Magazine Award.
• In 1978, she got the first annual Dance Award from the Harkness Ballet.
• She is the only person to win annual awards from Dance Educators of America twice (in 1981 and 1988).
• In 1988, New York Woman magazine gave her its first “Showstopper of the Year” award.
• The New York Public Library called her a “Lion of the Performing Arts” in 1989.
• She received a special Certificate of Merit for her lifetime achievements from the National Arts Club in 1991.
• She has also received honorary degrees from Hofstra University (1993) and State University of New York–Purchase College (1995).

Her Life Outside of Dance

Cynthia Gregory's parents were Konstantin and Marcelle Tremblay Gregory. She married Terrence S. Orr, who was also a dancer, in 1966. She later married John Hemminger in 1976, who was a music manager. In 1985, she married Hilary B. Miller. She has a stepdaughter named Amanda Christine Miller and a son named Lloyd Gregory Miller.

Cynthia Gregory has also written books. One is called Ballet is the Best Exercise. She also wrote a children’s book, Cynthia Gregory Dances Swan Lake, which came out in 1990.

In her free time, Gregory enjoys drawing her most famous ballet roles. She uses pen-and-ink and watercolors. Her artwork has been shown in galleries, art shows, and even on dance posters and CD covers.

See also

In Spanish: Cynthia Gregory para niños