Nicholas Magallanes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicholas Magallanes
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Magallanes performing The Nutcracker (1954)
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| Born | November 27, 1922 Santa Rosalia de Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico
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| Died | May 2, 1977 (aged 54) North Merrick, Long Island, New York, U.S.
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| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Years active | 1939–1976 |
Nicholas Magallanes (born November 27, 1922 – died May 2, 1977) was a very important ballet dancer. He was born in Mexico but became an American citizen. He was one of the first and most important dancers at the New York City Ballet.
Nicholas worked closely with George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. They started a dance group called Ballet Society, which later became the New York City Ballet. Nicholas was a key dancer in this group, along with Maria Tallchief, Francisco Moncion, and Tanaquil Le Clercq.
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Growing Up and Learning to Dance
Nicholas Magallanes was born in a place called Santa Rosalia de Camargo in Mexico. When he was five years old, he moved with his family to the United States. They first lived in New Jersey, then moved to New York City.
When Nicholas was sixteen, someone named Pavel Tchelitchev saw him at a Boys' Club. Pavel told Lincoln Kirstein about Nicholas. This led Nicholas to get a scholarship to the School of American Ballet in 1938. He was a good-looking young man with dark hair and strong muscles.
At the school, he was taught by George Balanchine and Pierre Vladimiroff. He quickly showed great talent. His first time performing on stage was in 1939. It was for a show called A Thousand Times Neigh at the 1939 New York World's Fair. This was the start of his long career with Balanchine and Kirstein.
Nicholas Magallanes' Dance Career
In 1940, Nicholas danced for a short time with the Littlefield Ballet. The next year, he toured South America with the American Ballet Caravan. When he came back to the United States, he performed on Broadway. He danced in Balanchine's parts for musicals like The Merry Widow (1943) and Song of Norway (1944). He also danced in Music in My Heart (1947).
Earlier, in 1942, he performed in La Vie Parisienne. From 1943 to 1946, he danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. During this time, he helped Balanchine create new roles. These included The Poet in La sonnambula (also known as The Night Shadow). He also created the roles of Cleónete in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Jean de Brienne in Raymonda.
After that, he danced with Balanchine's Ballet Society from 1946 to 1948. From 1948 until just before he passed away in 1977, he was a main dancer with the New York City Ballet.
New Roles Nicholas Created
Nicholas Magallanes helped create many new roles in ballets. Here are some of the most important ones, mostly choreographed by George Balanchine:
- 1941. Ballet Imperial (later called Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2). He was a soloist.
- 1944. Danses concertantes. He danced a Pas de trois (a dance for three) with Maria Tallchief and Mary Ellen Moylan.
- 1944. Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. He played Cléonte.
- 1946. The Night Shadow (also called La Sonnambula). He played The Poet.
- 1946. Raymonda. He played Jean de Brienne.
- 1948. Symphony in C. He danced a pas de deux (a dance for two) with Maria Tallchief.
- 1948. The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne. He played Bacchus.
- 1948. Orpheus. He played Orpheus.
- 1949. Bourrée Fantasque. He danced a pas de deux with Maria Tallchief.
- 1950. The Fairy's Kiss (also called Le Baiser de la Fée). He played The Bridegroom.
- 1950. Sylvia: Pas de Deux. He was the Cavalier to Maria Tallchief.
- 1950. Illuminations. Choreographed by Frederick Ashton. He played The Poet (Arthur Rimbaud).
- 1951. La Valse. He danced the Eighth waltz with Tanaquil Le Clercq.
- 1951. The Cage. Choreographed by Jerome Robbins. He was The Second Intruder.
- 1951. The Pied Piper. Choreographed by Jerome Robbins. He was a main dancer.
- 1951. Amahl and the Night Visitors. This was an opera for television. Choreographed by John Butler. He played a Dancing Shepherd.
- 1954. Opus 34. He danced with Diana Adams, Patricia Wilde, and Francisco Moncion.
- 1954. The Nutcracker. He played the Cavalier to the Sugar Plum Fairy, danced by Maria Tallchief.
- 1954. Western Symphony. He danced in the second movement with Janet Reed.
- 1956. Allegro Brillante. He was a main dancer with Maria Tallchief.
- 1956. Divertimento No. 15. He was a main dancer.
- 1956. The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore. Choreographed by John Butler. He played The Poet.
- 1957. Square Dance. He was a main dancer with Patricia Wilde.
- 1959. Episodes. He was a main dancer with Allegra Kent.
- 1960. The Figure in the Carpet. He played The Duke of L'an L'ing.
- 1960. Liebeslieder Walzer. He was a main dancer with Violette Verdy.
- 1962. A Midsummer Night's Dream. He played Lysander.
- 1965. Don Quixote. He played the Duke.
Other Important Roles
Besides creating new roles, Nicholas Magallanes danced in almost every ballet that the New York City Ballet performed. He was especially known for his dancing in Balanchine's Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Symphony in C, and The Four Temperaments.
On October 11, 1948, the New York City Ballet had its first show. Nicholas performed in Orpheus (playing Orpheus), Concerto Barocco, and Symphony in C that night. He danced with the company for almost thirty years. His last performance was in 1976, playing Don Quixote in Balanchine's ballet of the same name.
Dancing on TV and in Movies
In 1951, Nicholas Magallanes appeared on TV with Tanaquil Le Clercq in a special show called Premier. He also danced in the very first opera made for television in America. This was Amahl and the Night Visitors, and it was shown on the Hallmark Hall of Fame for the NBC network in 1951. He played the Dancing Shepherd.
Later, he was on other TV shows like Camera Three (1956), where he played Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. He was also on Omnibus (1961) and The Bell Telephone Hour (1962–1964).
Nicholas also danced in movies. He worked with Tanaquil Le Clercq in a film of La Valse (1951). He also appeared with Louis Falco in Dionysus (1963). In 1967, he danced the role of Lysander in Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Suzanne Farrell, Edward Villella, and Francisco Moncion.
His Dance Style
Nicholas Magallanes often danced with Maria Tallchief. Once, he even saved the opening night of Balanchine's big show, The Nutcracker, on February 2, 1954. The main dance was supposed to be for Tallchief and André Eglevsky. But at the last minute, Eglevsky hurt his ankle and couldn't dance. There was no one else ready to take his place.
Nicholas learned the very difficult dance in just one day of practice! He then danced the role of the Cavalier to the Sugar Plum Fairy, saving the show.
Nicholas was known for playing sad or thoughtful heroes in ballets like Serenade, La Valse, and La Sonnambula. He was famous for his role as Orpheus, dancing with Francisco Moncion as the Dark Angel and Tallchief as Eurydice. Pictures of them together show how dramatic their performances were.
Death
Nicholas Magallanes passed away from lung cancer at his home in New York when he was 54 years old.
Legacy
In 2013, Nicholas Magallanes was a character in a play called Nikolai and the Others. The play was about Russian artists in the 1940s. In one scene, Balanchine choreographs Orpheus with Nicholas and Tallchief dancing, while Stravinsky watches.
See also
In Spanish: Nicholas Magallanes para niños
