Violette Verdy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Violette Verdy
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| Born |
Nelly Armande-Guillerm
1 December 1933 Pont-l'Abbé, France
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| Died | 8 February 2016 (aged 82) Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Indiana University |
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| Spouse(s) | Colin Clark (divorced) |
| Awards |  Legion of Honour - Knight (2008) |
Violette Verdy (born Nelly Armande Guillerm; December 1, 1933 – February 8, 2016) was a famous French ballerina. She was also a choreographer, teacher, and writer. Violette directed dance companies like the Paris Opéra Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in the United States.
From 1958 to 1977, she was a main dancer with the New York City Ballet. There, she performed in new ballets made just for her. Famous choreographers like George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins created these works. Later, she became a special professor of ballet at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She also received two important awards from the French government.
Contents
Early Life and Dance in Europe
Violette Verdy was born Nelly Armande Guillerm in Pont-l'Abbé, a town by the sea in France. Her father died when she was very young. Her mother, a schoolteacher, enrolled her in dance classes. Violette had a lot of energy and seemed like a natural dancer.
She started ballet training at age eight in 1942. This was during World War II, when Germany occupied northern France. Her mother moved them to Paris to find the best dance teachers. Violette studied with famous teachers like Carlotta Zambelli and Victor Gsovsky.
She made her first professional appearance in 1945. She danced in the corps de ballet (the main group of dancers) in a show called Le Poète. Soon after, she joined Roland Petit's Ballets des Champs-Élysées. She performed many small roles there.
In 1949, a German film director chose Nelly to star in his movie Ballerina. The director asked her to pick a stage name. Roland Petit suggested "Violette Verdy." This name sounded like a flower and also like the composer Giuseppe Verdi.
Her honest acting and pure classical ballet skills earned her praise. She got many chances to dance with different European ballet companies. She danced with the Ballets des Champs-Élysées again, and with Les Ballets de Paris. With Les Ballets de Paris, she created the main role in Petit's Le Loup (The Wolf) in 1953. This was a big moment for her as an artist.
Violette was known for her musicality, precision, and cleverness. She toured the United States and London. She also danced leading roles with the La Scala Ballet in Milan and Ballet Rambert in London. For La Scala, she danced the main roles in Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet. For Ballet Rambert, she danced the fun role of Swanhilda in Coppélia. She also danced the dramatic main role in Giselle, which became one of her most famous performances.
Dancing in America
A film of Violette dancing during a tour caught the eye of Nora Kaye. Nora was a ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre. In 1957, Violette was invited to join this company. She accepted and moved to New York City.
American audiences quickly loved her. She performed well in ballets like Gala Performance and Offenbach in the Underworld. She also gave amazing performances in Theme and Variations by George Balanchine. She also gave a powerful performance in Miss Julie.
In 1958, the American Ballet Theatre temporarily closed. Violette was the only dancer asked to join the New York City Ballet. She really wanted to work with George Balanchine. She joined the company and stayed there for almost twenty years.
Even though she was French-trained and petite, she understood Balanchine's style. She joked that she feared sticking out "like a French poodle." But her performances were always well-received. She quickly danced major roles in many ballets. She often danced with Edward Villella, who matched her energy.
Balanchine saw her musical talent and intelligence. He created many roles for her over the years. These included leading parts in Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux (1960) and Emeralds (1967). She also danced in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1962) and La Source (1968).
Violette Verdy is perhaps most famous for her roles in Emeralds and Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux. She danced with Conrad Ludlow in both ballets. In Emeralds, she showed the romantic feeling of Gabriel Fauré's music. In Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, she showed the joy of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's music. Many ballerinas have performed Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux since. But few have matched Violette's musicality, wit, and amazing technique.
Choreographer Jerome Robbins also liked to work with Violette. He cast her in Dances at a Gathering (1969) and In the Night (1970). Both were set to piano music by Chopin. Her solo in Dances at a Gathering is still very challenging for dancers today. It shows her amazing musicality.
Violette also performed as a guest artist often. She danced in classic ballets like Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty. She also appeared on French, British, Canadian, and American television.
Later Life and Teaching
In the 1960s, Violette Verdy was briefly married to writer and filmmaker Colin Clark.
Violette left New York City Ballet in 1977. She became the first female artistic director of the Paris Opéra Ballet. This was a very famous but also very complicated organization. After three years, she returned to the United States in 1980.
She then became the associate director and later the sole artistic director of the Boston Ballet. She held this job until 1984. After that, she led the ballet program at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Violette was also a talented choreographer. She created many ballets for companies in America and Europe after 1965. She was also known worldwide as a ballet teacher. In her classes, she focused on the joy of dancing. She also made sure her students learned perfect technique.
She taught as a guest at many famous companies. These included London's Royal Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. She was the first foreign teacher invited to the Bolshoi since 1917. In 2008, the School of American Ballet announced she would be their first permanent guest teacher.
Violette Verdy passed away in Bloomington, Indiana on February 8, 2016, after a short illness.
Honors and Awards
Violette Verdy received many awards and honors. She won a Dance Magazine Award in 1968. In 2003, she received the Artistic Achievements Award from the School of American Ballet. She also got the Grand Prix Gold Medal at the International Ballet Festival of Miami in 2005.
She received honorary doctorates from several colleges. The French government gave her two special honors. In 1973, she was named a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Thirty-five years later, in 2008, she was honored with the knight of France's Legion of Honour.
Selected Writings
- Giselle, or The Wilis. (1970). This was a book for children.
- Giselle, a Role for a Lifetime. (1977).
- Of Swans, Sugarplums, and Satin Sippers: Ballet Stories for Children. (1991).
Selected Videos
- Violette: A Life in Dance. (1982). This was a TV documentary about her life.
- Violette et Mr. B. (2008). This documentary shows Violette coaching dancers. She teaches them roles created for her by Balanchine and Robbins.
- Violette Verdy: The Artist Teacher at Chautauqua Institution. (2009). This video focuses on her teaching.
Violette Verdy also helped record coaching sessions for the George Balanchine Foundation. She taught dancers how to perform important Balanchine roles. These recordings are kept in the New York Public Library.
Images for kids
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Violette Verdy in Jewels, 1967
See also
In Spanish: Violette Verdy para niños
