Lucia Chase

Lucia Chase

Infobox actor
name = Lucia Chase


imagesize = 200px
caption =
birthname = Lucia Chase
birthdate = March 24, 1907
location =
deathdate = January 9, 1986 [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50710FA3C590C738DDDA80894DE484D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fA%2fAmerican%20Ballet%20Theater New York Times obituary] ]
height =
othername =
yearsactive =
spouse =
homepage =
notable role =
academyawards =
goyaawards =
emmyawards =
tonyawards =

Lucia Chase (24 March, 1907; Waterbury, Connecticut - 9 January, 1986; New York, USA) was an American dancer, actress, ballet director and also the co-founder of the American Ballet Theatre.

Career

She studied drama at New York's Theater Guild School where she also took ballet lessons. Though her first love was the theatre, after she decided that dance was to be her life, she studied seriously with Mikhail Mordkin, Michel Fokine, Antony Tudor, Anatole Vilzak, and Bronislava Nijinska. She performed with the Mordkin Ballet from 1937 to 1939, where she danced the title roles in "The Sleeping Beauty" and "Giselle". In 1940 she and Richard Pleasant founded Ballet Theatre (later American Ballet Theatre), with Lucia Chase as principal dancer (and prime financial backer), although she concentrated on the more dramatic and comedic roles.

She created the Eldest Sister in Tudor's "Pillar of Fire" (1942) and the Greedy One in Agnes de Mille's "Three Virgins and a Devil" (1941). In 1945 she and Oliver Smith jointly took over direction of American Ballet Theatre.

She retired from the stage in 1960, and retired as company director in 1980, when she was succeeded by Mikhail Baryshnikov.

During the course of forty years she devoted her energy and a large part of her personal fortune to ensure the company's survival. She brought Tudor and Baryshnikov to American Ballet Theater and encouraged US choreographers such as Jerome Robbins, Walter Tetley and Twyla Tharp. She was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980.

In private life she was Mrs Thomas Ewing, with whom she had two sons.

Filmography

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2109312/bio Lucia Chase on IMDB]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE3DD1E3BF93AA25752C0A960948260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FOrganizations%2FA%2FAmerican%20Ballet%20Theater News]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7DB163AF935A15757C0A960948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Memorial]
* [http://www.medaloffreedom.com/LuciaChase.htm Presidential Medal of Freedom for Lucia Chase]
* [http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/jec/medal.phtml Medal of Freedom Awards by President Carter 1977-1981]
* [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0803665.html American Ballet Theatre]
* [http://www.delteatro.it/dizionario_dello_spettacolo_del_900/c/chase.php Italian short biography]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=WSaMu4F06AQC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=lucia+chase+obituary&source=web&ots=UF91idEhWu&sig=zIE6PzaiZtktgj5qVcRHAnhoBWs Google Books]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chase (name) — This article is about people named Chase . For other uses, see Chase (disambiguation). Chase Gender Male Language(s) Old French Origin Word/Name Old French word Chacier meaning to catch / seize …   Wikipedia

  • Margaret Chase Smith — (* 14. Dezember 1897 in Skowhegan, Maine; † 29. Mai 1995 ebenda) war eine US amerikanische Politikerin, die den Bundesstaat Maine in beiden Kammern des Kongresses vertrat. Inhaltsverze …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Margaret Chase Smith — United States Senator from Maine In office January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1973 Preceded by Wallace H. White, Jr …   Wikipedia

  • Oliver Smith — Oliver Smith, né à Waupun (en) (Wisconsin, États Unis) le 13 février 1918, décédé à New York (État de New York, États Unis) le 23 janvier 1994, est un décorateur, directeur et producteur de théâtre américain, ayant… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • American Ballet Theatre — Ángel Corella as Aminta in the 2006 production of Ashton s ballet Sylvia. American Ballet Theatre (ABT), based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world… …   Wikipedia

  • American Ballet Theatre — Prominent ballet company based in New York City. It was founded in 1939 as the Ballet Theatre (the name was changed in 1958) by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant to promote works American in character. Oliver Smith replaced Pleasant as codirector… …   Universalium

  • Чейз Л. — ЧЕЙЗ (Chase) Люсия (р. 1907, Уотербери, шт. Коннектикут), амер. артистка. Основатель и художеств. руководитель Американ балле тиэтр . Училась у М. М. Мордкина, М. М. Фокина, А. Тюдора, А. Вильтзака, Б. Ф. Нижинской. Дебютировала в труппе Мордкина …   Балет. Энциклопедия

  • Charles Phelps Taft II — Charles Taft redirects here. For President Taft s brother, see Charles Phelps Taft Charles Phelps Taft II (September 20, 1897 June 24, 1983) was a U.S. Republican Party politician and member of the Taft family. From 1955 to 1957, he served as… …   Wikipedia

  • American Ballet Theatre — L’American Ballet Theatre (ABT), basé à New York, est l une des compagnies de ballet les plus importantes du XXe siècle. Fondée en 1937 par Lucia Chase sous le nom de Mordkin Ballet, la compagnie change de nom en 1940 pour Ballet Theatre,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • American Ballet Theatre — No debe confundirse con el Ballet Americano de Balanchine. El American Ballet Theatre, establecido en Nueva York, es una de las destacadas compañías de ballet del siglo XX, y es la más importante de los Estados Unidos. Hay cuatro niveles en la… …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”