Gelsey Kirkland
Gelsey Kirkland | |
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| Born | Gelsey Kirkland December 29, 1952 |
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Gelsey Kirkland(born December 29, 1952) is an American primaballerina.She received early ballet training at the School of American Ballet.[1]Kirkland joined theNew York City Balletin 1968 at age 15, at the invitation ofGeorge Balanchine.She was promoted to soloist in 1969, and principal in 1972. She went on to create leading roles in many of the great twentieth century ballets by Balanchine,Jerome Robbins,andAntony Tudor,including Balanchine's revival ofThe Firebird,Robbins'Goldberg Variations,and Tudor'sThe Leaves are Fading.
Balanchine re-choreographed his version ofStravinsky'sThe Firebirdspecifically for her.[2]She left the New York City Ballet to join the American Ballet Theatre in 1974 as a principal dancer.[citation needed]
Kirkland appeared in the dance role of Clara Stahlbaum inMikhail Baryshnikov's1977 televised production ofThe Nutcracker,which Baryshnikov also acted in as the titular Nutcracker/Prince. She left theAmerican Ballet Theatrein 1984.[citation needed]
Early life and education
[edit]Kirkland was born December 29, 1952, inBethlehem, Pennsylvania.[3]Her father,Jack Kirkland,was a playwright who penned the Broadway adaptations ofTobacco RoadandTortilla Flat.[4][5]Her mother, Nancy Hoardley, was an actress. Her sister, Johnna Kirkland, also studied at theSchool of American Balletand danced with theNew York City Ballet.[6]
While with the New York City Ballet from 1968 to 1974, Kirkland performed as a soloist and principal dancer in several ballets includingConcerto Barocco,The Cage,Irish Fantasy,Symphony in C,La Source,Theme and Variations,Tarantella,Harlequinade,The Nutcracker,andDances at a Gathering.[1]
Career
[edit]Kirkland joined theAmerican Ballet Theatrein 1974, and performed as a principal dancer in a number of classical ballets including the title role inGiselle,Kitri inDon Quixote,Clara in TheNutcracker,Swanilda inCoppélia,Aurora inThe Sleeping Beauty,Juliet inRomeo and Juliet,the Sylph inLa Sylphide,Lise inLa Fille Mal Gardée,Odette/Odile inSwan Lake,Nikiya inThe Kingdom of the Shades,the Mazurka andpas de deuxinLes Sylphides,and the Sleepwalker inLa Sonnambula.[1]
Kirkland was repeatedly fired (but always rehired) byAmerican Ballet Theatrefordrug abuseand erratic behavior. It was her partnerPatrick Bissellwho had introduced her tococaine,which the two did together. Kirkland said many of the dancers in the company were doing all kinds of drugs to cope with the pressures of dancing. In spite of her substance abuse, she became aprima ballerina.[citation needed]
Kirkland was featured on the May 1, 1978, cover ofTime.[7]
In 1986, Kirkland retired from performing, becoming a ballet teacher, choreographer, and coach.[1]
In 2006, she was awarded theDance MagazineAward.[8]
In 2007, Kirkland, Michael Chernov, and American Ballet Theatre artistic directorKevin McKenziechoreographed a new production ofTchaikovsky'sThe Sleeping Beauty,in which, after an absence from the stage of more than 20 years, she danced the role of "Cara Boss e, the Wicked Fairy".[9]
In 2010, Kirkland and Chernov established the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet (GKACB), where they served as co-Artistic Directors.[10]The Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet was accompanied by the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet company. The ballet company presented classical ballets in New York City.[11]The company eventually closed.
Books
[edit]Kirkland's first autobiography,Dancing on My Grave(1986), written with her then-husband Greg Lawrence, was a memoir chronicling her artistic transformation fromGeorge Balanchine's "baby ballerina" to one of the more acclaimed ballerinas ofher generation.The book describes in detail her struggles with her domestic family problems,sibling rivalry,anorexia,bulimia,plastic surgeries,drug addiction,her quest for artistic perfection, and her complicated love affairs withMikhail Baryshnikovand numerous other men, most of whom she encountered in the ballet world.Dancing on My Gravewas dedicated to Joseph Duell, a dancer with the New York City Ballet who had committed suicide that same year, in 1986, in hopes "that the cry for help might yet be heard".[12]
Kirkland's second autobiography,The Shape of Love(1990), dealt with her move to England to dance withThe Royal Ballet,her attempts to get a fresh start with her first husband, and her return toAmerican Ballet Theatrewith a clean slate and a renewed outlook on life.[citation needed]She dancedRomeo and JulietwithAnthony DowellandSleeping BeautywithStephen Jeffries.
In 1993, Kirkland and her husband eventually collaborated again on a children's book,The Little Ballerina and Her Dancing Horseabout a little girl who loves ballet but might not be able to keep dancing if she keeps riding her horse Sugar.[citation needed]
Personal life
[edit]Kirkland was married to writer Greg Lawrence and they collaborated on each other's projects until they divorced. She currently lives inMainewith her second husband, dancer, choreographer, and teacher Michael Chernov, who was also with ABT.
References
[edit]- ^abcd"Gelsey Kirkland".American Ballet Theatre.RetrievedAugust 12,2021.
- ^Paul Gray (May 1, 1978)."Dance: U.S. Ballet Soars".Time.RetrievedJune 25,2008.
- ^Rodger, Liam; Bakewell, Joan (2011).Chambers Biographical Dictionary(Ninth ed.). London, UK: Chambers Harrap.RetrievedJuly 21,2017.
- ^"Jack Kirkland".IBDB.
- ^Christiansen, Richard (October 5, 1986)."Gelsey Kirkland's Life With Drugs, And Baryshnikov".tribunedigital-chicagotribune.Chicago Tribune.RetrievedJuly 21,2017.
- ^Paul Gray (May 1, 1978)."Dance: U.S. Ballet Soars".Time.Archived fromthe originalon January 2, 2008.
- ^"Cover".Time.May 1, 1978. Archived fromthe originalon December 7, 2007.
- ^Hay, Bruno; Beaumont, Olivier; Fleurence, Nolwenn; Lambeng, Nora; Cataldi, Michel; Lorrette, Christophe; Knopp, Kevin; Hartmann, Jürgen; Beckstein, Fabia; Stobitzer, Dorothea; Milošević, Nenad; Stepanić, Nenad; Wu, Jiyu; Mildeova, Petra (February 4, 2023)."Inter-laboratory Comparison on Thermal Diffusivity Measurements by the Laser Flash Method at Ultra-high Temperature".International Journal of Thermophysics.44(4).doi:10.1007/s10765-023-03159-5.ISSN0195-928X.
- ^"The Sleeping Beauty - McKenzie/Kirkland/Chernov".American Ballet Theatre.RetrievedAugust 12,2021.
- ^"Faculty".Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet.
- ^"Home".Gelsey Kirkland Ballet.RetrievedJuly 21,2017.
- ^Kirkland, Gelsey (1986).Dancing on My Grave.Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc. pp. v.ISBN0-385-19964-3.
Bibliography
[edit]- Kirkland, Gelsey; Lawrence, Greg (1986).Dancing on My Grave.Garden City, New York:Doubleday and Company.ISBN0-385-19964-3.
- Kirkland, Gelsey; Lawrence, Greg (1990).The Shape of Love: The Story of Dancing on My Grave Continues.New York, New York:Doubleday and Company,Inc.ISBN0-385-24918-7.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
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| Other | |
- 1952 births
- Living people
- American Ballet Theatre principal dancers
- American expatriates in Australia
- American expatriates in the United Kingdom
- New York City Ballet principal dancers
- People from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- American prima ballerinas
- Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet
- School of American Ballet alumni