12 Facts About John Taras

1.

John Taras was an American ballet master, repetiteur, and choreographer.

2.

John Taras first appeared professionally with Opera on Tour for which Fokine arranged dance.

3.

John Taras then toured South America with American Ballet Caravan.

4.

John Taras rehearsed the ballets of Lichine, DeMille, Nijinska, Balanchine and Tudor, and in 1946 choreographed his first ballet, Graziana.

5.

John Taras danced the 1947 season with the Markova-Dolin Company at the Chicago Civic Opera and produced Camille for de Basil's Original Ballet Russe with Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin as the leads.

6.

John Taras was principal dancer in de Basil's company and regisseur for their Covent Garden and Paris seasons.

7.

John Taras produced The Minotaur for Ballet Society that year.

8.

John Taras staged the Spring Symphony for the San Francisco Ballet and Designs with Strings to music of Tchaikovsky for the Metropolitan Ballet in Edinburgh in 1948, from which time until 1959 he was choreographer and balletmaster for the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.

9.

John Taras choreographed Fanfare for a Prince as a piece d'occasion at the Monte-Carlo Opera for the 1956 marriage of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly.

10.

John Taras was balletmaster of the Paris Opera Ballet 1969 to 1970, artistic director of West Berlin's Staatsballet Berlin from 1970 to 1972, staged Le Sacre du Printemps at La Scala in Milan for Natalia Makarova, and Sir Frederick Ashton's Illuminations for the Joffrey Ballet and the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden.

11.

John Taras staged his own version of The Firebird for Dance Theatre of Harlem, which was seen on PBS's live show Kennedy Center Tonight.

12.

John Taras is survived by his wife, Helene Sadowska, and his stepdaughter, Anne.