1. Violette Verdy was Distinguished Professor of Music at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, in Bloomington, and the recipient of two medals from the French government.
14 Facts About Violette Verdy
1. 2.
Violette Verdy's father, Renan Guillerm, died when she was a few months old; her mother, Jeanne Chateaureynaud, a schoolteacher, enrolled her daughter in dance lessons because she seemed to have so much energy.
3.
Violette Verdy went on to dance with the reorganized Ballets des Champs-Elysees, the Ballet de Marigny, and Les Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit.
4.
Violette Verdy accepted the invitation and moved to New York City.
5.
Violette Verdy gave brilliant performances in Theme and Variations, set to the final movement of Tchaikovsky's Suite No 3 by George Balanchine, and a dramatic interpretation of the title role in Miss Julie, based on the 1888 play by August Strindberg and choreographed by Birgit Cullberg in 1950.
6.
Violette Verdy was dancing major roles in the repertory, giving dazzling performances in Allegro Brillante, Apollo, Divertimento No 15, Scotch Symphony, Stars and Stripes, and Theme and Variations, often partnered by Edward Villella, who equaled her vivacity and technical aplomb on stage.
7.
Violette Verdy was favored by choreographer Jerome Robbins, who cast her in Dances at a Gathering and In the Night, both set to piano music by Chopin.
8.
Violette Verdy left New York City Ballet in 1977 to become the first female artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet, an illustrious but notoriously bureaucratic organization.
9.
Violette Verdy then became associate director and later sole artistic director of the Boston Ballet, a post she held until 1984.
10.
Violette Verdy was internationally renowned as a teacher of ballet technique.
11.
In 2008, the School of American Ballet announced that Violette Verdy would serve as their first, and, initially, only, permanent guest teacher.
12.
Violette Verdy died in Bloomington, Indiana on 8 February 2016, after a short illness.
13.
Violette Verdy was given a Doctor of Humane Letters by Skidmore College and Doctor of Arts from both Goucher College and Boston Conservatory.
14.
Under the auspices of the George Balanchine Foundation Video Archives, Violette Verdy participated in recording six coaching sessions for the Interpreters Archive, which feature the creators of important Balanchine roles as they teach and coach the roles with dancers of today.