"Great" American Male Dancers

[atm711]

In a recent review of NYCB Alexandra posed the following question--"Who are the great American male dancers"--and went on to name d'Amboise, Villella, Bujones and Bissell. I can name one who pre-dated them all--John Kriza of Ballet Theatre who held the title of Premier Danseur. He had the boyishness of d'Amboise, the energy of Villella, a good classical technique (not quite as grand as Bujones) and the charming stage presence of a Bissell. He created the role of the 'dreamy' sailor in 'Fancy Free', he is still my favorite poet of 'Les Sylphides', partnered all the classical PDD, and was a top-notch 'Billy the Kid'. His wonderful sense of 'tongue-in-the-cheek' drollery made his show-off in 'Les Patineurs' and the Drummer in 'Graduation Ball' a delight. He easily fits the description of 'great' when compared to the aforementioned dancers.

[rg]

barring unforeseen snags, i'm hoping to post two kriza photos on ballet history thread.

[Giannina]

I agree with everything atm711 said. I grew up seeing Fancy Free and he was my favorite rhumba dancer. In one performance his shoe flew off. After his solo he dashingly put it back on...much to the delight of the audience. He did everything dashingly.

Giannina

[oberon]

How would people rate Ted Kivitt? Arthur Mitchell?

What about Damian Woetzel; although he seems to have peaked, I have seen many thrilling performances from him over the years.

Had his career not been cruelly cut short, we might include Sean Lavery.

[Helene]

Boal would be on my list. I'm not sure how many others would agree, but so is Bart Cook. When he was on stage, I couldn't keep my eyes off of him, regardless of with whom he was sharing it.

[oberon]

Peter Boal, for sure!

Bart Cook might not have been a flashy dancer, but he was charismatic and I agree with hockeyfan that his performances were engrossing.

[Alexandra]

I didn't want to respond immediately so that everyone could have a say first, but I wrote that Villella and d'Amboise were on the list of the great American dancers because that's my reading of the literature, both at the time, and now. Those were the ones considered "great" in the sense that they could stand up alongside the European dancers dancing in America during that time: Erik Bruhn, Igor Youskevitch, Andre Eglevsky. When d'Amboise and Villella came along, there was a "Oh, see, our school can produce one oof them too," response.

Kriza was a very important dancer and very popular dancer, and nearly always referred to as "Mr. Ballet Theatre." They haven't had anyone since like him -- the repertory changed so, I don't think it would be possible to have a "Mr. Ballet Theatre" now.

[Hal]

Kriza was a very important dancer and very popular dancer, and nearly always referred to as "Mr. Ballet Theatre." They haven't had anyone since like him

Does the name Baryshnikov ring a bell?

[atm711]

Does the name Baryshnikov ring a bell?

Hal, I am afraid you missed the whole point about John Kriza. He started with Ballet Theater in 1940, in the corps, working himself up to Premier Danseur. The following is a l ist of his most famous roles---Fancy Free, Interplay, Romantic Age, On Stage, Gift of the Magi, Dim Lustre, Facsimile, Les Sylphides, Romeo and Juliet, Lilac Garden, Aleko, Les Patineurs, Gala Performance, Graduation Ball, Billy the Kid, Tally Ho, and lots of PDD. If a program had 3 or 4 works, he invariably had a leading role in all of them. (I always felt they worked the poor fellow too hard, and after a while his technique did suffer from so much overuse.) He was dedicated to the Company, as were many of the principals at that time (Alonso, Kaye, Laing). In c ontrast, I think Baryshnikov viewed the Company as an 'opportunity'.