Alan Bergman (1943 – September 24, 2010) was an American

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in oth ...

and businessman. He was the product of two generations of Russian/ Polish

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

actors: Glicka and Morris Balavsky, co-founders of Nordska Films, the Actors Studio and his mother, Miriam, a child star in the Yiddish theater.

Dance career

At age 8 years Alan Bergman was spotted by Andre Eglevsky, who took Bergman on as his protégé and taught him privately for two years. When Bergman was 10 years old Eglevsky took him to

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

’s

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

where he was offered a full scholarship. Bergman’s teacher’s were Anatole Oboukoff, Pierre Vladimirov, (the partner of

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

and contemporary of Vaslav Nijinsky), and

Felia Doubrovska Felia Doubrovska (russian: link=no, Фелия Дубровская (real name Фелицата Леонтьевна Длужневская); born as ''Felizata Dlouzhnevska'' in St Petersburg, February 13, 1896 – d. Manhattan, September 18, ...

. He was also coached by Olga Preobrajenska and studied with

Alexandra Danilova Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized f ...

. By age 15, Bergman was dancing soloist roles and soon became a principal dancer with a number of major companies such as the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

and a Guest Artist with companies such as The National Ballet of Venezuela. Bergman also danced as a principal in revivals of Broadway shows including '' Annie Get Your Gun'', where he partnered

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

. A severe injury brought Alan Bergman’s dancing career to an abrupt halt.

Photography

After his injury, Bergman went on to become a successful dance and theatre photographer. His work has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and traveling exhibitions. His images are currently displayed in six museums including the

National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC The National Portrait Gallery is a historic art museum between 7th, 9th, F, and G Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections f ...

, the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

, where a number were on show as of 2006 as part of the Royal Ballet's 75th Anniversary, and the

Theatre Museum The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum. It opened in 19 ...

, London. Bergman also has a collection with ArenaPAL, the Performing Arts Image Library.

Dans-ez International

Bergman is CEO of Dans-ez, a company that makes bras.

Personal life

In 1998 Bergman married his wife Samantha, who gave birth to their daughter Alexia in the year 2000. On September 24, 2010, Bergman died suddenly of a heart attack.

References

External links

Dans-ez InternationalAlan's work at the National Portrait Gallery, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, Alan American male ballet dancers American photographers 2010 deaths School of American Ballet alumni 1943 births 20th-century American ballet dancers