Anna Kisselgoff (born 12 January 1938) is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. She began at the ''Times'' as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she held until 2005. She left the ''Times'' as an employee at the end of 2006, but still contributes to the paper.

Biography

She was born on 12 January 1938 in Paris. Kisselgoff began studying ballet at the age of four in New York City with Valentina Belova, and later for nine years with Jean Yazvinsky. She graduated from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

, and then studied French History at the Sorbonne and Russian at the School of Oriental Languages in Paris. Later, she received an M.A. in European History and an M.A. in journalism at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Before joining ''The New York Times'', she wrote features and dance reviews as a freelancer for the New York Times International Edition and worked at the English desk of

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, ...

in Paris.

Other work

Aside from writing for the ''Times'', Kisselgoff has taught ballet history at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1980 and a Contemporary Choreographers course at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

in 1982, 1984, and 1986. She also lectured at

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

from 2006 to 2008. Kisselgoff has also worked as a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servi ...

, and wrote the foreword for '' Bronislava Nijinska: Early Memoirs''.

Awards

Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark * Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Government * Order of the Falcon by the

President of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir ...

Writing awards

Distinguished Alumni Award The ruling made by the judge or panel of judges must be based on the evidence at hand and the standard binding precedents covering the subject-matter (they must be ''followed''). Definition In law, to distinguish a case means a court decides the ...

from the

Columbia Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher edu ...

*Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences * Ernie from Dance/USA in 2008

References

External links

New York Times recent and archived news articles by Kisselgoff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kisselgoff, Anna 1938 births Living people French emigrants to the United States Critics employed by The New York Times American dance critics Bryn Mawr College alumni University of Paris alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Yale University faculty Barnard College faculty American women journalists American women critics American women academics 21st-century American women