Kyra Nichols (born July 2, 1958) is an American retired ballet dancer and teacher. She joined the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

in 1974 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1979. She is one of the last dancers to have worked with George Balanchine, although he did not create any new work on her. However, she originated roles in several ballets by

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

. Nichols retired from performing in 2007, after a 33-year career. Nichols joined the

Pennsylvania Ballet The Philadelphia Ballet, formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet until rebranding in 2021, is Philadelphia's largest ballet company. The company's annual local season features six programs of classic favorites, as well as new works, including the Ph ...

as a ballet mistress in the 2014-15 season. In 2017, she left to serve as Violette Verdy and Kathy Ziliak Anderson Chair in Ballet and professor of music in ballet at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Early life and training

Kyra Nichols was born on July 2, 1958 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. She received her dance training from her mother, Sally Streets, who danced with the

in the 1950s. She was also taught by

Alan Howard Alan Howard may refer to: * Alan Howard (actor) (1937–2015), English actor * Alan Howard (cricketer) (1909–1993), English cricketer * Alan Howard (engineer) (1905–1966), American engineer * Alan Howard (hedge fund manager) (born 1963), hedge f ...

, a former member of

Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and its ...

and New York City Ballet. Starting at age twelve, she attended summer intensives at the School of American Ballet in New York. After the third summer, she was asked to stay as a full-time student.

Career

Nichols became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet in 1974, shortly before she turned 16. She was hired as a full company member later that year. In her early career, she was not noticed by choreographer George Balanchine, instead she was mentored by principal dancer Jacques D'Amboise, who also cast her in works he choreographed. Balanchine eventually spotted her and cast her as the principal in the Fourth Movement of '' Symphony in C''. Nichols was promoted to soloist in 1978 and principal dancer the following year. Nichols worked closely with Balanchine. In 1980, he revised his version of ''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev' ...

'' on her. Balanchine once called her exactness of execution "God-given." However, he did not make any new ballet on her. Balanchine died in 1983, therefore Nichols became one of the last dancers to have worked with him. The various ballets by Balanchine she was known for include '' Serenade'', ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

'', '' Liebeslieder Walzer'', ''Kammermusik No. 2'', ''Divertimento No. 15'', ''

Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze ''Robert Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze”'' is one of the last major works made by New York City Ballet's founding choreographer and balletmaster-in-chief, George Balanchine. It is set to Robert Schumann's ''Davidsbündlertänze'' (''Dance ...

'' and ''

La Sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

''. Nichols had created several roles for

, starting with the 1978 ''Verdi Variations'', which would become "Spring" in '' The Four Seasons''. Other notable Robbins ballet she originated roles in include '' Piano Pieces'', '' I'm Old Fashioned'' and ''

Antique Epigraphs ''Antique Epigraphs'' is a ballet made on New York City Ballet by ballet master Jerome Robbins to an orchestrated version of Debussy's '' Six épigraphes antiques'', L131, for piano, four hands, from 1914: *“Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d' ...

''. She had also worked with choreographers

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...

, Susan Stroman,

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

and William Forsythe. Towards the end of her dance career, she was allowed to choose what to dance, and her workload was reduced. Following an unusually long 33-year career, Nichols retired from the New York City Ballet in 2007, shortly before she turned 49. In her farewell performance, she danced ''Serenade'' as the Waltz Girl, ''Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze'' and "Der Rosenkavalier" from ''

Vienna Waltzes ''Vienna Waltzes'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár and Richard Strauss, made as a tribute to Austria. It premiered on June 23, 1977 at the New York State Theater, performed by the N ...

'', all three were choreographed by Balanchine. Nichols started teaching at the Princeton Ballet School whilst an active dancer, and continued to do so after she retired. She joined the

as a ballet mistress in the 2014-15 season. At the company, she staged Balanchine's ''

Concerto Barocco ''Concerto Barocco'' is a neoclassical ballet made for students at the School of American Ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently ballet master and co-founder of New York City Ballet, to Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two V ...

'' and ''Serenade''. In 2017, she left to join the faculty of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music as Violette Verdy and Kathy Ziliak Anderson Chair in Ballet and professor of music in ballet, succeeding

Violette Verdy Violette Verdy (born Nelly Armande Guillerm; 1 December 1933 – 8 February 2016) was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in t ...

, who died the previous year.

Personal life

Nichols is married to David Gray, who worked at the New York City Ballet press office. Gray would later serve as Pennsylvania Ballet's executive director. They have two sons, born in 1996 and 2001 respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Kyra 1958 births Living people People from Berkeley, California American ballerinas New York City Ballet principal dancers School of American Ballet alumni Jacobs School of Music faculty Prima ballerinas Ballet teachers 20th-century American ballet dancers 21st-century American ballet dancers Dancers from California 21st-century American women