Alexandra Mary Theodora (Lex) Radius (born 3 July 1942 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

) is a retired Dutch ballerina. Radius had her debut in 1957 at the Netherlands Ballet of Sonia Gaskell. There, in 1959, she met

Han Ebbelaar Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

, who would become her husband and lifelong dancing partner. Radius and Ebbelaar were soloists at the Dutch National Ballet, the

Nederlands Dans Theater Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT; literal translation Netherlands Dance Theatre) is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the ''Amare'' building in The Hague. NDT also performs at other venues in the Netherlands, including Amst ...

and, between 1968 and 1970, the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. Radius danced in classical pieces, but also in contemporary choreographies like those by

Rudi van Dantzig Rudi van Dantzig (4 August 1933 – 19 January 2012) was a Dutch choreographer, company director, and writer. He was a pivotal figure in the rise to world renown of Dutch ballet in the latter half of the twentieth century. Early life and traini ...

and

Hans van Manen Hans Arthur Gerard van Manen (; born 11 July 1932) is a Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer and photographer. He studied under Sonia Gaskell and Françoise Adret. Van Manen wrote many ballets. He worked for the Dutch National Ballet from 1973 ...

. Her other regular dancing partners were

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

Henny Jurriëns Henny is a Scandinavian and Dutch male and female first name, nickname and surname. It may refer to: Female given name * Henny Backus (1911–2004), Broadway showgirl in the 1930s * Henny Lindorff Buckhøj (1902–1979), Danish film actress * H ...

and Alan Land. In 1990, she stopped performing ballet at the age of 48, on which occasion she was awarded the Medal of Honor for Art and Science of the

Order of the House of Orange The Order of the House of Orange (Dutch: ''Huisorde van Oranje''), sometimes referred to as the House Order of Orange, is a dynastic order of the House of Orange-Nassau, the royal family of the Netherlands similar to the Royal Victorian Order in ...

. The Alexandra Radius Prize for rising young dance talent has been named after her.

Literature

*Emmy Huf, ''Alexandra Radius. Han Ebbelaar. Dancing'', J.M. Gottmer, Haarlem, 1979, *Ine Rietstap, ''Alexandra Radius. Een danscarrière'', J.M. Gottmer, Haarlem, 1982, *Jessica Voeten, ''Springlevend! 25 jaar Dansersfonds '79: Alexandra Radius en Han Ebbelaar'', Amsterdam, 2005,

Sources

Alexandra Radius
at the Theaterencyclopedie website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Radius, Alexandra 1942 births Living people Dutch ballerinas Entertainers from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch ballet dancers 21st-century ballet dancers