Edward Verso (born October 25, 1941), sometimes credited as Eddie Verso, is an American dancer and choreographer known for his work in both stage and film productions, particularly in ballet. A former principal dancer for 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. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

, and a renowned member of

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 ...

troupe, ''"Ballets USA"''. he is also known for his association with

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

, in which he performed on stage in the London production, as well as in the 1961 film adaptation.

Early life

Edward Verso was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, on 25 October 1941 to Philip and Rachel Verso (née Swiss). His father, Philip (or Filippo) worked in the manufacture of clothes and footwear and had emigrated from Sicily with his parents and siblings in 1924, having been born in

Riesi Riesi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caltanissetta in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about south of Caltanissetta. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 11,678 and an area of .All de ...

. Similarly, his mother Rachel was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and had emigrated with her family from England, and arrived in New York 1930. His maternal grandparents were both JewishThe National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Petitions For Naturalization From the U.s. District Court For the Southern District of New York, 1897-1944; Series: M1972; Roll: 959 and although they had married in London,England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 were both from

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, which at the time of their both was within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The family name of Swiss being an anglicised form of Schweis. Verso had an older brother, Phil (1939–2000) who went on to join the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and also became

Fire fighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

both in New York and later

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Verso first performed at the age of eight, tap dancing for USO shows at area military bases. He began taking dance classes at the age of ten with Vincenzo Celli. As a teenager, he played the Prince in a production of the Nutcracker with 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's fir ...

. He later attended the High School of the Performing Arts.The Kinder Courier News, p7, Kinder, Louisiana, December 17, 1975

Career

Having graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts in New York, Verso was cast as Baby John in the 1958 London production of

after the hit Broadway musical went on tour. He was then cast as Juano in the movie version, again alongside

George Chakiris George Chakiris (born September 16, 1932) is an American actor and dancer. He is best known for his appearance in the 1961 film version of ''West Side Story'' as Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks gang, for which he won both the Academy Award fo ...

and

Jay Norman Joshua Alden "Jay" Norman (March 20, 1937 – November 14, 2021) was a dancer, actor, and choreographer known for his work in both stage and film productions, particularly in musical theater. He is best known and most closely associated with West ...

. Following the film, Verso continued to dance for Robbins in his ''Ballets U.S.A.'' company and through his dancing career would often perform in Robbins' '' Moves'', '' Interplay'' and '' N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz''. Additionally, he was associated with the Pearl Land Modern Dance Company and spent time in a jazz dance group in Japan before joining the

("ABT"). From 1962 to 1968 he was principal dancer for ABT. Among his many performances, he was the male lead in

Eliot Feld Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the Feld Ballet and Ballet Tech, are involved in dance and dance ed ...

's ''"Harbinger"'',

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...

's ''"Les Patineurs"'',

Agnes De Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...

's ''"Rodeo"'',

' ''"Fancy Free"'',

Michael Smuin Michael Smuin (October 13, 1938 – April 23, 2007) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer and theatre director. He was co-founder and director of his own dance company, the Smuin Ballet in San Francisco. Biography Born in Missoula, Montan ...

's ''"Catherine Wheel"'' and

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...

's ''"Undertow"''. In June 1967, he and his wife Janet Mitchell, a former Metropolitan Opera Company dancer who had joined ABT in 1960,''Famous International Dancers to Direct Academy of Ballet'', Ridgewood Herald-News, Ridgewood, New Jersey, p36, September 05, 1968 performed at the White House in front of President Lyndon B Johnson and the First Lady. Verso's performance at the event was that of the Champion Roper from ''"Rodeo"''. Additionally, his time at the ABT allowed Verso to study at the Bolshoi in Moscow as well as the Kirov School in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

in London. In 1968 he staged ''"Interplay"'' for the Robert Joffrey Ballet Company having ben designated by Jerome Robbin as qualified to stage the ballet and to dance either of the two main male roles. He and Mitchell's

pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

in Interplay was praised by critics such as

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, the ''New York Post''. Barnes had sign ...

of the Saturday Review. The Russian ballet critic, Vera Krasovskaya of Leningrad, also praised Verso for his acting and dancing in his earlier roles in ''"Fancy Free"'' and ''"Rodeo"''. In 1968, he and Mitchell purchased The Academy of Ballet in Oakland and became the new co-directors of the school, moving to Mitchell's native New Jersey. Verso would also act as artistic director for Festival Dance Theatre in New Jersey. However, Verso continued to perform alongside his teaching commitments. In 1969 he left ABT to become principal dancer for the City Center

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual ...

. Whilst on a tour of the Soviet Union with the Joffrey Ballet, he roomed with Kevin McKenzie and took the younger dancer under his wing. He later recommended McKenzie to the ABT, where McKenzie would become a principal dancer and later artistic director. Verso later became principal dancer for the

New Jersey Ballet The New Jersey Ballet is a ballet company based in Livingston, New Jersey in the United States, founded in 1958 by native New Jerseyan Carolyn Clark and her fellow dancer, George Tomal. History Carolyn Clark's mother established New Jersey Sc ...

in the mid-1970s. His performances included the Snow King in George Tomal's 1976 version of the Nutcracker. His future wife, Karen Stasick also performed in that production. Following a 1984 collaboration between NJ Ballet and the

New Jersey State Opera The New Jersey State Opera is an opera company based in Newark, New Jersey. It was established in 1964 as the Opera Theater of Westfield, and shortly after opening Alfredo Silipigni was hired as Artistic Director An artistic director is the e ...

, Verso and Stasick became a couple and they subsequently worked together at the Twyla Tharp Dance Studio.The Courier-News, Bridgewater, New Jersey, p101, September 20, 1998 They both went on to work at Dayton Ballet where, from 1987 to 1990, Verso was ballet master during which time he choreographed, ''Frontiers'', ''Buskers'' and ''The Banks of the Ohio'' as well as staging ''Billy The Kid'' for the company.Terry Morris, ''Goodbye, Dayton'', Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio, p25, August 04, 1990 When Stuart Sebastian left as artistic director of Dayton, Verso was unsuccessful in his application for the role and chose to take up a role at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

as professor of dance. In 1998, Verso had returned to New Jersey to teach and run the Dance Conservatory in Bedminster in the

Somerset Hills The Somerset Hills is known as the northern region of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County located in the central Jersey, central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey and includes the municipalities of Bedminster, New Jersey, Bedminster, ...

, with his wife, Karen.Robert Makin, ''Acclaimed Dancer Opens Studio'', The Courier News, Bridgewater, New Jersey, p96, November 01, 2001

Personal life

Verso met his future wife, Janet Mitchell during his time at the

. Like Verso, she was with the ABT until 1968 but in that time also made appearances on the Bell Telephone Hour television show with the

Robert Joffrey Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...

Ballet Company. Mitchell and Verso married in 1963. They had their first child, Cristina, in 1969 and two years later, their son Edward was born in 1971.U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2, Ancestry.com, Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings During this period, in his spare time, Verso liked to show his

Siberian Husky The Siberian Husky is a dog breed, breed of medium-sized Working dog, working sled dog. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family. It is recognizable by its thickly furred Coat (dog), double coat, erect triangular ears, and distinctive mark ...

, Chukchi. In February 1990, he married Karen Stasick. They had been together since 1984 following a collaboration of ''"Giaconda"'' between NJ Ballet and the

. In 1996, their daughter, Elissa, was born.

Productions

Theatre

*''

'', 1958, London cast as Baby John *''

I Can Get It For You Wholesale ''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' is a musical originally produced by David Merrick, with music and lyrics by Harold Rome, and book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. Its 1962 production marked the Broadway debut ...

'', 1962 Broadway production, cast as Eddie, at the Shubert Theatre

Dance focussed productions

*''"Ballets USA"'', 1958, Verso was part of the ensemble as a dancer. The show featured a collection of ballet pieces choreographed by Jerome Robbins including: **'' Moves'' **'' Interplay'' **'' N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz'' *''"American Ballet Theatre"'' *''"New Jersey Ballet"''

Film

*''

'' (1961 film) - Juano, member of the Sharks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verso, Edward 1941 births Living people American modern dancers American choreographers People from New York (state) Musical theatre choreographers American people of Italian descent American people of Polish descent The High School of Music & Art alumni Dance in New Jersey People from Brooklyn 20th-century American ballet dancers American Ballet Theatre principal dancers