Elise Flagg (born 1951) is an American ballet dancer who worked with

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 ...

as a dancer at 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' ...

Life

Elise Flagg was born December 23, 1951 in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Her sister Laura is also a dancer. In the 1960s and 1960s Flagg danced with the

. She was featured in

's ''

Western Symphony ''Western Symphony'' is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to American folk tunes arranged by Hershy Kay. It premiered on September 7, 1954 at the City Center of Music and Drama in New Y ...

'', ''

Ivesiana ''Ivesiana'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to compositions by Charles Ives. The ballet premiered on September 14, 1954, four months after Ives's death, at the City Center of Music and Drama, performed by the New York City Ballet ...

'' and ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

''. She also performed in Richard Tanner's ''Octuor''. After

Gelsey Kirkland Gelsey Kirkland (born December 29, 1952) is an American ballerina. She received early ballet training at the School of American Ballet. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age 15, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was p ...

suffered injury, Flagg danced the Nightingale in Kirkland's place in

John Taras John Taras (April 18, 1919 – April 2, 2004) was an American ballet master, repetiteur, and choreographer. Early life and education Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to Ukrainian parents, he was sent at age 16 to study balle ...

' production of ''

Song of the Nightingale ''Le chant du rossignol'' (English: ''The Song of the Nightingale'') is a symphonic poem written by Igor Stravinsky in 1917. The score is adapted from his earlier work, ''Le rossignol'' (''The Nightingale''), an opera from 1914. The opera, based o ...

'' at the 1972 Stravinsky Festival. After Kirkland recovered from her injury, Flagg resumed the role of the Mechanical Nightingale opposite her. Flagg runs a dance academy, the Elise Flagg Academy of Dance. In 2020 the academy moved from

West Chicago West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,086 at the 2010 census. It was formerly named Junction and later Turner, after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad ...

to a new studio in

Geneva, Illinois Geneva is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the western side of the Chicago suburbs. Per the 2020 census, the population was 21,393. Geneva is part of a tri-city area, located between S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flagg, Elise 1951 births Living people People from Detroit 20th-century American ballet dancers American ballerinas