The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New ballet company named after its founder

Rebekah Harkness Rebekah West Harkness (née Semple West; April 17, 1915June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, socialite, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. In 1947, she married William Hale ...

. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

holdings, and was a dance lover. Harkness funded

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 ...

, but when they refused to rename the company in her honor, she withdrew funding and hired most of the Joffrey dancers for her new company. Joffrey Ballet later moved to Chicago, and continues to function.

Background

Harkness Ballet, established in 1964, gave its debut performance in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

in 1965, with

George Skibine George Boris SkibineGeorge Boris Skibine in ''South Carolina, Naturalization Records, 1868-1991'' (; Yuri Borisovich Skibin; January 30, 1920 – January 14, 1981), also known as Youra Skibine, was a Russian-American ballet dancer and choreograph ...

as director,

Marjorie Tallchief Marjorie Tallchief (born Marjorie Louise Tall Chief; October 19, 1926November 30, 2021) was an American ballerina and member of the Osage Nation. She was the younger sister of prima ballerina Maria Tallchief and was the first Native American to ...

as ballerina and a repertory featuring work by

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cent ...

, Skibine, Eric Bruhn, Brian Macdonald and

Stuart Hodes Stuart Hodes (November 27, 1924 – March 15, 2023) was an American dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, dance administrator and author. He was Martha Graham's partner, danced on Broadway, in TV, film, in recitals, and with his own troupe. His ...

, the company mostly toured abroad, in the major theaters of Europe, to great acclaim, giving its dancers and choreographers a cosmopolitan experience unknown to most of their American colleagues. Its New York debut was in 1967 and Macdonald was also appointed director, succeeded by

Lawrence Rhodes Lawrence Rhodes (November 24, 1939 – March 27, 2019) was an American premier dancer, dance teacher and director of ballet companies and the dance divisions of New York University and the Juilliard School. Early life Lawrence Rhodes was born in ...

(1968) and joined by

Benjamin Harkarvy Benjamin Harkarvy (16 December 1930, in New York City – 30 March 2002, in New York City) was an American dance teacher, choreographer, and artistic director. He earned an international reputation for his eclectic approach to dance education (par ...

in 1969. The ballet teacher David Howard was recruited in 1966 and became co-director of the school in 1971 with Maria Vegh, who had begun teaching at the school in 1968. In 1970, Harkness combined it with the Harkness Youth Ballet (founded 1969), directed by Ben Stevenson, succeeded by Vicente Nebrada. In 1972, Harkness purchased a historic theater (Colonial Theatre, built in 1905) across from

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and renamed it the Harkness Theater. The theater was completely remodeled with state-of-the-art dance stage flooring and Spanish artist Enrique Senis-Oliver painted ceiling murals, opening with a season by the company in 1974. The company disbanded within the next year. The vitality of the dancers was widely admired and many of the ballets were very erotic, including " After Eden" by John Butler, the

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, including both male–male and female–female attraction. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be tempor ...

"Sebastian" (1963) by John Butler to music of

Gian-Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, ...

, "Monument for a Dead Boy" (1966) 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. He was co-director and ...

(born 1933) and "Gemini" (1972) by Vicente Nebrada (born 1930). The Harkness House for Ballet Arts, housed in the Nathaniel L. McCready House, a four story mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side, served as the company's headquarters and official school, which continued for many years after the company closed and became the home to the

American Dance Machine The American Dance Machine was a theatrical dance company created by Lee Theodore, which played on Broadway at the Century Theatre, opening Jun 14, 1978 and in total running 199 performances. It was duplicated with a second cast for the American D ...

. Notable Harkness Ballet Trainee scholarship dancers attending the school included

Lawrence Leritz Lawrence Leritz (born September 26, 1952) is an American actor, dancer, singer, producer, director, fitness expert and choreographer. Life and career Born in Alton, Illinois, Leritz made his stage debut in the children's chorus of the world stag ...

and

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze ( ; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and dancer. Known for his romantic, tough, and comedic roles in blockbusters and cult films, Swayze was nominated for three Golden Glob ...

. The Harkness Ballet was managed by Jeannot B. Cerrone from 1964 to 1975.

Notable company dancers

Christopher Aponte Christopher Aponte is an American classical ballet dancer. Aponte was born in the borough of Manhattan, then moved, at the age of three, to live in the Bronx. Aponte attended the High School of Performing Arts and received a scholarship to the N ...

Maria Eglevsky Marina Eglevsky is an American ballet dancer born in New York City. She is the daughter of ballet star Andre Eglevsky and ballerina Leda Anchutina Eglevsky. Marina studied at the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre School. ...

Barbara Hancock Barbara Hancock (born November 21, 1949) is an American actress and dancer. While she was with the Harkness Ballet, she appeared as a dancing character in five productions in television and film. She was nominated for the 1968 Golden Globe Award f ...

Lone Isaksen Lone may refer to: People * Destroy Lonely, a nickname for the artist * Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) * Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom * Lone (sur ...

Judith Jamison Judith Ann Jamison (; May 10, 1943 – November 9, 2024) was an American dancer and choreographer. She danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1965 to 1980 and was Ailey's muse. She later returned to be the company's artistic di ...

Finis Jhung Finis Jhung (born May 27, 1937) is an American ballet dancer, dance company founder and dance teacher. Early life Jhung was born on May 27, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His multiracial heritage includes Korean, Scottish and English ancestors. The ...

Lar Lubovitch Lar Lubovitch (born April 9, 1943) is an American choreographer. He founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, the company has performed in all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 co ...

Brunilda Ruiz Brunilda Ruiz ( – ) was a Puerto Rican ballet dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She toured internationally as a founding member of the Joffrey Ballet and Harkness Ballet companies. Biography Ruiz was born in Rincón, Puerto Rico, and rai ...

* Helgi Tomasson

References

External links

Richard Holden biography "Rebekah Harkness Builds Her Own Theater"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. April 2, 1965.
''Harkness Ballet'' blog
{{authority control Defunct ballet companies in the United States 1964 establishments in New York City 1975 disestablishments in New York (state) Performing groups established in 1964 Dance companies in New York City