James Jamieson (1920 – December 25, 1993) was an American dancer, who was a specialist in

Highland dancing Highland dance or Highland dancing () is a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games. It was created from the G ...

, and is best remembered for both performing in and restaging

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 ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and score by Frederick Loewe. The plot features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years; on ...

''. Jamieson (also known as Jamie Jamieson) was a native of

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, and studied at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. He began his career in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, but by the mid-1940s was an internationally recognized Scottish dance champion. In 1947, de Mille hired Jamieson to coach the cast of ''Brigadoon'' in traditional Scottish dancing, which inaugurated a decades-long association with the musical. (He had earlier worked with de Mille on the first national tour of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'') Jamieson replaced James Mitchell as Harry Beaton, then went on to play Harry on tour, overseas, and in assorted stock productions. In New York, he recreated de Mille's choreography for ''Brigadoon'' at

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

in 1957, on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 1980, and at

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

in 1986 and 1991; in addition, he was de Mille's assistant for the 1963 City Center revival, which starred

Edward Villella Edward Villella (born October 1, 1936) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer of ballet at the time. He has won numerous awards, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Out ...

as Harry. De Mille also featured Jamieson in the

Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre The Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre toured the United States from 1953 to 1954 under the aegis of producer Sol Hurok. The company offered an overview of Agnes de Mille's choreography to that date, with the addition of Anna Sokolow's "Short Lecture & D ...

and the Heritage Dance Theatre, as well as in television specials. Besides his various productions of ''Brigadoon'', Jamieson choreographed for a number of regional and stock theatres, working with such stars as

Judy Holliday Judy Holliday (born Judith Tuvim, June 21, 1921 – June 7, 1965) was an American actress, comedian, and singer.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', June 9, 1965, p. 71. She began her career as part of a nightclub act before working in Bro ...

. He had considerably greater influence, however, as a dance teacher. With Helena Antonova, he opened the Academy of the Dance in 1956 in Wilmington,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

; his students there included modern dancer Tina Fehlandt, Scottish dancer Victor Wesley, and choreographer

Susan Stroman Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. Her notable theater productions include ''Oklahoma!'', ''The Music Man'', ''Crazy for You (musical), Crazy for You'', ''Contact (musical), Co ...

. In 1967, Jamieson began his celebrated productions of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's '' The Nutcracker Ballet'', and for 27 consecutive years, he produced, directed and performed various roles in the work. Jamieson died on Christmas Day, 1993, nine days after he appeared as the grandmother in the opening-night presentation of the Academy of the Dance's 27th production of ''The Nutcracker''.Highland Highlights, by Loraine Ritchey
/ref> The Delaware Community Foundation offers the James Jamieson Memorial Scholarship to ballet students on a competitive basis.

References

External links

*
Portrait of Jamieson as Harry Beaton

Academy of the Dance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamieson, James (dancer) 1920 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American ballet dancers American choreographers American male ballet dancers Artists from Evanston, Illinois Northwestern University alumni