The National Ballet of Washington, D.C. was an American national

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-rou ...

founded in 1962 by Jean Riddell, granddaughter of the founder of PET Evaporated Milk and artistic director

Frederic Franklin Frederic Franklin (13 June 1914 – 4 May 2013), sometimes also called "Freddie", was a British-American ballet dancer, choreographer and director. Dancer Born in Liverpool, England, Frederic Franklin claimed that on seeing the 1924 film ...

, with financial support from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

. Its studios were located at 2801 Connecticut Avenue, NW, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The company debuted on January 3, 1962, at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Lisner Auditorium Lisner Auditorium is a performance venue sited on the Foggy Bottom campus of George Washington University at 730 21st Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. Named for Abram Lisner (1852-1938), a university trustee and benefactor whose will provided o ...

, changed residency upon the opening of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in 1972, and officially ended on June 13, 1974. The National Ballet brought ballet to every state in the United States but two, and also performed in Canada and Mexico. Ben Stevenson

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

was co-artistic director from 1971 to 1974.

History

In 1958, Frederic Franklin was appointed co-director of the

Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day and has been directed by Edwaard Liang since 2024. The Mary Day years (1976–99) Mary Day ''(née'' Mary H ...

by its founder, Mary Day. Franklin choreographed two original works – ''Etalage'' to music by

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

and ''Homage au Ballet'' with music by Charles-François Gounod – for the Washington Ballet. In 1960, Franklin said in an interview, "We are working towards a resident company in the nation's capital." He resigned in April 1961 after a dispute over the future direction of the company. The National Ballet of Washington, D.C., was co-founded in 1962 by Jean Riddell, chairman of the board of the Washington Ballet Guild and a committed patron of the arts, and Frederic Franklin, artistic director, with financial assistance from the

. Mrs. Riddell was named president of its sustaining organization, the National Ballet Society. Franklin and Riddell also created the National Ballet School with an enrollment of 250 girls and boys with class size limited to 15 students. Franklin said: "The school and the company are for America and for all the good dancers that we can find and develop. Our intention is to establish a national company in the nation's capital based on artistic policies similar to those of 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 ...

and the original policy of the

Sadler's Wells 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 ...

." Riddell said, "The National Ballet is the only logical name for this company – it's designed not only for Washington, but also for growth." After three months of rehearsal, the company debuted on January 3, 1962, at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium, with

co-founder and choreographer

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

in the audience. The company received 13 curtain calls.

Dancers

Principal dancers included Sonia Arova, Alida Belair, Marilyn Burr, Eugene Collins, Jean-Paul Comelin, Ivan Dragadze, Roderick Drew, Anita Dyche, Stevan Grebel (1965–1971), Daniel Franck, Jacqueline Hepner, Claudine Kamoun, Desmond Kelly, Christine Knoblauch, Michelle Lees, Roni Mahler, Carmen Mathe, Kevin McKenzie, Yvonne Meyer, Ivan Nagy, Kirk Peterson, Dennis Poole, Stuart Sebastion, Andrea Vodehnal. Soloists included James Capp, Roy Gean, Helen Heineman, Judith Helman, Hiller Huhn, Linda Kintz, James Maher, Lucy Maybury, Patricia Mideke, Jane Miller, Judith Reese, Judy Rhodes, Judith Rigler, Ilona Russell, Thomas Russell, Christine Spizzo, Frederic Strobel, James Thompson, Franklin Yezer. Corps de Ballet included Mariana Alvarez, Charlotte Belcher, Roger Bigelow, Phyllis Blake, Karen Brown, Nancy Davis, Evelyn Ebel, Susan Frazer, Susan Gore, Katherine Laqueur, Maxine Mahon, Sheryl McKechnie, Andrea Price, Betty Risen, Susan Smith, Patricia Sorrell, Llanchie Stevenson, and James Thompson. Guest artists included Dame

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE ( Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn (), was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with th ...

of 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 ...

, and

Violette Verdy Violette Verdy (born Nelly Armande Guillerm; 1 December 1933 – 8 February 2016) was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in the ...

Patricia McBride Patricia McBride (born August 23, 1942) is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet. McBride joined the New York City Ballet in 1959. She became a principal in 1961, becoming the company's youngest principal. ...

and

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 ...

of the

. Other guest artists included Gaye Fulton of the Zurich Ballet Company, Fleming Flint of the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

, and Seija Simonen of the Helsinki Dance Company of Finland. The first graduates of the National Ballet School to be accepted into the company were Sheryl McKechnie, Judy Rhodes and Betty Risen.

Staff

Ralph Black, former manager of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

was General Manager. Oleg Tupine was the Ballet Master. Ottavio DeRosa was Principal Conductor. James McInnes was Associate Conductor. James Gamble was Stage Manager. May Ishimoto was costumer.

Repertoire

The repertoire of the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., included

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

Les Sylphides () is a short, non-narrative '' ballet blanc'' to piano music by Frédéric Chopin, selected and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie","Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact disk of ABT's product ...

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

, Coppelia Con Amore, Homage au ballet,

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

''Pas de Dix'',

Sylvia (ballet) ''Sylvia'', originally ''Sylvia, ou La nymphe de Diane'', is a full-length classical ballet in two or three act (theatre), acts, first choreography, choreographed by Louis Mérante to music by Léo Delibes. The ballet's premiere took place on ...

Pas de Deux, Bachianas Brasileiras, Tribute, Legend of the Pearl, Night Song,

Four Temperaments The four temperament theory is a proto-psychological theory which suggests that there are four fundamental personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. Most formulations include the possibility of mixtures among the types ...

, La sonnambula (Balanchine), Othello, Danse Brilliante, Le Combat, and

Serenade (ballet) ''Serenade'' is a ballet by George Balanchine to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky's 1880 ''Serenade for Strings (Tchaikovsky), Serenade for Strings in C'', Op. 48. Serenade is credited as being George Balanchine's first full-length balle ...

References

External links

National Ballet of Washington, DC on Facebook

Enchantment Comes with National Ballet
by Bruce Dunning, St. Petersburg Times, January 24, 1966. {{authority control Defunct ballet companies in the United States Dance in Washington, D.C. Musical groups established in 1962 1962 establishments in Washington, D.C. Musical groups disestablished in 1974 1974 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.