Allegra Kent (born August 11, 1937) is an American

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

, actress, children's book author and columnist.

Life and career

Iris Margo Cohen was born to Jewish parents, Harry Herschel and Shirley (née Weissman) Cohen, and later changed her name to Allegra Kent. Kent grew up in what she later described as a dysfunctional environment. In ''Once a Dancer: An Autobiography'', she describes her

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

father – "who liked to substitute 'Cowboy' for Herschel" – as having "a gambler's soul and a restless nature". She describes her Wisznice-born immigrant mother as feeling "neither European nor American; she was ashamed of her wnparents. She borrowed a neighbor's working papers and took a job at twelve. By fourteen, she was teaching ballroom dancing at night in someone's private home, mostly to Japanese men". Born in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, Kent studied with

Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...

and Carmelita Maracci before joining the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

. She discovered music and dance at the age of 7 and enjoyed both, but she was 11 before she took her first ballet lesson. She had completely flat feet as a little girl and consulted a doctor, who prescribed wedges in her shoes to give her arches. She then began taking

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 ...

. After graduating, she joined 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' ...

in 1953 at the age of 15, and was promoted to principal in 1957. Many roles in

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 ...

's ballets were created for her, including ''

Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

'', ''

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 Ball ...

'' and ''

Bugaku is a Japanese traditional dance that has been performed to select elites, mostly in the Japanese imperial court, for over twelve hundred years. In this way, it has been known only to the nobility, although after World War II, the dance was ope ...

''. She danced the role of Dewdrop in the 1958

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology series, anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology dr ...

telecast of Balanchine's version of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

''. She performed in such ballets as '' Serenade'', '' Agon'' and ''

Dances at a Gathering ''Dances at a Gathering'' is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to music by Frédéric Chopin, with costumes designed by Joe Eula. The ballet premiered on May 22, 1969, at the New York State Theater, performed by the New York City Ballet ...

''. She retired in 1981, becoming a ballet teacher, and in 1997 published an autobiography, ''Once a Dancer''. In 2012, Kent published her first book for children, ''Ballerina Swan'', with Holiday House Books for Young People, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist

Emily Arnold McCully Emily Arnold McCully (born July 1, 1939) is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's books. She won the annual Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration in 1993 recognizing ''Mirette on the High Wire'' which she ...

. It received good reviews from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', and ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

''. In 2013, ''Ballerina Swan'' was adapted for the stage as a dance piece by the New York City Children's Theater, featuring choreographer Michael McGowan and artistic director Barbara Zinn Krieger. The adaptation received positive reviews by ''

'', '' Time Out New York Kids'', and others. Due to its success, in December 2015, New York City Children's Theater produced a revival of "Ballerina Swan." Kent currently teaches ballet at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

.Profile
Barnard College Dance Department, barnard.edu; retrieved March 1, 2015.

References

Notes Bibliography *Kent, Allegra (1997) ''Once a Dancer: An Autobiography''. New York, St. Martin's Press. *Clarke, Mary and Vaughan, David eds. (1977) ''The Encyclopedia of Dance & Ballet''. Rainbird Reference Books Ltd.; ,

Ballerinagallery.com; accessed November 10, 2014.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Allegra 1937 births American ballerinas Prima ballerinas Ballet teachers Living people People from Greater Los Angeles School of American Ballet alumni American people of Polish-Jewish descent People from Santa Monica, California