Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the

Feld Ballet Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the Feld Ballet and Ballet Tech, are deeply committed to dance an ...

and Ballet Tech, are deeply committed to dance and dance education in New York City. Feld has choreographed 149 ballets since 1967, with his work being performed by such companies as

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

, the

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric O ...

, the Juilliard School, New York City Ballet, the New York City Opera, and

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

, among many others.

Life and career

Feld was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Alice (née Posner), a travel agent, and Benjamin Noah Feld, an attorney. Feld attended the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was m ...

in New York, and studied at 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 ...

and the New Dance Group, as well as with

Richard Thomas Richard Thomas or Dick Thomas may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Dick Thomas (singer) (1915–2003), American singing cowboy and actor * Richard Thomas (actor) (born 1951), American actor * Richard Thomas (author) (born 1967), Americ ...

and

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human con ...

. He performed as a child 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 original production of '' The Nutcracker'' as the Nutcracker Prince; and later with the companies of Mary Anthony, Pearl Lang, and

Sophie Maslow Sophie Maslow (March 22, 1911 – June 25, 2006) was an American choreographer, modern dancer and teacher, and founding member of New Dance Group. She was a first cousin of the American sculptor Leonard Baskin. Born in New York City in 1911 by ...

. At sixteen he appeared on Broadway in '' West Side Story'' and was cast as Baby John in the movie version of the musical; during the filming of "Cool" (one of the hardest dances in the film), Feld was sick with pneumonia. His other Broadway credits from this period include ''

I Can Get It for You Wholesale ''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' is a musical, produced by David Merrick, music and lyrics by Harold Rome, and book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, wh ...

'' and ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

''. He appeared on television on '' The Garry Moore Show'' and '' The Ed Sullivan Show''. Later, Feld joined

, leaving at age 25 to form his own company. In the early 1980s, with Cora Cahan, Feld founded the Joyce Theater as a home for the Feld Ballet.Anderson, Jack
"DANCE VIEW; THE FELD CHRISTENS ITS NEW HOME,"
''New York Times'' (May 30, 1982). Feld was also instrumental in the creation of the Lawrence A. Wien Center for Dance & Theater at 890 Broadway in New York.

Feld's companies and schools

In 1967, at the age of twenty-five, Feld broke away from the American Ballet Theatre to form his own company, the American Ballet Company. Feld used his new company, later known simply as Feld Ballet, to explore a variety of dance genres. In 1978, Feld began a ballet school, the New Ballet School. Feld believed that all children should have the opportunity to learn dance, regardless of their family income. In keeping with that philosophy, and in partnership with the

New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

, he auditioned more than 1,500 children at eight New York City public schools; almost 150 students were then enrolled, tuition-free, to a 17-week course at the New Ballet School. Additional dancers at the school were drawn from other troupes and academies. Since its 1978 founding, Feld's school has auditioned more than 900,000 New York City public school students, and invited more than 26,000 children to take free Introduction to Ballet classes. In 1996 the school changed its name to the New York City Public School for Dance. In 1997, Feld merged his school and the Feld Ballet into Ballet Tech, providing a unified organization, and establishing a professional performing outlet for the school's graduates. In 2003, Feld disbanded the Feld Ballet to focus on his schools.Kourlas, Gia
"A School for Young Dancers Grows Up: Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech Program Is Expanding,"
''New York Times'' (JUNE 12, 2013). Today, Ballet Tech’s activities include the tuition-free New York City Public School for Dance, and Kids Dance, a pre-professional children’s group.

Choreography

Feld has choreographed 149 ballets since 1967. His work has been performed by the American Ballet Company,

, the Atlanta Ballet,

, Feld Ballets/NY & Ballet Tech & Kids Dance, the

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

, the Joffrey Ballet, the John Curry Skating Company, the Juilliard School, the London Festival Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the New York City Ballet, the New York City Opera, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Richmond Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this fi ...

, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet, among others. Feld’s choreography also appeared in the revival of the Broadway musical '' On the Town'' (2001), performed in Central Park. In place of the company’s usual summer engagement at the Joyce Theater, Feld included several of his own dancers of the Ballet Tech company. Feld uses aspects from ballet and modern dance and fuses them together in his work. "The down of one, the up of the other — both beauties attracted me, I think I've spent my choreographic life trying in some way to reconcile, cope, deal with these two elements. He claims to have always "loved the pointe shoe." Feld's works are varied and contain anything from off-beat music to

aerobic exercises Aerobic exercise (also known as endurance activities, cardio or cardio-respiratory exercise) is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. "Aerobic" is defined as "relating to, invo ...

, including somersaults, push-ups, sprints, leaps, and calisthenics. Some of his choreography was inspired by Jewish material; other works were influenced by

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

. Feld has choreographed 15 ballets to the music of

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

. ''Pointing 3'', Feld's most recent ballet, premiered in New York in June 2018; it was choreographed for 4 students from the Ballet Tech school, to the second movement of Music for Airports, by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, arranged by David Lang.

Selected choreographic works

* 1967: ''Harbinger'' (May 1967;

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...

) - set to music by Sergei Prokofiev * 1967: ''At Midnight'' (ABT) — set to music by

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

* 1969: ''Intermezzo #1'' — set to waltzes by Johannes BrahmsSmith, Sid
"Eliot Feld Storms Back-- Ballet`s Bad Boy Has Grown Up,"
''Chicago Tribune'' (January 06, 1985). * 1974: ''Tzaddik'' - set to music by Aaron Copland * 1974: ''Sephardic Song'' * 1977: ''A Footstep of Air'' (Eliot Feld Ballet,

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax Count ...

) — set to music by Beethoven * 1978: ''La Vida'' (April 1978, Eliot Feld Ballet,

Plymouth Theatre Plymouth Theatre or Plymouth Theater may refer to: * Plymouth Theatre (Boston) * Plymouth Theatre (Worcester) * Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, New York City, formerly the Plymouth Theatre * H Street Playhouse The H Street Playhouse was a black box ...

) — set to music by Aaron Copland * 1978: ''Santa Fe Saga'' (April 1978; Feld Ballet, Plymouth Theatre) — set to music by Morton Gould, featuring

"Eliot Feld Ballet Set For a Broadway Season,"
''New York Times'' (MARCH 27, 1978). * 1978: ''Half Time'' - set to music by Morton Gould * 1979: ''Danzon Cuban'' — set to music by Aaron CoplandKriegsman, Alan M
"Feld's 'Danzon',"
''Washington Post'' (August 12, 1978). * 1979: ''Papillon''Kriegsman, Alan M
"Eliot Feld: Wised-Up Wunderkind,"
''Washington Post'' (December 23, 1979). * 1982: ''Anatomic Balm'' (Feld Ballet, Joyce Theater) — set to ragtime * 1982: ''Play Bach'' (Feld Ballet, Joyce Theater) — set to Bach * 1982: ''Straw Hearts'' (October 1982, Feld Ballet, Joyce Theater) * 1984: ''Adieu'' (Feld Ballet, Joyce Theater) — dedicated to Feld's late teacher

* 1984: ''The Jig Is Up'' * 1984: ''The Grand Canon'' (Feld Ballet, Joyce Theater) — set to music by

* 1985: ''Against the Sky''- music by

Bela Bartok Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur, ...

Dunning, Jennifer
"THE DANCE: FELD BALLET WITH 'AGAINST THE SKY'," ''New York Times'' (April 4, 1985).
/ref> * 1985: ''Intermezzo No. 2'' - music by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

* 1985: ''Medium: Rare'' — Music by

* 1985: ''Aurora I'' — Music by

* 1985: ''Aurora II'' — Music by

* 1986: ''Echo'' — Music by

* 1986: ''Bent Planes'' — Music by

* 1988: '' The Unanswered Question: Some Intimations of the American Composer Charles Ives'' (April 1988, New York City Ballet, New York State Theatre) — set to

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

' ''

The Unanswered Question ''The Unanswered Question'' is a musical work by American composer Charles Ives. Originally paired with ''Central Park in the Dark'' as ''Two Contemplations'' in 1908, ''The Unanswered Question'' was revised by Ives in 1930–1935. As with many ...

'' * 1988: ''Kore'' — Music by

* 1990: ''Ion'' — Music by

* 1991: ''Clave'' — Music by

* 1992: ''Hello Fancy'' * 1993: ''The Relative Disposition of the Parts'' (March 1993, Feld Ballets/NY, Joyce Theater) — set to Bach's orchestral suitesKisselgoff, Anna
"Review/Dance; The Feld Shows Off Its Young Pupils With a Gala,"
''New York Times'' (March 6, 1993). * 1995: ''Chi'' — Music by

* 1995: ''Tongue and Groove'' — Music by

* 2004: ''Proverb'' — Music by

* 2004: ''A Stair Dance'' — Music by

* 2004: '' Backchat'' (April 2004; Ballet Tech, Joyce Theater) — set to "Idle Chatter Junior" by

Paul Lansky Paul Lansky (born June 18, 1944, in New York) is an American composer. Biography Paul Lansky (born 1944) is an American composer. He was educated at Manhattan's High School of Music and Art, Queens College and Princeton University, studying wit ...

* 2005: ''Sir Isaac’s Apples'' — Music by

- commissioned by The Juilliard School * 2008: ''Isis In Transit'' — Music by

* 2008: ''Dotty Polkas'' — set to music by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

and Josef Strauss * 2008: ''Quickstep'' — set to music by Steve Martland * 2013: ''Upside Dance'' — set to Scandinavian folk music * 2014: ''KYDZNY'' — set to music performed by the Raya Brass Band * 2015: ''A Yankee Doodle'' (June 2015, Kids Dance/Ballet Tech, Joyce Theater) * 2017: ''Pointing 1'' — set to music by

Julia Wolfe Julia Wolfe (born December 18, 1958) is an American composer and professor of music at New York University. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', Wolfe's music has "long inhabited a terrain of its own, a place where classical forms are rech ...

* 2018: ''Pointing 2'' — set to music by

* 2018: ''Pointing 3'' — set to music by

, arranged by David Lang

Accolades

Feld has been honored with numerous awards, including the John Simon

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

(1969), the Dance Magazine Award (1990), and an honorary doctorate degree from Juilliard (1991).

References

External links

* * * ''Ballet Tech'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Feld, Eliot 1942 births Ballet teachers Ballet choreographers Jewish American male actors American male ballet dancers Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Living people Jewish dancers People from Brooklyn New York City Ballet Diamond Project choreographers Choreographers of New York City Ballet Eliot Feld