The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New York ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

holdings, and was a dance lover. Harkness funded

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 ...

, but when they refused to rename the company in her honour, 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 ( , , ; oc, Canas) 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 I ...

in 1965, with

George Skibine George Boris SkibineGeorge Boris Skibine in ''South Carolina, Naturalization Records, 1868-1991'' (russian: Юрий Борисович Скибин; Yuri Borisovich Skibin; January 30, 1920 – January 14, 1981), also known as Youra Skibine, was ...

as director,

Marjorie Tallchief Marjorie Tallchief (born Marjorie Louise Tall Chief; October 19, 1926November 30, 2021) was an American ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both fe ...

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 Cente ...

, Skibine, Eric Bruhn, Brian Macdonald and Stuart Hodes, 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 (1968) and joined by Benjamin Harkarvy 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 an historic theatre (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 millio ...

and renamed it The Harkness Theater. The theatre 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 the

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

"Sebastian" (1963) to music of

Gian-Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian 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, he kept ...

, "Monument for a Dead Boy" (1966) by Rudi Van Dantzig (b. 1933) and "Gemini" (1972) by

Vicente Nebrada Vicente Balbino Nebreda Arias (Caracas, Venezuela, March 31, 1920 – ibid, May 26, 2002) was a choreographer and dancer who was considered a Venezuelan pioneer for dance during the 1940s. He was part of the Cátedra de Ballet del Liceo Andrés B ...

(b. 1930). The Harkness House for Ballet Arts, housed in the

Nathaniel L. McCready House The Nathaniel L. McCready House, also known as the Harkness Mansion, is a mansion at 4 East 75th Street on the Upper East Side of New York City. Completed in 1896 for Nathaniel L’Hommediue McCready Jr., during the twentieth century it was occu ...

, 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, 1962) 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 st ...

and

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

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

Notable company dancers

* Christopher Aponte * Maria Eglevsky * Barbara Hancock * Lone Isaksen *

Judith Jamison Judith Ann Jamison (pronounced JAM-ih-son) (born May 10, 1943) is an American dancer and choreographer. She is the artistic director emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Early training Judith Jamison was born in 1943 to Tessie Brown Ja ...

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 cou ...

* Lawrence Rhodes *

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"Harkness Ballet Blog
{{authority control 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