Jennifer A. Homans (born 1960) is an American historian, author, and dance critic. Her book ''Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet'' was a finalist for the
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English". By the time she was a teenager, Homans had enrolled in dance classes at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
and eventually left the state for more serious training at the
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...
and
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 ...
. After dancing professionally with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Homans decided to enroll in
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
at the age of 26. After earning her
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in French literature, she enrolled in
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
(NYU) for her PhD in Modern European History.
Career
Following her PhD, Homans accepted a position as a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU, where she wrote her first book, ''Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet.'' ''Apollo's Angels'' traced back the origins of ballet from the Renaissance to modern times. The book was described by
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 ...
as "the only truly definitive history of ballet". It was a finalist for the
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Claudia La Rocco rebuffed Homans' claims and critiqued the book for its alleged lack of attention to post-
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 ...
developments in ballet, including William Forsythe.
From 2012 to 2013, Homans was granted a
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 ...
as she began writing her second book, a history of George Balanchine. The following year, she established the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to help "establish ballet as a serious subject of academic inquiry." In its inaugural cohort, the institute accepted seven fellows;
John Carrafa
John Carrafa is an American theater and film director/choreographer best known as the two-time Tony Award nominated choreographer of the Broadway musicals ''Urinetown'' and ''Into The Woods'' and the Media Choreography Honors Award winner for the R ...
,
Gregory Mosher
Gregory Mosher (born 1949) is an American director and producer of stage productions at the Lincoln Center and Goodman Theatres, on and off-Broadway, at the Royal National Theatre, and in the West End. He is also a film director and television di ...
,
J. David Velleman
J. David Velleman (born 1952) is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics at New York University and Miller Research Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. He primarily works in the areas of ethics, moral psychology, and rel ...
,
Heather Watts
Heather Watts (born Linda Heather Watts; September 27, 1953) is a ballet dancer, most known for her time with the New York City Ballet.
Biography
Born in Long Beach, California, her dream as a little girl was to be an actress. An acting coa ...
,
Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers worki ...
,
Christopher d'Amboise
Christopher d'Amboise (born 1960) is an American danseur, choreographer, writer, and theatre director.
Born and raised in New York City, the son of dancers Jacques d'Amboise and Carolyn George, d'Amboise became a principal dancer in the New ...
, and John Michael Schert.
In 2016, Homans was selected as a Fellow of the New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. In 2019, Homans' Center for Ballet and the Arts received a three-year $2 million grant. She was also named The New Yorker's dance critic, replacing Joan Acocella.
She was named a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 2021. Her 2022 book Mr. B was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle award in biography.
Personal life
Homans married
Tony Judt
Tony Robert Judt ( ; 2 January 1948 – 6 August 2010) was a British-American historian, essayist and university professor who specialized in European history. Judt moved to New York and served as the Erich Maria Remarque Professor in European ...