Jorge Cuevas Bartholín, known as George de Cuevas (1885 – 22 February 1961), was a
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an-born
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 ...
impresario
An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer.
Hist ...
and choreographer who was best known for the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas that he formed in 1944.
Life and career
Cuevas was born as Jorge Cuevas Bartholín in 1885 in
Santiago, Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...
, a son of Eduardo Cuevas Avaria (1821–1897), a prominent Chilean politician and former diplomat, and his third wife, the former María Manuela del Carmen Bartholín de la Guarda, who was half Danish. He had five siblings: Roberto, Luís, Enrique, Sara, and Carmela. He also had 11 half-siblings from his father's previous marriages.
Though Cuevas was apparently homosexual, he married
Margaret Rockefeller Strong
Margaret Rockefeller Strong (1897–1985) was an American heiress.
She was the daughter of Elizabeth "Bessie" Rockefeller (1866–1906) and Dr. Charles Augustus Strong (1862–1940). Her maternal grandfather was Standard Oil co-founder John D ...
, a granddaughter of
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
, in Paris on 3 August 1927. Around the time of the wedding, Cuevas had been serving as a secretary at the Chilean legation in London; the bride had been raised in Italy and studied chemistry at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. The Cuevases had two children, John (born 1931) and Elizabeth (born 1929, aka Bessie, later sculpto Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas .Staff ''
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 ...
'', 23 February 1961. Accessed 5 November 2008. Some sources state that Cuevas was the eighth Marquis de Piedrablanca y Guana, but others state that the title originated in a 1931 petition by Cuevas to King
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
, but was not confirmed due to the latter's abdication. The title of Marquis de Piedrablanca y Guana was first granted to the conquistador Pedro Cortes de Monroy.
He became a
naturalized citizen
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in July 1940 at the
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County.New York World's Fair that included old masters and French moderns borrowed from private collections and valued at $30 million.
He founded a new ballet company as the ''Ballet International'' in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1944, performing at a now-destroyed theater in
Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the so ...
. The company was variously called the ''Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo'' or the ''Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas'', but was most commonly called ''The de Cuevas Ballet'' by theatergoers.
In 1947,
Rosella Hightower
Rosella Hightower (January 10, 1920 – November 4, 2008) was an American ballerina and member of the Choctaw Nation who achieved fame in both the United States and Europe.
Biography
Rosella Hightower was born in Durwood, Carter County, Oklahoma ...
accepted an invitation from Cuevas to join his new ballet company. The presence there of choreographer
was one of the major factors in Hightower's decision. Nijinska choreographed for Hightower the "glitteringly virtuosic" ''Rondo Capriccioso''. In addition to classic dances, Hightower's performances included ''Piège de Lumière'' by
John Taras
John Taras (April 18, 1919 – April 2, 2004) was an American ballet master, repetiteur, and choreographer.
Early life and education
Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to Ukrainian parents, he was sent at age 16 to study balle ...
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 ...
'' (4 November 2008).
A 1953 costume party in
Biarritz
Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...
featured 2,000 guests, of 4,000 invitees, who wore 18th-century costumes. Cuevas, dressed in gold lamé and a headdress with towering ostrich plumes, came dressed as the "King of Nature."
On 30 March 1958, at age 72, Cuevas faced off against the 52-year-old retired ballet master and choreographer
Serge Lifar
Serge Lifar ( ua, Сергій Михайлович Лифар, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian ballet dancer and choreographer, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. No ...
in a duel in France. The duel was precipitated by an argument over changes to ''Black and White'' (''
Suite en Blanc
''Suite en Blanc'', later retitled ''Noir et Blanc'', is a ballet choreographed by Serge Lifar to music from Édouard Lalo's ballet '' Namouna''. The first performance, by the Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet comp ...
''), a ballet by Lifar that was being presented by the Cuevas ballet company. Lifar had his face slapped in public after insisting that he retained the rights to ''Black and White''. Lifar sent his seconds to Cuevas who refused to extend an apology and chose to duel with swords. As duels had been "technically outlawed" in the 17th Century, the time and location of the duel were not disclosed to the public. The duel was conducted in front of 50 newspaper photographers and ended with the two combatants in tears and embraces in what ''
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 ...
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 ...
'', 30 March 1958. Accessed 5 November 2008.
The final success of his career was a production of '' The Sleeping Beauty'' that debuted in Paris in October 1960 and was well received by critics. His doctors allowed him to attend the ballet's premiere, with Cuevas noting that "if I am going to die, I will die backstage." He was rolled onto the stage in a wheelchair after the performance to a standing ovation from the audience.
George de Cuevas died at age 75 on 22 February 1961, at his villa, Les Délices, in Cannes. His troupe was to have opened ''Sleeping Beauty'' in Cannes the night after Cuevas died, and it canceled the performance in his memory.
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...