Maria Calegari (born March 30, 1957) is an American ballet dancer, teacher and

répétiteur A (from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. A feminine form, , also appears but is comparatively rare. Opera In opera, a is the perso ...

. 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 1974 and became a principal dancer in 1983. She left the company in 1994, then occasionally performed until 2004. She also teaches ballet and began working as a répétiteur for the Balanchine Trust and Robbins Rights Trust in 1996 and 2003 respectively.

Early life and training

Calegari was born on March 30, 1957, in New York. She was raised in

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fresh Meado ...

. She received her ballet training locally before entering the School of American Ballet in 1971, when she was 13, and was taught by

Alexandra Danilova Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized f ...

. In 1974, at the school's annual workshop performance, she danced excerpts from Danilova's staging of Petipa's ''

Paquita ''Paquita'' is a ballet in two acts and three scenes originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. Paul Foucher received royalties as librettist. History ''Paquita'' is the creation of French comp ...

''.

Career

Calegari joined the

in 1974. Within a few years, she started being cast in principal and solo roles, several by George Balanchine, including the first movement in his '' Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3'', and a televised performance of ''Divertimento No. 15''. She also started understudying roles for principal dancers. In 1981, she originated a role in

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...

' ''Suite From Histoire du Soldat'', then was promoted to soloist that spring. Later that year, at the company's Tchaikovsky Festival, she originated roles for

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

and Joseph Duell, in '' Piano Pieces'' and ''Introduction and Fugue'' respectively. In the former,

Suzanne Farrell Suzanne Farrell (born August 16, 1945) is an American ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Farrell began her ballet training at the age of eight. In 1960, she received a scholarship ...

was originally cast in her role but she did not have time to rehearse due to scheduling conflict with other ballets at the festival, therefore Calegari created the role and performed it on opening night. Towards the end of the festival, two principal women were injured, so Calegari took over many roles danced by them, in addition to roles she was already cast in. On one weekend at the end of the season, she danced principal roles in every ballet performed. In 1982, she originated a role in Robbins' ''The Gershwin Concerto''. Calegari was promoted to principal dancer in 1983, though Balanchine died the same year. She originated roles in Robbins' ''

Glass Pieces ''Glass Pieces'' is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to music by Philip Glass, costumes designed by Ben Benson, lighting designed by Ronald Bates and production designed by Robbins and Bates. The ballet was premiered on May 12, 1983, at ...

'' (1983), ''

Antique Epigraphs ''Antique Epigraphs'' is a ballet made on New York City Ballet by ballet master Jerome Robbins to an orchestrated version of Debussy's '' Six épigraphes antiques'', L131, for piano, four hands, from 1914: *“Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d' ...

'' (1984), ''Eight Lines'' (1985), ''

Ives, Songs ''Ives, Songs'' is a ballet made by New York City Ballet ballet master Jerome Robbins to songs of Charles Ives: * "The Children's Hour" * "Memories, Part A: Very Pleasant" * "Waltz" * "The Cage" * "The See'r" * "Two Little Flowers" * "At the Riv ...

'' (1988), Robbins and

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

's '' Brahms/Handel'' (1984) and La Fosse's ''Waltz Trilogy'' (1991). She danced lead roles in various Balanchine ballets, including '' Agon'', '' Serenade'', '' Swan Lake'', ''

Chaconne A chaconne (; ; es, chacona, links=no; it, ciaccona, links=no, ; earlier English: ''chacony'') is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short rep ...

'', ''

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

'', '' Mozartiana'', ''

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

'', ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

'', '' Symphony in C'', '' Liebeslieder Walzer'' ''

Vienna Waltzes ''Vienna Waltzes'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár and Richard Strauss, made as a tribute to Austria. It premiered on June 23, 1977 at the New York State Theater, performed by the N ...

'', ''

Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze ''Robert Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze”'' is one of the last major works made by New York City Ballet's founding choreographer and balletmaster-in-chief, George Balanchine. It is set to Robert Schumann's ''Davidsbündlertänze'' (''Dance ...

'', ''

Western Symphony ''Western Symphony'' is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to American folk tunes arranged by Hershy Kay. It premiered on September 7, 1954 at the City Center of Music and Drama in New ...

'', '' Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet'', ''Variations Pour une Porte et un Soupir'', and '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as Titania. She also danced Robbins' '' In the Night'', '' Afternoon of a Faun'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' The Cage'', as well as Helgi Tómasson's ''Menuetto''. She also performed principal roles in televised performances of Balanchine's ''Apollo'', ''Vienna Waltzes'', ''Union Jack'' and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. Calegari left the New York City Ballet in 1994. She then gave occasional performances, including with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, until 2004. She also began teaching ballet, including at her Connecticut-based school between 2002 and 2004. She began staging works on behalf of the Balanchine Trust and Robbins Rights Trust in 1996 and 2003 respectively, including for

the Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, American Ballet Theatre,

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

and Boston Ballet. In 2010, she and Bart Cook opened CaleCo Ballet Studio in North Salem, New York. In 2011, she was among 30 ballerinas awarded the Jerome Robbins Award.

Personal life

Calegari is married to Bart Cook, also a New York City Ballet principal dancer.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calegari, Maria 1957 births 20th-century American ballet dancers 21st-century American ballet dancers American ballerinas Balanchine Trust repetiteurs Ballet teachers Dancers from New York (state) Entertainers from New York City Living people New York City Ballet principal dancers People from Bayside, Queens Prima ballerinas School of American Ballet alumni