Mary Henry Day (January 25, 1910 – July 11, 2006) was an American ballet teacher and arts administrator. She was the founder of

The Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington DC. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day, and has been under the artistic directorship of Julie Kent since 2016. Septime Webre was artistic director for ...

and served as its artistic director until 1997.

Early life

Mary Henry Day was born on January 25, 1910, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and grew up in

Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., located west of the White House and downtown Washington, in the Northwest quadrant. It is bounded roughly by 17th Street NW to the east, Rock Cr ...

. She began studying ballet when she was eleven years old. At fifteen she began studying ballet with

Lisa Gardiner Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...

at the King Smith School. Day then moved to England where she studied at the

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

. After she graduated, she returned to Washington and taught private dance lessons and choreographed children's ballets at local high schools.

Career

Day co-founded The Washington School of Ballet with Lisa Gardiner in 1944. She became the sole director of the school in 1958, after Gardiner's death. In 1967 she reorganized the school and founded an associated professional company,

. In 1997 she announced she would retire from the ballet, officially ending her tenure at the company in 1999, continuing to serve as director of the school until 2004. She died on July 11, 2006. Pupils of the school during Day's tenure included

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

and

Georgia Engel Georgia Bright Engel (July 28, 1948 – April 12, 2019) was an American actress. She is best known for having played Georgette Franklin Baxter in the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' from 1972 to 1977, Pat MacDougall on ''Everybody Loves Ra ...

Legacy

Elvi Moore, former general director of The Washington Ballet, wrote a book on Day titled ''Mary Day: Grande Dame of Dance in the Nation's Capital''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Mary 1910 births 2006 deaths American arts administrators Ballet teachers Dance in Washington, D.C. Women arts administrators