Melissa Hayden (born Mildred Herman, April 25, 1923,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

; died August 9, 2006,

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

) was a Canadian

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

at 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' ...

Early life

Hayden was born in Toronto as the second daughter of Jacob Herman and his wife Kate Weinberg, Jewish immigrants from Russia. The young Mildred was called ''Millie'' at home, a nickname she kept for the rest of her life.

Career

In the early 1940s, she moved to New York City to join the ballet corps at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

. From 1945 to 1947, she was a member of the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

; she joined the

shortly after its founding in 1948. She performed there many times with dancer Jacques d'Amboise. From 1955 until her retirement in 1973, Hayden was a principal dancer of the New York City Ballet.

Film and television

Hayden appeared frequently on television, especially ''

The Kate Smith Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' and ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

''. In 1952 she performed as the

dance double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

for

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...

in the film '' Limelight''. In 1965, she was seen on American television as the Sugar Plum Fairy in a one-hour German-American adaptation of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

''. Filmed in 1964 and first shown in the United States by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

just four days before Christmas 1965, the production, with a heavily altered storyline, featured an international cast of dancers and English narration by

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

Edward Villella Edward Villella (born October 1, 1936) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer of ballet at the time. He has won numerous awards, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Outst ...

and

Patricia McBride Patricia McBride (born August 23, 1942 in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet. McBride joined the New York City Ballet in 1959. She became a principal in 1961, becoming the company's ...

also starred.

Retirement

After appearing in over 60 ballets, mainly works by

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 ...

, Hayden retired as a dancer in 1973. Balanchine honored her on her retirement by creating the ballet "Cortege Hongrois". At the premiere of the piece,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

presented Hayden with the city's

Handel Medallion The Handel Medallion is an American award presented by the City of New York. It is the city's highest award given to individuals for their contribution to the city's intellectual and cultural life. Establishment The award was first issued in 19 ...

, praising her as an "extraordinary ballerina who has filled the hearts of her audience with joy". After her retirement, she became head of the ballet department at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. History Sk ...

, and taught ballet at the School of Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, and in New York City, where she opened her own school. From 1983 until just a month before her death, she taught at the

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 ...

in Winston-Salem, where she stressed the importance of the Balanchine technique. She rehearsed and staged some of Balanchine's most demanding works including ''

Concerto Barocco ''Concerto Barocco'' is a neoclassical ballet made for students at the School of American Ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently ballet master and co-founder of New York City Ballet, to Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two V ...

'', and the masterful ''Theme & Variations''.

Marriage and children

Hayden married lawyer-businessman Donald Coleman. The couple had two children.Rose Anne Thom
''Jewish Women Archive''
/ref> Hayden died at her home in Winston-Salem of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

, aged 83.

Published works

Hayden was also an author of several books: * Melissa Hayden, Offstage and On (1963) * Ballet Exercises for Figure, Grace & Beauty (1969) * Dancer to Dancer: Advice for Today's Dancer (1981) * The Nutcracker Ballet, illustrated by Stephen Johnson (1992)

References

Bibliography

* Gustaitis, Rasa: Melissa Hayden Ballerina. Nelson. 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Melissa 1923 births 2006 deaths Deaths from cancer in North Carolina Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Canadian Jews Jewish dancers Canadian ballerinas Canadian female dancers Deaths from pancreatic cancer New York City Ballet principal dancers People from Toronto