Patricia Neary (born October 27, 1942) is an American ballerina, choreographer and ballet director, who has been particularly active in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. She has also been an ambassador for the Balanchine Trust, bringing

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 ...

's ballets to 60 cities around the globe.

Biography

Born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida, she first studied there under George Milenoff and Thomas Armour until she attended the

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 ...

in New York. At the age of 14, she joined the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

as the youngest dancer in the company. In 1960, she became a member of 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' ...

where she performed almost all the ballerina roles in George Balanchine's major works, including two roles he created specially for her in ''

Raymonda Variations ''Raymonda Variations'', formerly titled ''Valses et Variations'', is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to excepts from Alexander Glazunov's score for the 1898 ballet '' Raymonda''. Instead of following the plot of the 1898 ballet, the ...

'' (1961) and ''

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 ...

'' (1967). She also performed leading roles in ballets by

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 ...

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-1950 ...

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 ...

and

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

. In 1968, she joined the Geneva Ballet where she performed in and staged Balanchine's ballets. She also made guest appearances in Stuttgart, Hamburg and Hannover. She worked as assistant ballet mistress with the ballet of the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

from 1970 to 1973. With Balanchine acting as artistic advisor, she was appointed director of ballet at the

Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, official ...

(1973–78). From 1978 to 1985, she served as ballet director of the Zurich Ballet, then of

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in Milan (1986–87). As artistic director of

Ballet British Columbia Ballet BC is a contemporary ballet company located in Vancouver, British Columbia. History Ballet BC is a professional contemporary ballet company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company was founded as Ballet British Columbia b ...

(1989–90), she choreographed ''Variations Concertantes'' with music by

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Buen ...

. Since 1988, she has worked as an ambassador for the Balanchine Trust, bringing his works to some 60 cities in Europe, the Far East and across the United States.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neary, Patricia 1942 births American ballerinas American choreographers Ballet mistresses Artists from Miami Living people 21st-century American women