Ronald Bates (July 14, 1932 - August 25, 1986) was an American ballet lighting designer, particularly for 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 and career

Bates was born in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

in 1932. He studied scenic design at

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

after serving in the Navy. He worked as a stage manager while still in college and after two years of doing so in California, came to New York and worked in that capacity on opera productions for Lincoln Kirstein, City Ballet's co-founder. Bates began working for

in 1957 as a production stage manager. After working at the

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Stratford is in the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled ...

Mozart and Shakespeare Festivals, and for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Opera Company in New York City, he joined NYCB at Kirstein's invitation and remained as production stage manager for over 20 years. His duties included planning and executing the technical aspects of staging the ballets at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...

, of which he was also technical director. He also was in charge of the transportation of lights and scenery for the production of ballets at the company's summer home in

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

and on tour, both stateside and overseas. Bates was resident lighting designer for City Ballet and a close collaborator with founding balletmaster (and co-founder)

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 ...

and co-founding balletmaster

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 ...

. He was an authority on dance floors and stage floor construction and renovated the

Palm Beach Auditorium Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm ( ...

for the

Palm Beach Festival Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm ( ...

. He travelled internationally to direct technical production and reproduce his lighting designs for NYCB productions staged by other companies, especially at the Zurich Ballet, where former NYCB principal dancer

Patricia Neary Patricia Neary (born October 27, 1942) is an American ballerina, choreographer and ballet director, who has been particularly active in Switzerland. She has also been an ambassador for the Balanchine Trust, bringing George Balanchine's ballets to ...

was artistic director. Along with Balanchine and Perry Silvey, Bates developed the "Balanchine basket-weave floor," which helped reduce injuries for dancers.

Personal life

Bates was married to Diana Adams, who was once a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Their marriage ended in divorce. They had a daughter, Georgina.

Death

Bates died of a heart attack in his Manhattan home on August 25, 1986, at the age of 54.Dunning, Jennifer, ''The New York Times'', 26 August 1986,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Ronald Ballet designers 1932 births 1986 deaths *Ronald Bates