Ruth Pryor (1906-2001) was a Chicago

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer and instructor, and the first American ballerina to dance the role of the Swan Queen in

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

, in 1930. She was known for "her feat of whirling thirty-six times a minute on her toes," according to th
Purple Parrot
of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Dance career

Like many ballet dancers, Pryor began her career while she was a child, and appeared in her first show “Blossoms” at the age of 14. Pryor continued her career as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer, appearing with Beatrice Gardel in “Dances Here and There.” During the 1920s, Pryor danced as a soloist for the

Chicago Civic Opera Company The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financia ...

and Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet Company and School, participating in some of the successful productions of ''

'' and ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

''. Pryor spent the 1930s in touring companies, and performed with the Merhoff Quartet in the 1940s. She corresponded with dance critic

Ann Barzel Ann Barzel (December 13, 1905 – February 12, 2007) was an American writer, critic and lecturer on dance. Biography In 1920, Barzel moved to Chicago. Her first Chicago dance teachers were Mark Turbyfill and Adolph Bolm. From about 1931 to ...

. She founded the Ballet Russe Academy in 1950, and the Ballet Theater Dance School in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, which she ran for 25 years. Canadian dancer John Begg began teaching for Ruth Pryor in 1959. She also helped found ballet companies in Cleveland and

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

. She continued to have a successful career into the 1970s. In 1972, Dennis Nahat and former Pryor student, Ernie (Ian) Horvath purchased her one-room studio in the sub basement of the Masonic Temple in downtown Cleveland. The new school was named Cleveland Dance Center, soon to become the official School of the new Cleveland Ballet. Her students included Dick Blake, Joyce B. Kneuss, Cheryl Rauschenberger, Ian Horvath, and Denise Gula. Pryor died in 2001, at age 94.

References

External links

Ruth Pryor papers
at

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

1906 births 2001 deaths American ballerinas 20th-century American women 20th-century American ballet dancers {{ballet-stub Dancers from Chicago Educators from Chicago American dance teachers