Valerie Elizabeth Bettis (December 1919 – 26 September 1982) was an American

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

r and choreographer. She found success in musical theatre,

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 ...

, and as a solo dancer.

Biography

Valerie Bettis was born on either December 19 or December 20, 1919 in Houston, Texas. Her parents were Royal Holt Bettis and Valerie Elizabeth Bettis (McCarthy). Her father died when she was thirteen years old, after which her mother married Hugh Prather. In 1943, Bettis married Bernardo Segall, who was then her company's music director, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1955. In 1959, she married Arthur A. Schmidt who died in 1969. On September 26, 1982, Bettis died at

Beth Israel Medical Center Mount Sinai Beth Israel is a 799-bed teaching hospital in Manhattan. It is part of the Mount Sinai Health System, a nonprofit health system formed in September 2013 by the merger of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center, an ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

at the age of 62.

Career

Valerie Bettis found success both as a

r and as a choreographer, often both in the same production. She was known for her "versatility, vivid stage presence, and flamboyant theatricality."

Early career

Bettis began taking

lessons in her hometown of Houston, Texas at the age of 10. While in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, she participated in her school's dramas and musicals. She attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

for only one year, where she was a member of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...

, before moving to New York City to study modern dance under

Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman Bo ...

. She performed and toured with Holm's company from 1937 through 1940. In 1941, Bettis formed her own dance ensemble and began her career as a solo dancer. She found early success with her 1943 solo dance ''The Desperate Heart'', which incorporated the poem of the same name by

John Malcolm Brinnin John Malcolm Brinnin (September 13, 1916 – June 26, 1998) was a Canadian-born American poet and literary critic. Life and work Brinnin was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to American parents John A. Brinnin and Frances Malcolm Brinnin ...

. New York Times dance critic John Martin listed it among the most outstanding performances of 1943.

Louis Horst Louis Horst (born January 12, 1884, Kansas City, Missouri – died January 23, 1964, New York City) was a composer, and pianist. He helped to define the principles of modern dance choreographic technique, most notably the matching of choreography t ...

described ''The Desperate Heart'' as "the finest solo work in the entire modern dance repertory of this decade."

Ballet

In 1947, Bettis choreographed with a major

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe which performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round ba ...

. Her production of ''Virginia Sampler'', as performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, was called "an interesting and unsuccessful experiment." In 1948, Bettis adapted, directed, and choreographed

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

's novel ''

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...

'' fusing acting and dance into a dance play. John Martin, ''The New York Times'' dance critic, called it "a completely authoritative work of art." Doris Hering of ''Dance Magazine'' wrote "Only an artist with the deepest feeling for movement and drama could have worked the wonders Miss Bettis did with the material at hand." Bettis's next attempt at a dance play, ''Domino Furioso'', which premiered the 1949

American Dance Festival The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also ho ...

, was less successful, attracting mixed reviews: "attractive" and "easy to take in", Hering this time wrote, "If Miss Bettis is not careful she will talk us all to death." Bettis found success in 1952 when she choreographed a ballet based on the

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

play ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

''. Critics described it as "gripping" and a "stunning, explosive creation."

Musical theatre

Bettis first tried her hand at musical comedies when she choreographed and performed in ''Glad to See You'' in 1944. In 1948, she won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for her performance in '' Inside U.S.A.'', a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

that would run for nearly 400 performances at the

New Century Theatre The New Century Theatre was a Broadway theater in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at 205–207 West 58th Street and 926–932 Seventh Avenue. Opened on October 6, 1921, as Jolson's 59th Street Theatre, the theater was desig ...

and the

Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished * Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed b ...

. Her performance in the 1950 revue ''Bless You All'' was praised by Life magazine both for her dancing and for her singing abilities.

Movies

Rita Hayworth's dances to the songs "Trinidad Lady" and "I've Been Kissed Before" (in the 1952 movie '' Affair in Trinidad''), as well as the "Dance of the Seven Veils" (in the 1953 movie '' Salome'') were choreographed by Valerie Bettis.

Selected choreography

*''The Desperate Heart'' (1943) *''Yerma'' (1946) *''Virginia Sampler'' (1947) *''As I Lay Dying'' (1948) *''Domino Furioso (1949) *''The Golden Round'' (1955) *''The Past Perfect Hero'' (1958) *''Closed Door'' (1959) *''Early Voyagers'' (1960) *''Songs and Processions'' (1964) *''Echoes of Spoon River'' (1976)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bettis, Valerie 1920 births 1982 deaths American choreographers American female dancers Donaldson Award winners Modern dancers Entertainers from Houston 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American women