Diana Adams (March 29, 1926 – January 10, 1993) was a principal dancer 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' ...

from 1950 to 1963 and favorite of

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 ...

, later becoming a teacher at — and dean of — 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 ...

. Adams was born in

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

and died in

San Andreas, California San Andreas (Spanish for "St. Andrew") is an unincorporated census-designated place and the county seat of Calaveras County, California. The population was 2,783 at the 2010 census, up from 2,615 at the 2000 census. Like most towns in the regio ...

, though lived in

Arnold, California Arnold is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 3,843 at the 2010 census, down from 4,218 at the 2000 census. Arnold is located on State Route 4. History Arnold is named after Bob and ...

.Diana Adams, Leading Ballerina And Dance Educator, Dies at 66 - NYTimes.com
Retrieved 2016-11-19. Adams was married to

Hugh Laing Hugh Laing (6 June 191110 May 1988) was one of the most significant dramatic ballet dancers of the 20th-century. He danced with Marie Rambert's Ballet Club and New York City Ballet. He was the partner of choreographer Antony Tudor. Biography ...

from 1947 to 1953. She later married

Ronald Bates Ronald Bates (July 14, 1932 - August 25, 1986) was an American ballet lighting designer, particularly for the New York City Ballet. Early life and career Bates was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1932. He studied scenic design at Los Angeles City ...

. Adams had one child, Georgina Bates. Diana Adams was one of George Balanchine’s “muses” at New York City Ballet and he created roles for her in a series of ballets: ''

Western Symphony ''Western Symphony'' is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to American folk tunes arranged by Hershy Kay. It premiered on September 7, 1954 at the City Center of Music and Drama in New ...

Ivesiana ''Ivesiana'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to compositions by Charles Ives. The ballet premiered on September 14, 1954, four months after Ives's death, at the City Center of Music and Drama, performed by the New York City Ball ...

, Divertimento #15, Agon, Stars and Stripes,

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...

Monumentum Pro Gesualdo ''Monumentum pro Gesualdo'' is a ballet by the New York City Ballet (NYCB) co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine to music by Igor Stravinsky composed in honor of the 400th birthday of the composer Carlo Gesualdo and consisting of Stravins ...

,'' and '' Liebeslieder Walzer''. According to Jacques D’Amboise’s memoirs, Balanchine also created roles on her in ''Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Figure in the Carpet, Midsummer Night’s Dream,'' and ''

Movements for Piano and Orchestra ''Movements'' is a sequence of five pieces for piano and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky lasting under ten minutes altogether. It was written during his Serial period and shows his dedication to that idiom as well as the influence of Anton Webern. ...

'', although she did not dance in the premieres due to illness or injury.

Filmography

* '' Knock on Wood'' (1954) * '' Invitation to the Dance'' (1956)

References

External links

* *
A scene from Invitation to Dance
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, Adams dancing with

Irving Davies Irving Davies (26 April 1926 – 14 October 2002) was a Welsh dancer and choreography (dance), choreographer. Born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales,Brian McFarlane, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of British Film'' (4th edition, 2016), p. 1905 Davies's ...

1926 births 1993 deaths People from Staunton, Virginia Prima ballerinas New York City Ballet dancers Ballet teachers People from Calaveras County, California American ballerinas Dancers from California Dancers from Virginia {{ballet-bio-stub