Cynthia Gregory
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Kathleen Gregory (born July 8, 1946) is an American ballerina
.
, Gregory’s parents encouraged her to take up dancing when she was five, hoping exercise would stem a history of childhood illnesses. By age six, she was en pointe. She first appeared on the cover of Dance Magazine
at the age of seven.
Much of Gregory’s early training was with Carmelita Maracci
. Awarded a Ford Foundation
scholarship at age 14 to study with the San Francisco Ballet
, she quickly rose to soloist and became shortly thereafter a principal dancer, while also dancing with the San Francisco Opera
.
Gregory joined American Ballet Theatre
(ABT) in 1965. In 1967, when ABT was on tour in San Francisco, Gregory made an auspicious debut as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake
. Her New York debut in that role later the same year marked her emergence as a major ballerina. The role is one in which her performance is still recognized as definitive. Rudolf Nureyev
called her "America's prima ballerina assoluta."
Gregory’s other lead roles include classical performances in Giselle
, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia
, Don Quixote
, La Sylphide
, as well as contemporary works including The Eternal Idol and At Midnight. At ABT alone, Gregory danced in over eighty works, including over a dozen created for her.
Gregory resigned from ABT in 1991 to pursue a more varied repertoire. She continued to perform as a permanent guest artist with Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Dances...Patrelle and Connecticut Ballet Theatre until ending her public performances in 1992.
Her career included guest performances with leading dance companies of the world, including National Ballet of Canada
, Zurich Ballethttp://www.opernhaus.ch/e/ballett/index.php, San Francisco Ballet
, Vienna State Opera Ballet
, Ballet Nacional de Cuba
, and Stuttgart Ballet
. She also appeared with Linda Ronstadt
in Ronstadt’s music video of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
Gregory presently stages classical ballets, coaches and gives master dance classes for dance companies around the world. Her choreographic works include her solo to Bach’s “Air on the G String,” as well as a two-minute rock video for Campbell's Soup. She has been featured in advertising campaigns for American Express
(“Do you know me? You know my toes!”), Raytheon
, and Rolex
.
Since 1991, Gregory has been Chairman of the Board of Career Transition For Dancers
, a not-for-profit organization that provides career counseling, scholarships and other vital services to dancers who, for reasons of age or injury, are making a career change.
Since 2008, Gregory has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to extending the dream, dance legacy and spirit of Isadora Duncan
.
In 2010, Nevada Ballet Theatre announced that Gregory will act as artistic advisor to the professional company and its affiliated academy. In addition, the Cynthia Gregory Center for Coaching will be established at the company's Las Vegas studios.
’s first annual Dance Award. She is the only two-time recipient annual awards from Dance Educators of America (1981 and 1988). In 1988, the now-defunct magazine New York Woman gave Gregory its first “Showstopper of the Year” award. The New York Public Library
designated her a “Lion of the Performing Arts” in 1989. She received the lifetime-achievement Certificate of Merit from the National Arts Club
in 1991. Hofstra University
awarded Gregory an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1993, and she received an honorary doctorate from State University of New York–Purchase College in 1995.
) in 1966; they were divorced in 1975. She married John Hemminger (a rock music manager and promoter) in 1976; he died in 1984. She married attorney Hilary B. Miller in 1985; they were divorced in 2008. Her children are a stepdaughter, Amanda Christine Miller, and a son, Lloyd Gregory Miller.http://%20http://www.filmreference.com/film/79/Cynthia-Gregory.html#ixzz1RLodjewK
Gregory is the author of Ballet is the Best Exercise (Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN 978-0671544591). Her children’s book, Cynthia Gregory Dances Swan Lake, was published in October 1990, ISBN 978-0671687861.
Gregory devotes free time to interpreting her most memorable roles through pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings. Her work has been shown at the gallery at Lincoln Center, the annual art shows of Greenwich
and Rowayton, Connecticut
, at private art galleries, and on dance posters and CD covers.
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
.
Career
Born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Gregory’s parents encouraged her to take up dancing when she was five, hoping exercise would stem a history of childhood illnesses. By age six, she was en pointe. She first appeared on the cover of Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine is an "influential" American trade publication for dance, currently published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as The American Dancer. William Como was its editor-in-chief from 1970 to his death in 1989. Wendy Perron became its editor-in...
at the age of seven.
Much of Gregory’s early training was with Carmelita Maracci
Carmelita Maracci
Carmelita Maracci was a dancer and choreographer.Her students included Paul Godkin, Donald Saddler, Allegra Kent, Geraldine Chaplin, Janet Collins, Tommy Rall, Julie Newmar, and Cynthia Gregory....
. Awarded a Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
scholarship at age 14 to study with the San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
, she quickly rose to soloist and became shortly thereafter a principal dancer, while also dancing with the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
.
Gregory joined American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
(ABT) in 1965. In 1967, when ABT was on tour in San Francisco, Gregory made an auspicious debut as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
. Her New York debut in that role later the same year marked her emergence as a major ballerina. The role is one in which her performance is still recognized as definitive. Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
called her "America's prima ballerina assoluta."
Gregory’s other lead roles include classical performances in Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
, Don Quixote
Don Quixote (ballet)
Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
, La Sylphide
La Sylphide
La Sylphide is one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets. There were two versions of the ballet; the version choreographed by the Danish balletmaster August Bournonville is the only version known to have survived....
, as well as contemporary works including The Eternal Idol and At Midnight. At ABT alone, Gregory danced in over eighty works, including over a dozen created for her.
Gregory resigned from ABT in 1991 to pursue a more varied repertoire. She continued to perform as a permanent guest artist with Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Dances...Patrelle and Connecticut Ballet Theatre until ending her public performances in 1992.
Her career included guest performances with leading dance companies of the world, including National Ballet of Canada
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
, Zurich Ballethttp://www.opernhaus.ch/e/ballett/index.php, San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
, Vienna State Opera Ballet
Vienna State Opera Ballet
The Vienna State Opera Ballet, like the opera company, is based at the Vienna State Opera House in Vienna, Austria. The original building was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945....
, Ballet Nacional de Cuba
Ballet Nacional de Cuba
The Cuban National Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba. Founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948, it has become recognised as one of the world's leading ballet companies...
, and Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart Ballet was the first major German ballet company. It rose to fame in the 1960s under Artistic Director John Cranko. The company, which is renowned for presentations of full-length narrative ballets including Romeo and Juliet, Eugene Onegin, The Taming of the Shrew, John Neumeier's Die...
. She also appeared with Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
in Ronstadt’s music video of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
Gregory presently stages classical ballets, coaches and gives master dance classes for dance companies around the world. Her choreographic works include her solo to Bach’s “Air on the G String,” as well as a two-minute rock video for Campbell's Soup. She has been featured in advertising campaigns for American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
(“Do you know me? You know my toes!”), Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
, and Rolex
Rolex
Rolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...
.
Since 1991, Gregory has been Chairman of the Board of Career Transition For Dancers
Career Transition For Dancers
Career Transition For Dancers is a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago dedicated to helping dancers establish new careers when they have retired from their performing careers...
, a not-for-profit organization that provides career counseling, scholarships and other vital services to dancers who, for reasons of age or injury, are making a career change.
Since 2008, Gregory has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to extending the dream, dance legacy and spirit of Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a dancer, considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the United States, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular only in New York, and only later in her life...
.
In 2010, Nevada Ballet Theatre announced that Gregory will act as artistic advisor to the professional company and its affiliated academy. In addition, the Cynthia Gregory Center for Coaching will be established at the company's Las Vegas studios.
Honors
Gregory was the recipient of the 1975 Dance Magazine Award, honoring her dedication to, and enrichment of, the art of dance. In 1978 she received the Harkness BalletHarkness Ballet
The Harkness Ballet was a major New York ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings and was a dance lover...
’s first annual Dance Award. She is the only two-time recipient annual awards from Dance Educators of America (1981 and 1988). In 1988, the now-defunct magazine New York Woman gave Gregory its first “Showstopper of the Year” award. The New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
designated her a “Lion of the Performing Arts” in 1989. She received the lifetime-achievement Certificate of Merit from the National Arts Club
National Arts Club
The National Arts Club is a private club in Gramercy Park, New York City, New York, USA. It was founded in 1898 to "stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts". Since 1906 the organization has occupied the Samuel J...
in 1991. Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
awarded Gregory an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1993, and she received an honorary doctorate from State University of New York–Purchase College in 1995.
Personal life
Cynthia Kathleen Gregory was born in Los Angeles. She is the daughter of Konstantin (a dress manufacturer) and Marcelle Tremblay Gregory. She married Terrence S. Orr (a fellow dancer with American Ballet TheatreAmerican Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
) in 1966; they were divorced in 1975. She married John Hemminger (a rock music manager and promoter) in 1976; he died in 1984. She married attorney Hilary B. Miller in 1985; they were divorced in 2008. Her children are a stepdaughter, Amanda Christine Miller, and a son, Lloyd Gregory Miller.http://%20http://www.filmreference.com/film/79/Cynthia-Gregory.html#ixzz1RLodjewK
Gregory is the author of Ballet is the Best Exercise (Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN 978-0671544591). Her children’s book, Cynthia Gregory Dances Swan Lake, was published in October 1990, ISBN 978-0671687861.
Gregory devotes free time to interpreting her most memorable roles through pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings. Her work has been shown at the gallery at Lincoln Center, the annual art shows of Greenwich
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
and Rowayton, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, at private art galleries, and on dance posters and CD covers.
External links
- The Ballerina Gallery - Cynthia Gregory
- Career Transition For Dancers
- Dance Educators of America
- The 92nd St. Y Harkness Dance Center
- Greenwich Arts interview
- Archival footage of Cynthia Gregory performing Brahms Waltz in 1982 at Jacob's Pillow