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IN MEMORIAM
LEON DANIELIAN
Leon Danielian, one of the twentieth
century’s leading American ballet dancers, died March 8, 1997.
He was a professor emeritus of The University of Texas Department of
Theatre and Dance, where he taught ballet from 1982 to 1991.
Born in New York City on October 31,
1921, he received his early dance training under ballet legend Michael
Mordkin, one of Anna Pavlova’s partners, and gained his earliest
professional experience as a soloist with the Mordkin Ballet. After
working under George Balanchine in Rodgers and Hart’s Broadway
production of I Married An Angel in the late 1930s, he joined
Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre) as a soloist and charter
company member in 1939.
As premier danseur with the Ballet Russe
de Monte Carlo from 1943 to 1958, Mr. Danielian secured his place in
dance history as the first American-born ballet dancer in the twentieth
century to gain international fame. His Ballet Russe career and firsthand
knowledge of the works of Michel Fokine, Leonide Massine, Anton Dolin,
Eugene Loring, George Balanchine, and other great choreographers made
him an invaluable company member, ballet master, and teacher.
As a performer, he was known for his
virtuoso jumps, his partnering abilities, and his acting skills, which
endeared him to audiences both in the United States and abroad. He was
named the "Best Performing Male Dancer of 1949" by Dance
Magazine, and received critical acclaim for many roles, including
the Peruvian in Leonide Massine’s Gaite Parisienne.
Mr. Danielian retired from the stage
in 1959 because of arthritis, but continued teaching and coaching. He
served as codirector of the School of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
in New York City in the early 1960s, then as director of the American
Ballet Theatre School from 1967 to 1980.
As an educator, Mr. Danielian won respect
as a thorough, caring teacher, having taught many of America’s
leading dancers for more than 30 years. His performance style and teaching
skills are discussed in several books and hundreds of magazine and newspaper
articles. In 1978, he was interviewed by Morley Safer for 60 Minutes
on CBS television, and he was featured in the 1973 film First Position,
which documented his transition from performer to teacher.
In the spring of 1982, he traveled to
Austin to attend a gala honoring his friend Igor Youskevitch, who was
retiring as head of UT’s dance program. Mr. Danielian was impressed
with the University’s dance program and accepted the offer to fill
Youskevitch’s position, joining the UT faculty as professor of
dance in 1983.
From 1984 until his retirement, Mr.
Danielian held the Susan Menefee Ragan Regents Professorship in Fine
Arts. In 1993, the Department of Theatre and Dance dedicated a studio
in the Winship Drama Building as the Leon Danielian Dance Studio, and
also announced a scholarship endowment in his name.
Mr. Danielian was a well-loved and highly-respected
ballet master, as well as one of the best dancers of his generation.
He is survived by his sister, Hercelia McDonald, of Williamsburg, Virginia.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner,
President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting
of Professor Oscar G. Brockett (chair) and Sondra Lomax.
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