- Heather Watts
Heather Watts (born in Long Beach,
California , in 1953) is a retired Americanprima ballerina and former principal dancer for theNew York City Ballet .Watts studied at the
School of American Ballet with Stanley Williams,Andre Eglevsky andAleksandra Danilova . At the invitation ofGeorge Balanchine , Watts joined theNew York City Ballet in 1970, and became a soloist and then principal dancer in 1979.Noted for her dramatic intensity and elevation, Watts premiered many roles during her tenure with NYCB, such as Balanchine's "
Walpurgisnacht Ballet " and "Davidsbündertänze " (1980), Robbins' "Four Seasons" (1979), "Piano Pieces " (1981), "Four Chamber Works " (1982) and "Tango" (1983), and Martins' "Calcium Light Night " (1977) and "Fearful Symmetries" (1990).She starred in prinicipal roles in a number of Balanchine's works, including "Agon", "
Concerto Barocco ", "Apollo", "Rubies" and "Serenade"; and designed costumes forPeter Martins ' "Beethoven Romance ". After retiring from the stage in 1995, Watts continued her career as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and as a ballet and dance history instructor atHarvard University . Among the awards Watts has received are the Dance Magazine Award, the L’Oreal Shining Star Award, the New York Public Library Lions of the Performing Arts Award and various state awards for education.ources
* [http://www.ballerinagallery.com/watts.htm The Ballerina Gallery]
* [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~dance/dstaff.htm Heather Watts biography at the Harvard Dance Department]
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