Nora Kimball
Encyclopedia
Nora Koito Kimball-Mentzos or simply Nora Kimball is a ballet teacher and former American ballerina
, who is often overlooked for being one of the first African American
female soloists
– if not the first – at American Ballet Theatre
(ABT). She danced with the ABT in the mid 1980s and as an African American who is also Asian American
, preceded Misty Copeland
, who is often credited as the first. ABT has been described as one of the three great American-style classical ballet
companies on the world stage today (along with New York City Ballet
and San Francisco Ballet
).
Kimball trained in New York City at the National Academy of Ballet before attending The Harkness House for Ballet Arts. Studied further at The American Ballet Theater School. Kimball has been a soloist with the Nederlands Dans Theater and the Frankfurt Ballet. She has also worked with Eliot Feld Ballet
, the Stuttgart Ballett, Karole Armitage
and Peter Sellars
. She had moved to the Frankfurt Ballet by 1991. She has worked with William Forsythe
. She continues to work in Frankfurt teaching for the Zena Rommett Floor Barre Technique TM since 2001 and the Dancedepartment of the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst.
made his first ballet, Enough Said, on Kimball, the rest of the cast being Robert Hill, Gabrielle Brown, Lucette Katerndahl, Kathleen Moore, Ethan Brown, John Gardner and Ross Yearsley.
Kimball starred in Peter Sellars
' revival of The Seven Deadly Sins with music and lyrics by Kurt Weill
and Bertolt Brecht
in their final operatic collaboration (the original choreography by Balanchine
goes uncredited here.) Kent Nagano
conducts the orchestra
of the Opéra National de Lyon
for this performance. Of the twelve scenes on the DVD, the first nine of which are choreographed, Kimball is credited on four.
Although the production was filmed in 1993, the 47 minute work was not released until June 10, 2003, and intercuts footage from performances in Memphis
, Los Angeles
, Philadelphia, Boston
, Baltimore
, and San Francisco. Sellars' direction is widely criticized.
Kimball also appeared in David Gordon's 1987 production, Made in U.S.A., which starred Mikhail Baryshnikov
. The show included three ballets entitled Valda and Misha, TV Nine Lives, and Murder; Valda and Misha was commissioned for the telecast.
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...
, who is often overlooked for being one of the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
female soloists
Soloist (ballet)
In ballet, a soloist is a dancer in a ballet company above the corps de ballet but below principal dancer....
– if not the first – at 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). She danced with the ABT in the mid 1980s and as an African American who is also Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, preceded Misty Copeland
Misty Copeland
Misty Copeland is an American ballet dancer, described by many accounts as the first African American female soloist for the American Ballet Theatre , one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States...
, who is often credited as the first. ABT has been described as one of the three great American-style classical ballet
Classical ballet
Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...
companies on the world stage today (along with New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
and 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...
).
Kimball trained in New York City at the National Academy of Ballet before attending The Harkness House for Ballet Arts. Studied further at The American Ballet Theater School. Kimball has been a soloist with the Nederlands Dans Theater and the Frankfurt Ballet. She has also worked with Eliot Feld Ballet
Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer and director.-Life and career:Feld was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Alice , a travel agent, and Benjamin Noah Feld, an attorney...
, the Stuttgart Ballett, Karole Armitage
Karole Armitage
Karole Armitage is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is Artistic Director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary ballet company that performs several times annually in New York City as well as touring internationally...
and Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
. She had moved to the Frankfurt Ballet by 1991. She has worked with William Forsythe
William Forsythe (dancer)
William Forsythe is an American dancer and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company...
. She continues to work in Frankfurt teaching for the Zena Rommett Floor Barre Technique TM since 2001 and the Dancedepartment of the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst.
Notable performances
At ABT Clark TippetClark Tippet
Clark Tippet was a ballet dancer and choreographer. He was a member of the American Ballet Theatre company in New York City. Among other roles, he was the male Spanish Dancer in Mikhail Baryshnikov's production of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker...
made his first ballet, Enough Said, on Kimball, the rest of the cast being Robert Hill, Gabrielle Brown, Lucette Katerndahl, Kathleen Moore, Ethan Brown, John Gardner and Ross Yearsley.
Kimball starred in Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
' revival of The Seven Deadly Sins with music and lyrics by Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
and Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
in their final operatic collaboration (the original choreography by Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
goes uncredited here.) Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
conducts the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
of the Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon is an opera company in Lyon, France which performs in the Nouvel Opéra, a modernized version in 1993 of the original 1831 opera house.The inaugural performance of François-Adrien Boïeldieu's La Dame blanche was given on 1 July 1831...
for this performance. Of the twelve scenes on the DVD, the first nine of which are choreographed, Kimball is credited on four.
Although the production was filmed in 1993, the 47 minute work was not released until June 10, 2003, and intercuts footage from performances in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Los Angeles
Los 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...
, Philadelphia, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, and San Francisco. Sellars' direction is widely criticized.
Kimball also appeared in David Gordon's 1987 production, Made in U.S.A., which starred Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
. The show included three ballets entitled Valda and Misha, TV Nine Lives, and Murder; Valda and Misha was commissioned for the telecast.
Reviews
- Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times, March 10th, 1986
- Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times, December 11th, 1986