William Dollar
Encyclopedia
William Dollar was an American ballet dancer born in St. Louis but he was reared in East St. Louis, Illinois. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Dollar lived at 491 North 22nd Street and operated a grocery store and meat market in East St. Louis.
William studied with George Balanchine
, Michel Fokine
, and Pierre Vladimirov. He also trained under Mikhail Mordkin
of the Ballets Russes
and performed in Chopin Concerto with the Metropolitan Opera
Company. He was a leading dancer with the American Ballet
, Ballet Caravan and the American Ballet Caravan companies that preceded and led to the establishment of the New York City Ballet
in 1948. His creations with those companies included roles in Balanchine's versions of Le Baiser de la Fee
, The Card Party and Transcendence, which Balanchine choreographed especially for him.
His first ballet, Classic Ballet, was choreographed with Balanchine. Dollar restaged this work in 1944 as Constantia for Ballet International. He choreographed many other ballets of which his best known is The Duel, originally staged in 1949 as Le Combat for Roland Petit
's Ballets de Paris.
Dollar also created the ballet for the Ford Motor Company
pavilion at the New York World's Fair
of 1939 at Flushing Meadows
.
He worked with ballet companies in Brazil, Japan and Monte Carlo and founded a national ballet company in Iran. Dollar was one of the country's top performers in terpsichorean art and made five appearances at the Municipal Opera in St. Louis. and choreographer
William studied with George 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...
, Michel Fokine
Michel Fokine
Michel Fokine was a groundbreaking Russian choreographer and dancer.-Biography:...
, and Pierre Vladimirov. He also trained under Mikhail Mordkin
Mikhail Mordkin
Mikhail Mordkin graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet School in 1899, and in the same year was appointed ballet master.He joined Diaghilev's ballet in 1909 as a leading dancer. After the first season he remained in Paris to dance with Pavlova...
of the Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
and performed in Chopin Concerto with the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
Company. He was a leading dancer with the American Ballet
American Ballet
The American Ballet was the first professional ballet company George Balanchine created in the United States. The company was founded with the help of Lincoln Kirstein and Edward Mortimer Morris Warburg, managed by Alexander Merovitch and populated by students of Kirstein and Balanchine's School of...
, Ballet Caravan and the American Ballet Caravan companies that preceded and led to the establishment of the 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...
in 1948. His creations with those companies included roles in Balanchine's versions of Le Baiser de la Fee
Le Baiser de la fée
Le baiser de la fée is a ballet in one act and four scenes composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1928 and revised in 1950 for George Balanchine and New York City Ballet. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's short story, Iisjomfruen , it is an homage to Tchaikovsky, making use of several melodies from his...
, The Card Party and Transcendence, which Balanchine choreographed especially for him.
His first ballet, Classic Ballet, was choreographed with Balanchine. Dollar restaged this work in 1944 as Constantia for Ballet International. He choreographed many other ballets of which his best known is The Duel, originally staged in 1949 as Le Combat for Roland Petit
Roland Petit
Roland Petit was a French choreographer and dancer born in Villemomble, near Paris, France. He trained at the Paris Opéra Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets.-Biography:...
's Ballets de Paris.
Dollar also created the ballet for the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
pavilion at the New York World's Fair
New York World's Fair
New York World's Fair may refer to:* 1939 New York World's Fair* 1964 New York World's Fair...
of 1939 at Flushing Meadows
Flushing Meadows
Flushing Meadows is an American short film by Larry Jordan, with director Joseph Cornell. The film is 8 minutes long, in color, 16mm, and silent....
.
He worked with ballet companies in Brazil, Japan and Monte Carlo and founded a national ballet company in Iran. Dollar was one of the country's top performers in terpsichorean art and made five appearances at the Municipal Opera in St. Louis. and choreographer