Boris, Ruthanna (1918–)

views updated

Boris, Ruthanna (1918–)

American ballet dancer and choreographer. Born Mar 17, 1918, in Brooklyn, NY.

Trained as a child at ballet school of Metropolitan Opera in NY with Giuseppe Bonfiglio, Margaret Curtis, and others; was among Balanchine's 1st students in US and a founding student at Balanchine's School of Ballet in NY (1934); toured with Ballet Caravan, including in title role in Lew Christensen's Pocahontas (1936); appeared on Broadway in Agnes de Mille's Hooray for What? and returned to Metropolitan Opera for several seasons (1937–42); danced with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in Spectre de la Rose, Serenade, Paquita and Bluebird, among others; with Frank Hobi, created numerous pieces for Boris-Hobi Concert Co. and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where she also performed (1956–57); began teaching at University of Washington in Seattle (1965).