Gollner, Nana (1919–1980)

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Gollner, Nana (1919–1980)

American ballet dancer. Born Jan 8, 1919, in El Paso, Texas; died Aug 30, 1980, in Antwerp, Belgium.

Performed briefly with company of American Ballet while in residence at Metropolitan Opera; danced with Ballets Russe de Monte Carlo of Basil (1935–36) and with the company of René Blum (1936–37), where she created the role in Fokine's Les Elements (1937) and danced in numerous of Blum's other works, including Les Elfes and Igrouchka; danced intermittently with Ballet Theater (1940–50) where she performed in classic repertory works including Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Les Sylphide and created roles in Balanchine's Waltz Academy (1944), Tudor's Undertow (1945), and Herbert Ross' Caprichos (1950); moved to London (1947) and was 1st American to dance full-length production of Swan Lake with Mona Ingelsby's International Ballet; danced 1 more season with Metropolitan Opera Ballet where she performed in Tudor productions of Faust, La Traviata, and others; retired from performance career soon after to teach classes in Belgium.