Reed, Janet (1916–2000)

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Reed, Janet (1916–2000)

American ballet dancer. Born Sept 15, 1916, in Central Point, Oregon; died Feb 28, 2000, in Seattle, WA; m. Branson Ersking (interior designer); children: Reed Erskine.

Was leading ballerina at San Francisco Ballet (1927–41); in NY, danced with Ballet Theater (1942–47), in such productions as Tudor's Dim Luster (1943) and Undertow (1945), Robbins' Fancy Free (1944), and Kidd's On Stage (1945); appeared on Broadway in Robbins' Look Ma, I'm Dancing (1948); joined New York City Ballet (1948), where she performed in further works by Robbins, such as The Pied Piper (1951) and Ballade (1952), and in numerous Balanchine works, then served as ballet mistress (1958–64); helped found Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle (1974), remaining for 2 years as its 1st artistic director; had a gift for comedy and characterization.