Born in December 1933 as Nelly Armande Guillerm, Violette Verdy was a French ballerina with an extensive professional career. Not only was she a dancer, but she also was a writer, teacher, and choreographer. She worked as the director of the Paris Opera Ballet dance company in France as well as the Boston Ballet dance company.
In the beginning of young Nelly’s life, she had so much energy that she was enrolled in dance lessons by her mother. Instructors considered her a young prodigy and at the age of 8 years old, he began ballet training. It was the year of 1942 and Germans occupied northern France. Her mother saw this situation as potentially dangerous and willing to find only the best instructors to teach her daughter, moved from northwestern France to Paris.
Violette Verdy studied in Paris under the direction of Carlotta Zambelli, Madame Rousanne Sarkissian, and Victor Gsovsky. She was just a teenager when she made her debut as a professional in Roland Petit’s “Le Poete” in the ballet corps in Paris at the Theatre Sarah-Berhardt. Shortly after, she was a member of Petit’s Ballets des Champs-Elysees, and had a series of smaller professional roles over the course of a few years.
Ludwig Berger, a German cinema director chose the young and talented dancer to star in his film, “Ballerina” in 1949. The film was released in Europe in 1950 and in the United States, the film was known as “Dream Ballerina.” Berger suggested that young Nelly have a stage name and Petit came up with “Violette Verdy” because it was representative of composer Giuseppe Verdi as well as a flower. For her acting in “Ballerina,” Verdy received a lot of praise for the technique of classic ballet that was pure and the acting where she seemed so sincere. As a result, she received several offers for ballet companies throughout Europe.
As Violette Verdy, she danced with the Ballet des Champs Elysees, the Ballet de Marigny, and Les Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit. In one of Petit’s ballets in 1953, “Le Loup” meaning “The Wolf,” she actually created the role of a heroine. It was set to the music of composer Henri Dutilleux.
Verdy became widely recognized for her wit, precise dance technique, and awareness of rhythm of music. She then went on to tour America with the Les Ballets de Paris in 1953 and then in 1954 to 1955, the London Festival Ballet. She played numerous lead roles with the Teatro alla Scala ballet company in the years of 1955 to 1956 in Milan where she danced the role in full-length performances of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Cinderella,” which were choreographed for her by Alfred Rodrigues. In 1957 in London’s Ballet Rambert, she played Swanhilda in “Coppelia” who was a light-hearted character and she also played Giselle in the role of “Giselle” with a more dramatic approach. This role became one of which Verdy became more well-known as a professional ballerina.
A ballerina at the American Ballet Theater, Nora Kaye, was perplexed by Verdy and invited her to join the dance company in 1957. Verdy accepted and moved to New York City. She played two different roles which were created by Antony Tudor called “Gala Performance” and “Offenbach in the Underworld” and quickly claimed the hearts of American dance audiences. Verdy also performed in “Theme and Variations” by George Balanchine which was set to the music of the final movement of composer Tchiakovsky’s “Suite No. 3.” She also played in “Miss Julie” which was choreographed by Birgit Cullberg and based on a play written in 1888 by August Strindberg.
In 1958, the American Ballet Theater disbanded temporarily and was invited to perform with the New York City Ballet. She was anxious to work with George Balanchine and for almost two decades, from the years of 1958 to 1977, Violette Verdy was in the role of principal dancer for the New York City Ballet. In this position, Verdy performed numerous world premieres of works which were created especially for her by Jerome Robbins and Balanchine as choreographers. With her French training and petite stature, she stood out among the other females in the dance company and it made Verdy slightly apprehensive to stick out as an obvious foreign French dancer. However, she performed numerous performances with large roles such as “Allegro Brillante,” “Divertimento No. 15,” “Stars and Stripes,” “Scotch Symphony,” “Apollo,” and “Theme and Variations.” She often danced partnered with male dancer, Edward Villella, who was almost exactly her male counterpart and they complemented each other’s technique and exuberance perfectly.
Throghout the years, Balanchine created numerous roles for Verdy and she was the led dancer in numerous performances. In 1960, she danced in “Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux,” “The Figure in the Carpet,” and “Liebeslieder Walzer.” In 1962, she played in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In 1967, she was the lead role in “Emeralds,” and Glinkaiana.” In 1968, she was the lead in “La Source.” In 1972, Verdy performed in “Pulcinella” and in 1973, “Sonatine.” Of all of these roles, Verdy is most well known for her performance in “Emeralds” and “Tshaikovsky Pas Deux,” where she patnered with Conrad Ludlow. Her musicality did not go unnoticed and she completely embraced the role.
Robbins cast Verde in “Dances at a Gathering” in 1969 and again in 1970 in “In the Night,” which both were set to piano music composed by Chopin. Verdy’s performance as a soloist in “Dances at a Gathering,” became a dance masterpiece that many ballerinas attempt to mimic but are challenged to reproduce to this day.
Verdy often performed as a guest performer at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House and in other productions which were on tour. She danced numerous classic roles including those in “Swan Lake,” and “The Sleeping Beauty,” among others. She also was often on television dancing in France, Canada, Britain, and America.
In 1977, Verdy left New York and became the first female artistic director at the Paris Opera Ballet. Three years later, she returned to the United States and for the Boston Ballet, she became the associate director and then the artistic director. She remained in that position until 1984 when she moved on to become the faculty head of the ballet program at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and was considered a world renowned teacher. She also made several guest instructor residencies throughout Europe, Russia, and Australia. In 2008, Verdy became the first and only permanent guest instructor at the School of American Ballet.
Violette Verdy also was award winning in her diverse role of professions. In 1968, she received an award from Dance Magazine. In 2003, she received the Artistic Achievements Award at the School of American Ballet, and won several other prestigious awards. At the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, she was named the Distinguished Professor of Music for her ballet teaching. The French government also awarded her for two distinguishing medals including the Chevlier dans l”Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1973 and then received France’s highest honor in 2008 with the Chevalier dans l’Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur.
After a short illness in 2008, Violette Verdy passed away in Bloomington, Indiana on February 8 at the age of 82.
