Anne Benna Sims

Last updated

Anne Benna Sims was the first African-American danseuse at American Ballet Theatre [1] and the first African-American soloist in the company's history. [2] Sims' professional career began with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens where she danced in the corps de ballet. In 1972 she was invited to join the Geneva Opera Ballet by company director Alfonso Cata, who became her mentor. When Cata assumed the director position of the Frankfurt Opera Ballet, he offered Sims a position as a soloist. One year later, Sims became a principal dancer. In 1977, Sims returned to the United States and joined the Eglevsky Ballet Company as a principal dancer. In 1978, she performed in Ballet on Broadway. Sims, who joined American Ballet Theatre in late 1978, became the first African American female to hold a contract with the ABT company. [3]

Contents

Timeline

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (1972) [4]

Geneva Opera Ballet (1973-1975) [5]

Frankfurt Opera Ballet: Principal (1975-1977) [6]

Eglevsky Ballet Company: Principal (1977-1978) [7]

American Ballet Theatre (1978) [8]

Early life

Sim's father, an architect, and mother, an opera buff, exposed the Sims children to all forms of art. At age ten Sims started ballet classes at the Long Island Institute of Music in Queens on Parsons Blvd., under the tutelage of Helene Vinson. (Another notable student was Ted Agress, who went on to perform in Broadway musical theater.) Those studies were supplemented with summer training at the ABT school under Michael Maule, Patricia Wilde, and Madame Swoboda; and at the New Dance Group Studio with Peter Saul and Margaret Craske. [9] Her sister, Lowery Stokes Sims, is museum curator.

Sims graduated from Bishop Reilly High School in 1970. After graduating high school, Sims was accepted into the trainee program at Harkness House under David Howard and Maria Vegh. She had also trained with Helen Greenford and Elizabeth Carrol in ballet; Luigi in jazz and Teresita La Tana in Spanish dance. [10]

Professional career

Sims' professional career began with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, where she danced in the corps de ballet. [11] Sims danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1972. Eventually, Sims was told that there was not much of a future for black dancers in ballet and that Harkness was not looking for her type. [12]

Sims was introduced to Alfonso Cata in 1972. After watching a class, Cata told Sims, "I hate your dancing. You are a big girl who moves too small". Cata then offered Sims a contract with the Geneva Ballet. Since then, Cata has become her mentor, a good friend and ally who taught the "bronze beauty" to move like a big girl that she was. [13]

Cata took over the directorship of the Frankfurt Ballet in Germany. Sims was invited as a soloist. One year later, she was promoted to principal dancer. She spent four years with the company and achieved much acclaim in ballets by Balanchine, Butler, and Cata. German dance critic Wilfried Hofmann began to refer to Sims as the ‘Judith Jamison of ballet'. [14]

Sims grew her repertoire with castings that were on opposite ends of the movement spectrum. She played both the "cool" second violin in Balanchine's Concerto Barocco , and the world-weary lady in pursuit of a bored gentleman in Cata's Ragtime. [15]

Sims returned to the United States in 1977 and accepted a principal contract from the Eglevsky Ballet Company. In May 1978, Dustin Hoffman and Alfonso Cata presented her in the highly successful Ballet on Broadway at the Beacon Theatre. Shortly thereafter, Sims auditioned for the famed American Ballet Theatre and was offered a corps de ballet contract. [16]

ABT was very impressed with Sims' skills. In 1978, Anne Benna Sims officially joined the American Ballet Theatre as the first African American female to hold a contract with the company. [17] She was the first African-American danseuse at American Ballet Theatre and the first African-American soloist in the company's history. In a 2014 interview, Misty Copeland said that Sims was part of the “corps de ballet,” or a member of the larger dance troupe, first. [18] "I haven’t been doing the 'white' acts of Swan Lake or Giselle , but there is a bit of slush in the 'Snow' section of Peter Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite" says Sims. [19]

Though Sims started in the corps de ballet of ABT, her first principal role was Cybele/Medusa in Antony Tudor's Undertow with Peter Fonseca, a "demanding dramatic ballet". During rehearsals, [Antony Tudor] reminded her often that everyone who has ever danced this role has been a recognized classic ballerina" just in case the public did not except her. [20] She was also in the first cast of the company premiere of Paul Taylor's Airs. [21]

At ABT she was in the first cast of the company premiere of Paul Taylor's Airs (reconstructed by Eileen Cropley); other members of the cast were Lisa Rinehart, Janet Shibata, Rebecca Wright, Brian Adams, Warren Conover and Robert La Fosse. [22] [Airs 1] She had earlier been featured in a revival of Antony Tudor's Undertow with Peter Fonseea. [Undertow 1] [Undertow 2]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Jet, March 19, 1981, p. 64.
  2. ↑ Misty Copeland bio on BlackPast.org
  3. ↑ "Anne Benna Sims". MOBBallet.org. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Anne Benna Sims". MOBBallet.org. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Anne Benna Sims". MOBBallet.org. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Anne Benna Sims". MOBBallet.org. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Anne Benna Sims". MOBBallet.org. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Anne Benna Sims". MOBBallet.org. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  9. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  10. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  11. ↑ "1978 – Anne Benna Sims joins American Ballet Theatre". MOBBallet.org. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  12. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  13. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  14. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  15. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  17. ↑ "1978 – Anne Benna Sims joins American Ballet Theatre". MOBBallet.org. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Little Known Black History Fact: Nora Kimball". Black America Web. May 26, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  19. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  20. ↑ Raines, Walter (September 7, 2020). "Theatre: Anne Benna Sims: Pirouettes | 1980-4 | ROUTES". routes-mag.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Anne Benna Sims". MOBBallet.org. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  22. ↑ "ABT website". Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.

Reviews

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikhail Baryshnikov</span> Latvian and American dancer (born 1948)

Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male classical ballet dancer of the 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently became a noted dance director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Ballet Theatre</span> Ballet company

American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House in the spring and a shorter season at the David H. Koch Theater in the fall; the company tours around the world the rest of the year. The company was scheduled to have a 5-week spring season at the MET preceded by a 2-week season at the Koch Theater beginning in 2020. ABT is the parent company of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and was recognized as "America's National Ballet Company" in 2006 by the United States Congress.

Fernando Bujones was an American dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Eglevsky</span> Russian-born ballet dancer and teacher

André Eglevsky was a Russian-born ballet dancer and teacher who studied in France and, from 1932, danced with Colonel W. de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo for several years, as well as other companies in Europe and New York City. He became a United States citizen in the late 1930s and danced with the American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet. After retiring from performance in 1958, he set up his own ballet school and the Eglevsky Ballet Company in New York.

Xiomara Reyes is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. After retiring from performing she was appointed the Head of School of The Washington Ballet School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Bissell</span> American ballet dancer

Walter Patrick Bissell was an American ballet dancer. He was a leading principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. On his death at age 30 from a drug overdose, he was described by the artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre and personal ballet eminence Mikhail Baryshnikov as "without a doubt one of the brightest lights in American Ballet Theater's history, or, for that matter, in the entire ballet world". Bissell was noted for his height and athleticism. His most famous role was as Solor in La Bayadère. His death prompted investigations into the alleged widespread drug use within the American Ballet Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misty Copeland</span> American ballet dancer (born 1982)

Misty Danielle Copeland is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to a principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.

Veronika Part is a Russian ballet dancer. She is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. She served as a ballet mistress for Atlanta Ballet during the 2019–20 season.

Marina Eglevsky is an American ballet dancer born in New York City. She is the daughter of ballet star Andre Eglevsky and ballerina Leda Anchutina Eglevsky. Marina studied at the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre School. Marina performed professionally in New York City Ballet's production of The Nutcracker, with the Eglevsky Ballet Company, and as a guest in various companies and engagements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hee Seo</span> South Korean ballet dancer

Hee Seo is a South Korean ballet dancer who is a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. She became the company's first Korean ballerina to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history. She is also one of the youngest dancers in ABT history to be promoted to principal at the age of twenty-six. The New York Times has described her style and dancing to "exude an unhurried purity that sums up all that is lovely about ballet" and by Vogue as "unspeakably lissome". Several critics have noted her style as "lyrical and open" and she has been critically acclaimed for her "humility" and "unique feminine strength".

Erica Cornejo is an Argentine ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with the Boston Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Renvall</span> Swedish dancer and choreographer

Bengt Erik Johan Renvall was a Swedish dancer and choreographer active in the United States from 1978. He was known for "soaring leaps of astounding power and soft landing", of a mixture of extraordinary bravura and lyric nuances through his performances. His career, as "one of only a small group of elite dancers the world has known", began in 1972 when he was admitted to the Royal Swedish Ballet School. He then became a member of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1977 and of American Ballet Theatre in 1978 where he later became principal dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katharine Wildish</span>

Katharine "Kat" Wildish is a ballerina from Tampa, Florida, U.S. She danced with the New York City Ballet (1981–1983), American Ballet Theatre (1985–1987), and performed as a guest artist for a number of companies worldwide before retiring from stage work in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martine van Hamel</span> Dutch choreographer, teacher (born 1945)

Martine van Hamel is a Dutch choreographer, director, teacher, retired ballerina and former Principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She was a gold medalist at the biennial Varna International Ballet Competition, the most prestigious ballet competition in the world, held in Varna, Bulgaria. She is also a recipient of the Prix de Varna, a recognition rarely awarded, for best artistic interpretation in all categories. She was one of the leading classical ballerinas in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Abrera</span> Filipina-American ballet dancer

Stella Abrera is a Filipina-American ballet dancer. She danced as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre until her retirement in 2020, and is the company's first Filipina principal ballerina. She then became the artistic director of the dance cultural park Kaatsbaan, and in September 2022 took up the role of artistic director of the ABT JKO School. following Cynthia Harvey's departure in May.

Aminah L. Ahmad, formerly known professionally as Llanchie Stevenson, is an American ballet dancer who was the first African-American dancer at Radio City Music Hall Ballet Company, the first African-American female dancer at the National Ballet of Washington, and an original company member and former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. She retired from dancing upon her conversion to Islam.

Cassandra Trenary is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

Catherine Hurlin is an American ballet dancer. She joined the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 2014 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022.

Black women have been traditionally underrepresented in ballet. In the 15th and 16th centuries, ballet began in Italian Renaissance courts, where it was largely dominated and influenced by the aristocracy. Ballet later spread to France and was developed under Louis XIV. After the first professional theatrical ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet, was established in 1669, ballet spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Ballet eventually arrived in the United States, and by 1933, the San Francisco Ballet, the first professional ballet company in the United States, was founded.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.