Bruce Marks is an American dancer, performing both in ballet and modern dance. He continues to work as a choreographer, coach and teacher and is a tireless advocate for the art form.[1]
Bruce Marks, born in New York City, began his training at age 13 at the New York High School of Performing Arts, and at 14, created the role of the young boy in Pearl Lang’s Ironic Rite. (Later Rites ) Through his teen years, he performed with Pearl Lang's company, creating roles in Lang's , And Joy Is My Witness, Nightflight, Apasionado, Black Marigolds, and Shira. Marks continued his studies at Brandeis University(1954–1955) and The Juilliard School(1955–1956), where he studied with Margaret Craske, Alfredo Corvino, Mattlyn Gavers, and Antony Tudor—who became his mentor.[2]
The Metropolitan Opera
At Tudor's suggestion in 1956, Marks joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.[3] He was soon singled out for principal roles. After appearing in a ballet evening in 1959 at The Met dancing Adam in choreographer John Butler's In The Beginning, Marks was invited to appear at the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds as a member of a company organized by Herbert Ross and John Butler.
In 1961, again at the suggestion of Tudor, Marks joined The American Ballet Theatre. He soon became one of the most respected and versatile of ABT's male contingent, excelling in both modern and classical ballets, and was quickly promoted to principal dancer. He created one of the leading roles in the American premiere of Harald Lander’s Etudes as well as the leading role of Prince Siegfried in ABT's first full-length production of Swan Lake.[4] In 1968 Marks performed the role of Hilarion in the American Ballet Theatre's film of Giselle.
After twice appearing as guest artist with the company, Marks was invited to become the first American principal dancer of the Royal Danish Ballet.[5] He made his debut as such in May, 1971 at the Danish Ballet and Music Festival dancing Paul Taylor's Aureole. It was the first time a modern trained artist had done the work in Copenhagen and he received rave reviews. The next evening he danced the role of James in the 19th century Danish classic, La Sylphide, by August Bournonville and astounded with his versatility.
Marks ended his performing career in 1976 in Denmark taking on his first artistic directorship with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah.
By 1976, Marks became Co-Artistic Director of Ballet West at the invitation of its founder, Willam Christensen.[6] Following Christensen's retirement in 1978, Marks was named artistic director. The company flourished under Marks's direction, and his distinctive stamp was made with the addition of new works to the company's repertory from Bournonville and Balanchine to the 19th century master works as well as modern dance classics.
In 1985, Marks and Toni Lander recreated and staged the “lost” 1855 Bournonville ballet,Abdallahfor Ballet West, to great acclaim.[3] The production had its East Coast premiere at Washington's Kennedy Center, on May 1, 1985, and the critics raved. "Abdallah is a triumph!” cheered the Boston Globe. The Wall Street Journal declared, “That it communicates such broad meanings and does so, moreover, with such effortless charm, is the great achievement of Bruce Marks.” In 1986, Marks staged Abdallah for the Royal Danish Ballet, the company for whom the work was originally created, and in 1990, he brought the production to Boston Ballet.[3]
At Boston Ballet
Marks then assumed the position of artistic director of Boston Ballet[7] When he was appointed artistic director and CEO (combining the jobs was a first in the world of ballet), he eradicated the company's debt which was then 50% of the budget. During his tenure, the company's annual budget and attendance tripled. Under his dynamic leadership, Boston Ballet achieved international acclaim and built a reputation for performing authentic versions of the classics and for encouraging daring modern works. In 1991, in Boston's South End, Marks opened a new facility that continues to be one of the country's leading centers for dance and dance education. His time in Boston had many highlights: an unprecedented American/Soviet production of Swan Lake; the company's 1990 debut at Washington's Kennedy Center; a 1991 five-city tour of Spain; and in 1993, to inaugurate its 30th season, a highly acclaimed version ofThe Sleeping Beauty. Following a second Kennedy Center engagement in March 1994, Boston Ballet became the first American company to perform John Cranko’s Onegin. In 1995, Marks added Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew to the company's repertory, followed in 1997 by Michael Corder’s award-winning Cinderella.[3] Marks mounted the world's most popular production ofThe Nutcracker. Continuing to add to Boston's repertory, he brought the oldest existing version ofCoppélia from The Royal Danish Ballet plus a traditional Russian production ofGiselle, staged by Anna-Marie Holmes and coached by Natalia Dudinskaya of the Kirov Ballet.
Encouraging young American choreographers was one of Marks's major thrusts as Director. As such, he commissioned works by Danny Buraczeski, Bill T. Jones, Ralph Lemon, Monica Levy, Susan Marshall, Bebe Miller, Daniel Pelzig and Lila York. He also added works by Merce Cunningham and Twyla Tharp.
In July 1998, Marks stepped down from his post at Boston Ballet to become Artistic Director Emeritus.
As chairman of the jury: USA International Ballet Competition
In 1989, Marks was chosen to succeed the late Robert Joffrey as Chairman of the International Jury of the USA International Ballet Competition held in Jackson Mississippi, a position he held through 2010. He served as the American judge at the international competitions in Helsinki, Nagoya, Moscow, and Seoul as well as at the 1994 Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland[2] and chairman of the 2012 Jury, 4th Beijing International Invitational Competition for Dance Schools.
As arts advocate
Marks is a founding member of Dance/USA, a national service organization that represents professional dance companies and from 1990 to 1992 was Dance/USA's chairman.[8] 1990–92, he was board chairman of the American Arts Alliance. He was also Artist Fellow of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. He served on the Inter-Arts Panel of the NEA and also chaired the International Performing Arts Touring Committee. He has been a member of and chaired the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Panel, and was a member of the NEA's International Advisory Panel. In 1997, Marks was appointed to the US-USSR Commission on Theatre and Dance Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies, and to the Theatre Union of the USSR for 1988–89, a commission set up to foster Soviet/American cooperation in the fields of dance history, theory, criticism and practice.
As educator
Marks has been a pioneer in innovative dance education and outreach programs including Boston Ballet's precedent-setting Center for Dance Education's City Dance, a tuition-free ballet training program for urban public school students. Marks has taught and coached worldwide including The Beijing Dance Academy, China, International Ballet Seminar, Copenhagen, University of the Arts, Seoul, Korea et al. Marks also has created a landmark training program for artistic directors.[9]
As choreographer
Marks has created over thirty ballets including Clockwise, Dichterliebe, Asylum, Inner Space, Don Juan, Songs of the Valley, Lark Ascending, Sanctus, Abdallah, Pipe Dreams, Don Quixote, Continuo I and Continuo II, Inscape, Shake It Up, Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, Straight from the Heart, The Parting, Fragments, La Fille Mal Gardée (with Samantha Dunster), Greenfields of America, Old Demons, et al.
Marks has been the artistic director of the Boston Ballet (1985-1997) [10] and the Orlando Ballet (2006-2008).[11]
As consultant
In 1998, Marks created ArtsVenture, Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to passing along to others the vast knowledge and insights that he has accumulated in the field. Through ArtsVenture, he has served as a consultant to the British Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, as well as dance companies in America such as the Fort Worth Ballet (later known as Texas Ballet Theater), José Limón Dance Company, and Louisville Ballet.[2]
Personal life
In 1966, Marks married Danish ballerina Toni Lander with whom he had three sons—Erik Antony, Adam Christopher, and Kenneth Rikard. After Lander died in 1985, Marks married painter, theater-designer, and writer, Paul Fiumedoro. The two reside in south Florida where Marks is currently at work on his autobiography.[2]
The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded. It was finally organized in 1771 in response to the great popularity of French and Italian styles of dance. The company was founded with the opening of the Royal Danish Theatre, which has served as its home since that time. The Royal Danish Ballet school was founded in 1771 under the leadership of French ballet teacher Pierre Laurent (1730–1807), then Vincenzo Galeotti developed it and August Bournonville founded his methodology for the school.
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov is a Latvian-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.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. 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.
Ib Andersen is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. He was principal dancer for the Royal Danish Ballet 1975-1980, for the New York City Ballet 1980-1990, freelancing ballet master 1990-2000 and artistic director of Ballet Arizona 2000-2024.
Ethan Stiefel is an American dancer, choreographer, and director. He was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) from 1997 until July 2012. He was the artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet from 2011 to 2014. His wife is Gillian Murphy, also a principal dancer with ABT.
A ballet master is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In modern times, ballet masters are generally charged with teaching the daily company ballet class and rehearsing the dancers for both new and established ballets in the company's repertoire. The artistic director of a ballet company, whether a male or female, may also be called its ballet master. Historic use of gender marking in job titles in ballet is being supplanted by gender-neutral language job titles regardless of an employee's gender.
Nina Ananiashvili is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the Daily Telegraph as one of the twelve greatest ballerinas of all time, and in 2002 was named Best Ballerina of the Year by the US Dance Magazine. Ananiashvili has been a prominent fixture of the Soviet, Russian and Georgian ballet scene for decades. Shortly before the fall of the Iron Curtain, in 1987 a New York Magazine critic praised her as "the best thing about the Bolshoi's Giselle whether she appeared in the title role or as the queen of the wilis." In 2014, a film of her 1991 performance in Giselle with the Bolshoi ballet was released.
Ballet San Jose was a ballet company based in San Jose, California, US, operating from 1985 to 2016.
Harald Alfred Bernhardt Stevnsborg Lander was a Danish dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet.
Ballet West is an American ballet company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1963 as the Utah Civic Ballet by Willam F. Christensen, the company's first artistic director, and Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. Christensen had previously established the first ballet department in an American university at the University of Utah in 1951.
Kevin McKenzie is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. A former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, he then served as the company's artistic director from 1992 to 2022.
Thomas Lund is the head master of The Royal Danish School of Ballet in Copenhagen. Lund admitted to The Royal Danish School of Ballet in 1986 aged 11. He became apprentice in 1991, member of the corps de ballet of The Royal Danish Ballet in 1993, soloist in 1996 and was appointed principal dancer in 2000. In September 2012 Lund retired as a Principal Dancer to become the head master of The Royal Danish School of Ballet He held that position until June 2022.
Susan Jaffe is an American ballet dancer and arts administrator. She is currently the artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre, where she had danced for 22 years and held the rank of principal dancer. She previously served as the dean of the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the artistic director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Frank Andersen is a former Danish ballet dancer who was twice artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet. He has been an influential supporter of the Danish choreographer August Bournonville.
Sorella Englund is a former soloist and character dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet. She has been a keen supporter of August Bournonville, staging a number of his ballets in Denmark and abroad.
The New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC), was a program providing dance education and employment opportunities for young dancers ages 17 to 24. In 1983 Ilona Copen founded NYIBC, with Igor Youskevitch as first artistic director, in order to fill a void and satisfy a need in the global dance ecosystem. Other international ballet competitions existed, but New York City, considered a dance capital of the world, did not have its own.
Dinna Bjørn is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. She has specialized dancing and directing the ballets of August Bournonville. Bjørn has also created five Hans Christian Andersen ballets for the Pantomime Theatre in Copenhagen's Tivoli.
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.
Silja Maria Wendrup Schandorff is a Danish ballerina who performed with the Royal Danish Ballet from 1985 to 2009. She has since served the Royal Theatre as ballet instructor and deputy ballet master.
Toni Lander née Pihl Petersen (1931–1985) was a Danish ballerina who specialized in the ballets of August Bournonville. After becoming a solo dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet in 1950, she was a guest dancer with the Original Ballet Russe in 1951. She was then engaged by the Paris Opera Ballet until 1954. Lander also appeared with the London Festival Ballet in the late 1950s and with the American Ballet Theatre in the 1960s. After a few years back in Denmark in the early 1970s, in 1976 she joined the Ballet West in Salt Lake City. After a short illness, she died there of cancer in May 1985.
↑ Dance Studio LifeArchived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Former ABT Principal and Boston Ballet Director Bruce Marks Joins faculty of 2011 DanceLife Teacher Conference
↑ Ballet AlertArchived April 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine The King of Crossover crosses back - A conversation with Bruce Marks by Alexandra Tomalonis
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