Silas Farley

Last updated

Silas Farley
Silas Farley speaks to Church of the Heavenly Rest.jpg
Farley speaks to the Church of the Heavenly Rest in 2020
Born1994or1995(age 29–30)
NationalityAmerican
Education School of American Ballet
Occupations
  • ballet dancer
  • choreographer
  • educator
Organization New York City Ballet
SpouseCassia Wilson
Family Matthias Farley (brother)

Silas Farley (born 1994or1995 [1] ) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer and educator. He danced at the New York City Ballet between 2013 and 2020, and choreographed outside the company. Between 2021 and 2023, he was the dean of Colburn School's Trudl Zipper Dance Institute.

Contents

Early life and training

Farley was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, the youngest of seven children. One of his brothers, Matthias Farley, is a football player. [2] Silas Farley started dancing at age seven. [2] He later joined a program for young male dancers at the North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance, where he was taught by the school's then-director, Darleen Callaghan, [3] as well as former New York City Ballet principal dancers Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. [4] At age eleven, he made his choreographic debut at a student workshop in Charlotte. At thirteen, he started teaching other students at the encouragement of Callaghan. [3] [5]

At age fourteen, Farley entered the School of American Ballet (SAB). [5] At the time, since he was too young to choreograph at the student workshop there, he served as the unofficial ballet master and "the cheerleader with a notebook" for a piece by 18-year-old Lauren Lovette. Farley did so for another year, then choreographed for the workshop for two consecutive years. [5] [6] [7] Farley attended SAB with scholarship and graduated after four years of training. [5] After he graduated high school, he was accepted to Harvard University on full scholarship, but opted to pursue a career in dance first. [6]

Career

Farley dances for the Church of the Heavenly Rest in 2020 Silas Farley dances for the Church of the Heavenly Rest.jpg
Farley dances for the Church of the Heavenly Rest in 2020

In 2012, Farley became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet, and was chosen to be a teaching fellow at SAB. He joined the corps de ballet the following year. [6] [8] Lead roles he performed include the Cavalier in Balanchine's The Nutcracker and Prince Ivan in Firebird. [6] [9] Throughout his time in the company, he was one of the few African American dancers in the company. [2] He also hosts the segment "Hear the Dance" of the company podcast. [6]

In 2013, Farley choreographed for the SAB Winter Ball. [5] In 2019, he made Songs From the Spirit, a piece about prison life that was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in collaboration with the podcast Ear Hustle . [10] He joined the board of the George Balanchine Foundation the same year. [1]

In June 2020, Farley, who was 26, announced that he would retire from the New York City Ballet, but would continue to host "Hear the Dance" and teach at SAB when possible. He became the artist-in-residence in ballet at the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, in the 2020–21 school year. [6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he became involved with the Los Angeles-based Colburn School, becoming the inaugural artist of Amplify Series, which celebrates artists of color. He also taught master classes and choreographed for the school's virtual summer intensive and a section of the virtual production of The Nutcracker . [11] He also choreographed a video titled Werner Sonata for the Washington Ballet, and another for The Guggenheim's Works & Process series. [12] He also made Collage & Creed for American Ballet Theatre, which premiered in June 2021 in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado. [13]

Farley became the dean of the Colburn School's Trudl Zipper Dance Institute in July 2021, succeeding Jenifer Ringer. Darleen Callaghan, Farley's former teacher who remains a mentor, assumed the role of associate dean. [1] [3] He stepped down in 2023. [14]

On May 5, 2022, Farley's first main stage production for the New York City Ballet, Architects of Time, premiered. He and composer David K. Israel were commissioned by the company to make a ballet inspired by a poem Balanchine wrote for Igor Stravinsky, who set it to a melody. [4]

Personal life

Farley is married to Cassia Wilson, also a ballet dancer. [10] [15]

As of 2020, he is studying at the Harvard Extension School. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Ballet</span> American ballet company

New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's first music director. City Ballet grew out of earlier troupes: the Producing Company of the School of American Ballet, 1934; the American Ballet, 1935, and Ballet Caravan, 1936, which merged into American Ballet Caravan, 1941; and directly from the Ballet Society, 1946.

Megan Fairchild is an American ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colburn School</span> Private performing arts school in Los Angeles, California

The Colburn School is a private performing arts school in Los Angeles with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. Founded in 1950, the school is named after its principal benefactor, Richard D. Colburn.

Peter Boal is artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and director of its affiliated school in Seattle, Washington. He was born in Bedford, New York, in 1965 and began studies at the School of American Ballet (SAB) at age nine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jock Soto</span> American ballet dancer

Jock Soto is a former American ballet dancer and current ballet instructor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Millepied</span> French multi oriented dancer and choreographer

Benjamin Millepied is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also created choreography for the company, and choreographed pieces for other major companies. He retired from the NYCB in 2011.

Jenifer Ellen Ringer is an American ballet dancer and educator. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1990, became a principal dancer in 2000, and retired from performing in 2014. She then became the director of the Colburn School's professional dance program, Colburn Dance Academy. She was named Dean of the Colburn's Trudl Zipper Dance Institute in 2017, before stepping down in 2021.

Kyra Nichols is an American retired ballet dancer and teacher. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1974 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1979. She is one of the last dancers to have worked with George Balanchine, although he did not create any new work on her. However, she originated roles in several ballets by Jerome Robbins. Nichols retired from performing in 2007, after a 33-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandra Ansanelli</span> American ballet dancer

Alexandra Noel Ansanelli is a retired American ballet dancer who was a Principal dancer at New York City Ballet and the Royal Ballet prior to her retirement at a relatively young age.

Miranda Weese is an American former ballet dancer, teacher and ballet master. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1993 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1996. In 2007, she left to perform with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, first as a guest artist, then joined the company as a principal dancer, before retiring in 2010. In 2017, she joined the Boston Ballet as a children's ballet master.

Carla Körbes is a Brazilian ballet dancer who performed as a principal dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, then became the associate artistic director of L.A Dance Project. She is now an associate professor at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's ballet faculty.

Gemma Bond is an English ballet dancer and member of the corps de ballet with American Ballet Theatre (ABT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexei Ratmansky</span> Russian ballet dancer and choreographer

Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet. He left Russia in 2008. In 2009 he was appointed the artist in residence at the American Ballet Theatre, and as artist in residence at the New York City Ballet from August 2023.

Polyphonia is a one-act ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to music by György Ligeti, costumes designed by Holly Hynes, and was created for the New York City Ballet. It premiered on January 4, 2001 at the New York State Theater. It is regarded as Wheeldon's breakthrough, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unity Phelan</span> American ballet dancer

Unity Sickles Phelan is an American ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2013 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021. Outside of the company, she had also danced in films John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

Margaret Tracey is an American ballet dancer and educator. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1986, was promoted principal dancer in 1991, and retired in 2002. She served as the director of the Boston Ballet School between 2007 and 2021, dean of the Colburn School's Trudl Zipper Dance Institute since 2023, and slated to become the artistic director of Canada's National Ballet School in 2024.

Indiana Woodward is a French ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2012, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021.

Mira Nadon is an American ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2018, and in 2023, she was promoted to principal dancer, as the first Asian American woman to hold this position.

Roman Mejia is an American ballet dancer. He joined the New York City Ballet in 2017, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sulcas, Roslyn (February 24, 2021). "Silas Farley to Lead Dance Academy in Los Angeles". New York Times.
  2. 1 2 3 Mead, Rebecca (January 9, 2017). "Searching for a Muse at the Met". The New Yorker.
  3. 1 2 3 Easter, Makeda (February 24, 2021). "New York City Ballet alum Silas Farley, 26, is named dean of Colburn dance institute". Los Angeles Times .
  4. 1 2 Sulcas, Roslyn (May 3, 2022). "Stepping Into the Balanchine-Stravinsky Continuum". New York Times.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Blackmore-Dobbyn, Andrew (March 7, 2013). "Silas Farley: Choreographing the Future of New York City Ballet". HuffPost.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kourlas, Gia (June 23, 2020). "Retiring From Ballet at 26? Dancing Can Get You Only So Far". New York Times.
  7. ↑ Kourlas, Gia (November 20, 2009). "A Dancer's Fresh Move: Choreographer". New York Times.
  8. ↑ "Silas Farley". New York City Ballet. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ Cooper, Mochael (December 23, 2015). "'The Nutcracker' Gives Young Dancers a Spotlight Role".
  10. 1 2 Kourlas, Gia (March 7, 2019). "'Seraphic Track Stars' Dancing About Freedom at the Met". New York Times.
  11. ↑ Warnecke, Lauren (March 8, 2021). "Silas Farley's Vision for Los Angeles' Colburn School". Dance Teacher.
  12. ↑ Ables, Kelsey (June 12, 2021). "Washington Ballet concludes its virtual season with a breath of fresh air, captured on film". Washington Post.
  13. ↑ Criscitiello, Alexa (June 29, 2021). "American Ballet Theatre Announces s 2021 Summer Celebration". BroadwayWorld.
  14. ↑ "The Colburn School Appoints Margaret Tracey as Dean of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute". Colburn School. May 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ Sulcas, Roslyn (July 13, 2016). "New York City Ballet Savors the City of Light". New York Times.
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.