biography
| name: |
Kirstein, Lincoln (Edward)
|
pronunciation:
[kersteen]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1907–96)
|
| biography:
| Writer and impresario, born in Rochester, New York, USA. Heir to a fortune his father made while working for Filene's Department Store, he fell in love with the theatre as a child and was profoundly inspired by Anna Pavlova in 1920. After graduating from Harvard, he reviewed dance and theatre for Horn and Hound, which he co-founded. In 1933 he recognized George Balanchine's talents, sponsored his emigration to the USA and, to provide vehicles for Balanchine's talents, founded the School of American Ballet (1934) and the American Ballet Company the next year. The American Ballet became attached to the Metropolitan Opera (1935), when Kirstein also ran Ballet Caravan. In 1946 Kirstein and Balanchine founded the Ballet Society, and in 1948 they moved to New York's new City Centre as the directors of what became one of America's top-ranking companies, New York City Ballet. Officially retired in 1989, Kirstein remained a presence in the American dance world and intellectual life. He wrote several books, including Dance (1935) and Movement and Metaphor (1970), as well as poetry, and was founder-editor of Dance Index Magazine (1942–8). |
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