Mary Ellen Moylan
Mary Ellen Moylan | |
|---|---|
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1949 | |
| Born | August 24, 1925 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 28, 2020 (aged 94) Redmond, Washington, U.S. |
| Education | School of American Ballet |
| Occupation | ballet dancer |
| Years active | 1942–1957 |
| Spouse |
Robert Stanley Bailes
(m. 1957; died 1962)Read Taylor Hanks (died) |
| Children | 1 |
Mary Ellen Moylan (August 24, 1925 – April 28, 2020) was an American ballet dancer. She was one of the first students of
Early life and training
Mary Ellen Moylan was born on August 24, 1925, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an Irish builder father and schoolteacher mother. Due to the Great Depression, the family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1931, when she was six, to find work. Her mother sent her to a local ballet school.[1][2]
When Moylan was eleven, her mother read about the School of American Ballet, newly founded by George Balanchine, from a magazine, and sent Moylan to the school. She first attended month-long summer sessions for two years. In 1940, at age 14, Moylan started attending the school full-time while living with her aunt in Manhattan.[3][4]: 177 In her second year, after her father's death, she was offered a scholarship, which she called a "lifesaver".[3] Her teachers included Balanchine, Pierre Vladimiroff, Muriel Stuart, Ludmilla Schollar, Felia Doubrovska, Anatole Oboukhoff and Anatole Vilzak.[3][5]
Ballet career
In 1942, at age 17, Moylan made her New York stage debut in a one-off Balanchine ballet Pas de Trois for Piano and Two Dancers, alongside
In 1943, she joined
In 1946, Moylan left Ballet Russe to perform Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical The Day Before Spring on Broadway, with choreography by Antony Tudor.[1] Later that year, Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein founded Ballet Society (the forerunner of New York City Ballet). She joined the troupe and created the role of Sanguinic in Balanchine's The Four Temperaments, which premiered during Ballet Society's first performance.[2][5] Reviewing this performance, critic Edwin Denby concluded that among Ballet Society's roster, "Mary Ellen Moylan is its bold young ballerina."[7] She and Francisco Moncion created the lead roles in Balanchine's Divertimento the following year, though she only danced it twice, and left Ballet Society the same year.[3][5]
Having studied singing and acting, Moylan returned to Broadway in 1947, in Straus' The Chocolate Soldier, also choreographed by Balanchine, with her and Moncion as the lead dancers.[1] Shortly after that, she met with Balanchine and Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre) co-director Oliver Smith, with Balanchine offering to create the lead role of Theme and Variations on her and Smith asking her to join the company. However, she declined both offers and chose to return to Ballet Russe, as she preferred to "dance all the big old roles."[3] After her return, she made her debut in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.[5] However, she was still associated with Balanchine and often danced his works.[1]
In 1950, due to changes in Ballet Russe, Moylan joined Ballet Theatre after approaching
In 1955, she joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, as she found dealing with her ankle injury while touring with Ballet Theatre difficult.[5] She originated roles in Solov's Soirée and other opera ballets. She performed in another operetta in 1957, in a new staging of Lehár's The Merry Widow choreographed by Balanchine. She retired later that year, after she got married.[1]
Moylan was associated with Balanchine throughout her career, and was featured in the 1989 documentary Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas, where fellow dancer Maria Tallchief called her "the first great Balanchine dancer."[1][8]
Post-ballet and personal life
In 1957, Moylan married Robert Stanley Bailes, a singer. They had a son and owned a hamburger stand in Costa Mesa, California. Bailes died in 1962 from diabetes.[1][2] Her second husband, accountant Read Taylor Hanks, died from a heart attack a few years later.[2] Her third marriage ended in an annulment in 1968. Then, she moved to Pleasant Valley, New York, and worked at Bennett College as a ballet teacher, purchasing agent and campus shop manager.[1] After retiring from Bennett, she became interested in watercolor painting and held several exhibitions. She moved to San Jose, California, in 1996, and Washington State in 2007.[1] Moylan died on April 28, 2020, in Redmond, Washington, aged 94.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sulcas, Roslyn (April 13, 2021). "Mary Ellen Moylan, 'First Great Balanchine Dancer,' Is Dead at 94". New York Times.
- ^ a b c d "Mary Ellen Moylan, thrilling prodigy of American dance in the 1940s who embodied the 'New World' ballerina – obituary". The Telegraph. April 16, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780385266109.
- ^ ISBN 9780241121801.
- ^ ISBN 9780671461461.
- ^ Martin, John (November 5, 1942). "New Opera Gives 'Ballet Imperial'" (PDF). New York Times.
- ISBN 9780445042704.
- ^ James, Caryn (October 7, 1989). "An Elegy to Balanchine, The Choreographer of Lives". New York Times.
External links
- Mary Ellen Moylan at IMDb
- Mary Ellen Moylan at IBDB
- "Ballet Oops", 2008 article from The New York Times about a 1942 photograph of Mary Ellen Moylan with Balanchine and other dancers
- Mary Ellen Moylan with Balanchine in a 1942 photo by Hans Knopf at artsmeme.com
- "Mary Ellen Moylan" at Andros on Ballet
- "Ballet Gems", note cards, prints, and paper dolls, designed by Mary Ellen Moylan
- "Mary Ellen's ballerina paper dolls", catalog entry at the New York Public Library
- A watercolor by Mary Ellen Moylan at WorthPoint
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