Valerie Bettis

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Valerie Elizabeth Bettis (* 20th December 1919 in Houston , Texas ; † 26. September 1982 in New York City ) was an American dancer and choreographer of modern dance .

Life

Valerie Bettis was born in Houston in 1919 to Royal Holt Bettis and Valerie Elizabeth McCarthy. Her father died when she was 13 years old. Her mother later married Hugh Prather. When she was ten years old, Bettis took her first ballet lessons with the dancer Rowena Smith . During her high school years, she also took part in theater and musical performances. After attending the University of Texas for a year, Bettis moved to New York City. From 1937 she studied modern dance with Hanya Holm and stayed in her ensemble until 1940. Bettis then prepared for her debut as a solo dancer, which finally took place in November 1941 at New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall .

In March 1943, Bettis received much recognition for her self-choreographed solo number The Desperate Heart, based on a poem by John Malcolm Brinnin . On March 11, 1947, her choreography to Virginia Sampler was premiered by the Ballets Russes , which is why Bettis is considered the first modern dance choreographer to work with an established ballet company. Her dances for As I Lay Dying (1948) have been described by the New York Times as "stunning, dramatically impressive and imaginative". As a literary work it served while William Faulkner novel As I lay dying ( As I Lay Dying ) from the year 1930th

As a result, she was also busy on Broadway . She had one of her best known appearances on Broadway in 1948 as Tiger Lily in Inside USA , a musical revue by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz , for which she received the Theater World Award . In 1952 she choreographed a ballet version of Tennessee Williams ' play Endstation Sehnsucht ( A Streetcar Named Desire , 1947) with music by Alex North for the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet .

For a short time she also worked in Hollywood . For the two films Affair in Trinidad ( Affair in Trinidad , 1952) and Salome (1953), she worked twice with screen icon Rita Hayworth . Bettis, who also played a supporting role in Affair in Trinidad , choreographed the two dance numbers Trinidad Lady and I've Been Kissed Before for Hayworth . The film critics of the time found the dances to be too avant-garde and tasteless. As Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times : "The dances [Hayworth] performs in this film make them look vulgar and grotesque." Yet the two women worked together again for Hayworth's Dance of the Seven Veils in Salome .

From 1943 to 1955 Bettis was married to the Brazilian pianist and composer Bernardo Ségall. She later married Arthur Schmidt, who died in 1969. Valerie Bettis died in 1982 after a brief illness at the age of 62 in Beth Israel Hospital in New York.

Choreographies (selection)

ballet
  • 1943: The Desperate Heart
  • 1946: Yerma
  • 1947: Virginia Sampler
  • 1948: As I Lay Dying
  • 1949: Domino Furioso
  • 1951: Peer Gynt
  • 1952: A Streetcar Named Desire
  • 1955: The Golden Round
  • 1958: The Past Perfect Hero
  • 1959: Closed Door
  • 1960: Early Voyagers
  • 1964: Songs and Processions
  • 1976: Echoes of Spoon River
Movie
  • 1952: Affair in Trinidad ( Affair in Trinidad )
  • 1953: Salome
  • 1953: This woman forgets not ( Let's Do It Again )
  • 1954: Athena

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Martin: Valerie Bettis Seen in Dance Debut Here; Gives First Local Solo Recital at Carnegie Chamber Hall . In: The New York Times , November 28, 1941.
  2. ^ Bettis' Company Offers Premiere; Ballet Troupe Presents 'It Is Always Farewell' at Connecticut Dance Festival . In: The New York Times , August 19, 1949.
  3. ^ Valerie Bettis Ballet on City Center Bill . In: The New York Times , March 2, 1947.
  4. ↑ "[I] t is a stunning piece, powerful dramatically, imaginative in design." John Marin: The Dance: Bravo; Valerie Bettis Choreographs a Novel Brilliantly - A Robbins Ballet . In: The New York Times , January 16, 1949.
  5. ↑ a b cf. danceheritage.org ( Memento of the original from August 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / danceheritage.org
  6. ↑ "The dancing she does in this picture makes her look both vulgar and grotesque." Bosley Crowther : Columbia's 'Affair in Trinidad' at the Victoria Brings Rita Hayworth Back to Screen . In: The New York Times , July 31, 1952.
  7. ↑ Jack Anderson: Valerie Bettis, Choreographer and Modern Dancer, Is Dead . In: The New York Times , September 28, 1982.
personal data
SURNAME Bettis, Valerie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bettis, Valerie Elizabeth (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American dancer
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Houston , Texas
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1982
Place of death New York City