Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre

by Alex C. Ewing

To many people, Lucia Chase (1897-1986) was the American Ballet Theatre, and her reign as the queen of American ballet lasted for more than four decades. It was Chase who brought Nureyev, Bujones, Kirkland, and eventually Baryshnikov to ABT. Under her leadership, the company worked with such legends as Agnes de Mille, Anthony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp. Her drive, ambition, tenacity, and money kept the doors open even during the lean years. A dancer when the company made its debut in 1940, she was artistic director for an unprecedented thirty-five years, from 1945 to 1980. Over the course of her career, she received numerous honors and awards, including the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Combining unique personal insights as Chase's son along with experience garnered from his own professional dance and administrative career, Alex Ewing offers the definitive story of one of the true pioneers in the world of American ballet.

400 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2009

Reviews

[Wynn Senning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written life of an amazing woman. Lucia Chase is a giant figure in the history of American dance -- a star ballerina who ran the biggest ballet company in America for over 35 years, brought Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolf Nureyev to the United States, etc. But there's more to her life, too -- a great love story, a great tragedy when her young husband died and left her a single mother, and the glamour of the highest reaches of New York high society. I loved this book!

[Vicky Haim · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Ballet Theatre exists today as a top notch theatre company through the efforts of Lucia Chase as explained in this book written tenderly but openly by her son, Alec Ewing. By all rights the company should not exist because the financial bottom line was horrendous and survived many potential crises due to loans/donations from her estate using the millions left by the early death of her husband. But so many other parties played to change the companies direction including Dick Pleasant in the beginning, Sol Hurok as producer getting engagements at the Met and across the country, business leaders who began the endowments. The stars overseas found a home at ABT during WWII. Oliver Smith was co artistic director for over 40 years with Lucia Chase. She ultimately was the matriarch of the company and led an amazing very busy life. Although only studying dancing after her husband died and technique was not her forte, her pantomime allowed her to stay on stage with the dancers for many years beyond the dancing careers of most artists. Some of the chapters dealing with the financials are dry as she did have trouble with the IRS, the writing essential to the story line of this great company its connection with this great lady.

[Maryann Zulueta · Rating 4 out of 5]

the review written by Dianne green, not by maryan zulueta