Music: All-Americcm Ballet

In 1934, a gaunt, Boston esthete and dance man, Lincoln Kirstein, decided that the U. S. needed home-grown ballet. Rich Balletomaniac Kirstein pooled funds with Edward M. M. Warburg (son of Banker Felix Warburg), got together a bevy of young U. S. ballet dancers, and hired famed Russian Dance Master George Balanchine to teach them. Impresarios Kirstein and Warburg started their venture as a school. But it soon grew into a fledgling ballet troupe, known as the American Ballet.

The American Ballet got a chance in 1935, when it was made the official...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!