Gelsey Kirkland

Ballerina + Soloist + Dancer

Female

Born Dec 29, 1952

Age 60

Gelsey Kirkland is an American ballerina. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age fifteen, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was promoted to soloist in 1969 and principal in 1972.

Romance

Check out the latest love interests for Gelsey Kirkland.

Mikhail Baryshnikov
Dating
Michael Chernov

Married

News + Updates

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Phil Chan: The Lost Generation In The Audience
Huffington Post - Jan 06, 2013

In 1967, Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev were arrested in San Francisco after attending a party where allegedly there was marijuana. The story made the front page all over the world. At the height of their popularity, people would sleep outside Covent Garden to get any ticket they could to see this pair dance. Gelsey Kirkland was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1978, and her tell-all book Dancing on My Grave exposed the many pressures of the da...
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Andrew Blackmore Dobbyn: Claudia Folts: Tutu Nation's Pied Piper
Huffington Post - Sep 13, 2012

Claudia Folts of Tutu.com Tutus are every girl's dream at sometime in her life. I like the idea that Tutu.Com has a hand in making those dreams come true. -Claudia Folts- The story of Tutu.com goes back many years to when Claudia Folts was a ballerina. She performed with several companies including Harkness Dance Theatre, the Baltimore Ballet, Ruth Page's Chicago Ballet, Alphonso Cata's Ballet on Broadway and The New York City Opera. While performing with one company, she bec...
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Andrew Blackmore Dobbyn: The Gelsey Kirkland Academy: A Safe Haven For Dancers
Huffington Post - Sep 10, 2012

Gelsey Kirkland and Michael "Misha" Chernov When Gelsey Kirkland arrived at American Ballet Theatre in 1974 it was the beginning of the transformation of the company. In much the same way that Mikhail Baryshnikov raised the bar(re) for male dancers, Kirkland created a new paradigm for the modern ballerina. No matter the turbulence that followed in her personal life, it was her artistry and technique on stage th...
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The Beekeeper
Yale Daily News - Apr 27, 2012

"Did you eat bananas? Are you wearing leather?” Marina Marchese looks me up and down. I shake my head and zip my suit. “If you have, they’ll be angry.” It’s cold outside: below 60 degrees. They’re already angry. “Did you shower? Did you brush your teeth?” I nod weakly and fasten my hood. Through its white gossamer veil, the world splits into tiny hexagons. Maybe this is how they see it: a million prismatic “me’s” each more stingable than the last. “If you haven’t, they’ll be ...
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Timeline

Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Gelsey Kirkland.

CHILDHOOD

1952 Birth Born in 1952.

TEENAGE

1968 16 Years Old Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age fifteen, at the invitation of George Balanchine.

1969 17 Years Old She was promoted to soloist in 1969 and principal in 1972. … Read More

TWENTIES

1977 25 Years Old She is perhaps most famous to the general public for dancing the role of "Clara" in Baryshnikov's 1977 televised production of The Nutcracker.

THIRTIES

1984 32 Years Old She left the ABT in 1984.

1986 34 Years Old In 1986, Gelsey Kirkland had published Dancing On My Grave, co-written by her then husband Greg Lawrence, a startling memoir chronicling her artistic transformation from George Balanchine's "baby ballerina" to one of the most acclaimed ballerinas in her generation. … Read More

1990 38 Years Old Her second autobiography published in 1990 titled The Shape Of Love, dealt with her move to England to dance with the Royal Ballet, her attempts to get a fresh start with her first husband, and her return to American Ballet Theatre with a clean slate and a renewed outlook on life.

FORTIES

1993 41 Years Old After these two intensely graphic autobiographies, she and her husband/co-writer collaborated on one more book--a children's book called "The Little Ballerina and Her Dancing Horse" in 1993.

FIFTIES

2006 54 Years Old She currently lives in New York, with her second husband, the danseur, choreographer and teacher, Michael Chernov, who was also with ABT. In 2006, she was awarded the Dance Magazine Award. (For years, they lived in Australia.) … Read More

2010 58 Years Old In 2010, Ms. Kirkland and Mr Chernov established the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet (GKACB), where they serve as co-Artistic Directors.

Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelsey_Kirkland.
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