253:, a German dancer whom he met in Europe in the 1950s. Burmann's career was inextricably linked with Catá's own. He danced with the Stuttgart Ballet, the Frankfurt Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the New York City Ballet, and the Geneva company, where he also served as ballet master. He later became a popular teacher at Steps on Broadway in New York City. He survived Catá, who died at age 53 in hospital at Tourcoing, near Roubaix. Catá was also survived by a younger brother, Ernesto Hernandez-Catá, a retired economist living in the Washington area with his wife, Ximena.
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Spanish. Details of his early life are obscure, but he may also have begun his ballet training with Swiss teachers. In any case, when his family moved to the United States about 1950 and settled in New York City, his interest in dance was strong enough to cause him to enroll at the School of
American Ballet. There, he was trained in the principles of classical ballet technique developed by
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schools in New York City and elsewhere. As founder of the Ballet du Nord in
Roubaix, France, close to the Belgian border, he remained active in the post of company director, chief choreographer, and teacher until his death in 1990. He built the company repertory on fourteen Balanchine ballets and such works as
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In 1969, Balanchine nominated Catá to become artistic director of the moribund ballet company of the Grand Théâtre de Genève. It was an attractive offer, especially because of his childhood memories of the city, and a welcome opportunity that he was glad to accept. With
Balanchine acting as artistic
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of New York City Ballet, then resident at the New York State
Theater at Lincoln Center. Although happy to be dancing the Balanchine repertory, he decided, at age 30, to retire from the stage. In 1967, he left New York City Ballet and opened a boutique, called Yasny ("You ain't seen nothin' yet"), on
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Born in Havana, Alfonso Catá was the son of a diplomat in service to the government of
Fulgencio Batista, president of Cuba from 1933 to 1959. When Alfonso was a boy, his father was posted to Geneva, Switzerland, and he was educated in private schools there, adding French and English to his native
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at an international gala that Catá had organized and who would go on to an illustrious career as a principal dancer with the Basel Ballet and as ballet master of the Zurich Ballet. Other talented members of the company were the French dancer
Dominique Bagouet, the English dancer David Allen, his
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Over the next two decades, Catá worked as artistic director of three major dance companies: the
Frankfurt Ballet in Germany (1973-1977), the Baltimore Ballet in the United States (1980-1981), and the Ballet du Nord in France (1983-1990). In the intervals between these jobs, he taught at various
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Manhattan's Upper West Side, where he sold dresses he had designed and Latin
American pottery and jewelry. Gregarious and charming, he attracted patrons to his shop from a wide surrounding neighborhood, including Balanchine, who would sometimes stop by for a chat.
106:, Zelma Bustillo, Diana Carter, Luis Fuente, Hilda Morales, and Trinette Singleton. The newly named Joffrey Ballet made its debut at the New York City Center of Music and Drama in 1965, but Catá did not remain long with the troupe, soon leaving to join the
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adviser, he took over leadership of the company, made dramatic reforms, and revitalized the repertory. During the four years of his tenure (1969-1973), he introduced many of
Balanchine's best works to appreciative Swiss audiences. Among them were
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Balanchine provided not only artistic advice; he sent Catá some of his most promising students from the School of
American Ballet in New York. Among them were Claudia Jescke and Chris Jensen, who, at 19, partnered Violette Verdy in a Balanchine
221:, in 1972. The success of this work, set to a commissioned electronic score by Eric Gaudibert and performed by Ruth Weber and Chris Jensen, launched Spoerli's career as the foremost Swiss choreographer of the twentieth century.
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Upon returning to New York, Catá resumed his studies at the School of American Ballet and at the Joffrey School, where he improved his technical mastery. In 1964 he was among the first group of young professionals organized by
58:'s Ballets de Paris, which performed in various cities in France and on tour to neighboring countries. Catá danced minor roles in many works in the company repertory, appearing on stage with
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by Claude Debussy. The company eventually evolved into the Centre Chorégraphique National Roubaix–Nord-Pas-de-Calais (CNN), specializing in experimental contemporary dance.
33:(3 October 1937 – 15 September 1990) was a Cuban ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director, active in the United States, Switzerland, Germany, and France.
78:, staged by Bronislava Nijinska and Robert Helpmann and starring Nina Vyrubova and Serge Golovine. In, 1961, Catá left France and moved to Germany, where he joined the
233:, set to music of Hector Berlioz by Jean-Paul Comelin, and a number of works of his own devising. Among them were ballets to two evocative orchestral compositions:
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of the company, internationally known star of Cranko's narrative ballets, and his eventual successor as artistic director of the company.
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During his career as a dancer, Catá performed with several major ballet companies in Europe and America. In 1956, at age 19, he joined
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Peter Williams, "Mr. B's Man in Geneva: The Ballet of Geneva's Grand Théâtre in All-Balanchine Program,"
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156:(Gershwin). These masterworks were supplemented by choreographies of his own, including
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The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel
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Anonymous, "Alfonso Catá, 53, Dancer, Teacher, and Ballet Director," obituary,
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The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Ballet Company
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Anonymous, "Alfonso Catá, 53, Dancer, Teacher, and Ballet Director," obituary,
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Anonymous, "Alfonso Catá, 53, Dancer, Teacher, and Ballet Director" obituary,
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Margaret E. Willis, "Catá and His Ballet du Nord: France's Northern Lights,"
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Archives, Informations et Recherché du Grand Théâtre de Genève, website,
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Souvenir program, Ballet Gala, Grand Théâtre de Genève, 17 October 1971.
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70:. After a time with this company, he left to join the Grand Ballet du
184:(Tomás Swoboda). He also provided dances for operas and operettas:
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Marie-Christine Vernay, "Le Ballet du Nord à Couteaux Tirés,"
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Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research
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229:, set to music of Keith Emerson by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux,
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Anna Kisselgoff, "Ballet du Nord Performs in Brooklyn,"
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Clement Crisp, "Le Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas,"
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Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell, "Catá, Alfonso," in
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Concerto pour Percussion, Piano, et Orchestre à Cordes
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213:French wife Claudine Kamoun, and the Swiss dancer
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479:Harris Green, "Face to Face: Wilhelm Burmann,"
102:into a company, along with Robert Blankshire,
483:(New York), website, posted 1 February 2009,
86:. He took with him his Brazilian girlfriend,
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431:(Zurich: Verlag Neue Zűrcher Zeitung, 2012).
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391:http://archives.genevaopera.ch.recherches
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429:Heinz Spoerli: Weltbűrger des Ballets
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485:http://www.dance-teacher.com/2009/02
457:(New York), October 1987, pp. 50-53.
115:Directorial and choreographic career
326:International Encyclopedia of Dance
312:(Edinburgh), Summer 2005, pp. 1-17.
418:(London), January 1984, pp. 35-36.
166:Sonatine pour Violon et Percussion
90:, who would become Cranko's muse,
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365:Dictionnaire du Théâtre en Suisse
367:(Zurich: Chronos, 2005), p. 358.
363:Anne Davier, "Alfonso Catá," in
273:(Oxford University Press, 2000).
235:Nuits dans les Jardins d'Espagne
564:20th-century Cuban LGBTQ people
249:Catá's long-term companion was
380:(London), May 1971, pp. 32-36.
271:The Oxford Dictionary of Dance
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494:. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
393:. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
341:(New York: Scribner's, 1996).
505:International New York Times
442:International New York Times
352:International New York Times
284:International New York Times
152:(Corelli and Vivaldi), and
66:and with Violette Verdy in
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470:(Paris), 28 December 2002
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174:Le Carnaval des Animaux
134:Les Quatre Tempéraments
37:Early life and training
196:(Chabrier, 1971), and
160:(music, Leoncavallo),
124:(music, Tchaikovsky),
549:Ballet choreographers
481:Dane Teacher Magazine
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559:LGBTQ choreographers
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186:Un Ballo in Maschere
554:Cuban LGBTQ dancers
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192:(Offenbach, 1971),
146:Symphonie Ecossaise
142:Divertimento No. 15
76:The Sleeping Beauty
490:2015-12-22 at the
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180:(Schoenberg), and
416:Dance and Dancers
378:Dance and Dancers
178:Nuit Transfigurée
170:Pierre et le Loup
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206:pas de deux
162:Les Saisons
154:Who Cares"?
84:John Cranko
62:in Petit's
518:Categories
468:Liberation
257:References
144:(Mozart),
219:Le Chemin
210:La Source
128:(Bizet),
488:Archived
227:Concerto
194:L'Étoile
140:(Bach),
122:Sérénade
68:Le Loup
239:La Mer
64:Carmen
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