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Cynthia Gregory: America's Prima Ballerina Absoluta

Charles Maple, Director of the Maple Conservatory of Dance

View the photos that were taken during some of the variations classes taught by Ms. Gregory at our 4-Week Intensive Program and during our Meet-the-Artist lecture which was open to the public.

July 31, 2008

Cynthia Gregory was the reigning ballerina at American Ballet Theatre when I joined the company in 1983. Before then, I had only watched her from the audience as a young student when she performed on stage. Once I joined ABT, I had the opportunity to be in the same room with her and I was absolutely thrilled to watch her at work. It was no wonder that Rudolf Nureyev called her “America's prima ballerina absoluta." She was, and still is, celebrated as one of the world’s greatest ballerinas during a career that spanned more than a quarter of a century.

I had learned of Cynthia Gregory as a young student growing up in Southern California and she was a legend and a mystery to me then. Much of Cynthia's early training was in her native Los Angeles with Carmelita Maracci. But she also studied with my teacher Andrei Tremaine. Andrei often told us stories about Cynthia and her career. She had been awarded a Ford Foundation scholarship at age 14 to study with the San Francisco Ballet, and she had quickly become a soloist, then a principal dancer shortly thereafter.

Cynthia joined the American Ballet Theatre in 1965. In 1967, when ABT was on tour in San Francisco, she made her debut as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. Her New York debut in the dual role later the same year marked her emergence as a major ballerina. I remember as a young dancer watching her perform Swan Lake when ABT was on tour in Los Angeles. By the time I joined ABT, Cynthia was already fully established as a ballet icon.

During my time with ABT, I was fortunate to have been part of her performances in Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Bluebird, Coppelia, Raymonda, La Bayadere, Don Quixote, La Sylphide, Balanchine's Prodigal Son, Tudor's Jardin aux Lila, DeMille's Fall River Legend, and Tetley's Voluntarie.

While at ABT, I remember working with Rudolf Nureyev on his new full-length classic for ABT, Raymonda. Of course, Cynthia danced the principal female role and the great classicist, Erik Bruhn danced the role of Saracen. I remember Cynthia hypnotizing the audience with her interpretation of the lead role. It was a magical time in the history of ballet.

We were fortunate to have Cynthia this summer at the Maple Conservatory of Dance during our 4-Week Intensive program in which she staged and coached our students in Raymonda. Cynthia is recognized as one of the world's greatest ballerinas and she is an inspiration to all who has had the opportunity to work with her.

Thank you Cynthia for all you have given us in the world of dance. You are our Prima Ballerina Absoluta.

Charles A. Maple
Director, Maple Conservatory of Dance
Email: info@mapleconservatory.com