Overview
Harkness Ballet
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US ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. It was established in 1964 and gave its debut performance in Cannes in 1965 under the direction of Skibine, with Marjorie Tallchief as ballerina and a repertory featuring work by Ailey, Skibine, Bruhn, Brian Macdonald, and S. Hodes. It toured widely, giving its New York debut in 1967. The same year Macdonald was also appointed director but was succeeded by Lawrence Rhodes (1968), who was then joined by Harkarvy in 1969. These changes undermined the company's identity and in 1970 Harkness amalgamated it with the Harkness Youth Ballet (founded 1969) under the direction of Ben Stevenson who was succeeded by Vicente Nebrada. In 1972 she purchased the Harkness Theater which opened with a brief season by the company in 1974. Though the vitality of the dancers was widely admired, the repertory failed to establish a distinct personality and the company was soon disbanded. Its school, Harkness House for Ballet Arts (founded in 1965), continued to operate.
