Cynthia Gregory

Rudolf Nureyev once called Cynthia Gregory “America’s Prima Ballerina Assoluta.” She joined American Ballet Theatre in 1965 and in 1967, at the age of 21, she made an auspicious debut as Odette/Odile in the full-length production of Swan Lake. During her 26 years with the company, her classical repertoire included principal roles in Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Raymonda, La Bayadère, Don Quixote and La Sylphide. Miss Gregory also worked with many notable 20th- century choreographers including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, Agnes DeMille, Glen Tetley, Birgit Culberg and José Limón. Miss Gregory has been a guest artist with the National Ballet of Canada, Vienna State Opera Ballet and the Zurich State Opera Ballet, the ballet company of the Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, and the Stuttgart, Munich and Berlin State Opera Ballets. Many of her favorite partners were considered some of the great male dancers of their time, including Rudolf Nureyev, Erik Bruhn and Fernando Bujones. Miss Gregory is the recipient of many awards, including the 1975 Dance Magazine Award, the 1978 Harkness Ballet Foundation Award, and two annual awards from the Dance Educators of America. She was made a Lion of the New York Public Library and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at both Hofstra University and Purchase College. Miss Gregory has authored two books, Ballet Is the Best Exercise and Cynthia Gregory Dances Swan Lake.