Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld was born in Borough Park Brooklyn on July 5, 1942. His academic schooling began at Yeshiva and continued at public school beginning in the 4th grade. Mr. Feld’s first dance training was at age 8 with Ronne Aul, a distinguished African American modern dancer. In 1954, at age 11, he was accepted at the School of American Ballet. Months later little Mr. Feld danced the role of the Child Prince in the premier season of George Balanchine’s Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet. His early dance training was enhanced by study with many distinguished dance teachers and choreographers, including: Pearl Lang, Donald McKayle, Sophie Maslow, Bill Bales, Mary Anthony, Antonina Tumkovsky, Ruthanna Boris, Bella Malinka, and Nina Popova. Mr. Feld attended the storied High School of Performing Arts.
At 16 Eliot Feld joined the Broadway cast of West Side Story as a Shark and was soon promoted to the role Baby John, two years later portraying that role in the movie version of the musical. He danced as well in the Broadway productions of “I Can Get it for You Wholesale” and “Fiddler on the Roof”. Mr. Feld credits Richard Thomas, a remarkable ballet teacher, mentor and friend for the indispensable ballet training and encouragement without which, he believes, his future accomplishments would have been unthinkable. In 1963 Mr. Feld joined the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theater (promoted to soloist in 1966 and principal dancer in 1968) where in 1967 he choreographed his first two ballets, “Harbinger” and “At Midnight”.
In 1969 Mr. Feld formed the American Ballet Company, resident at the Brooklyn Academy of music, where he choreographed 10 ballets over two and a half years, before the company was disbanded in 1971 for lack of funds.
In 1974, with the support of Howard Klein at the Rockefeller Foundation Mr. Feld formed the Eliot Feld Ballet, resident at the New York Shakespeare Festival, produced and directed by Joe Papp and associate producer Bernard Gersten. This also began a vibrant creative association with Cora Cahan as Executive Director of the company. Between 1974 and 1991 when Ms. Cahan left to lead the revival of 42nd St, their accomplishments under the aegis of the Original Ballets Foundation, now Ballet Tech Foundation are legendary. They include: the discovery of 890 Broadway, a building with a rare architectural feature, open uncolumned space, and the building’s transformation into a dance and theater rehearsal hub. The concept and creation of the Joyce Theater, and in 1978 the founding of the New Ballet School, now the Ballet Tech School. This required the forging of a unique collaboration between the Ballet Tech Foundation and the NYC Department of Education for the purpose of identifying and providing gifted NYC Public School children, grades 4-12, with rigorous early training in classic dance tuition free.
In the years 1974 – 2018, Mr. Feld choreographed 108 ballets for the company and 12 dances for Ballet Tech School students. He has been honored by the New York City Ballet with evenings devoted entirely to his work, an honor Mr. Feld shares with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. In 2005 he choreographed a full evening ballet “Sir Isaac’s Apples”, utilizing the entire Juilliard Dance Department, as part of Juilliard’s centennial celebration. His ballets have been danced by the National Ballet of Canada, Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, London Festival Ballet, John Curry Skating Company and others.
