August 3
Born Today:
Birgit Cullberg
Swedish choreographer Birgit Cullberg (1908-1999) studied with Kurt Jooss (1901-1979) at the Royal Ballet in London and founded her own company, Cullberg Ballet in the 1960s. Her son, choreographer Mats Ek (1945-) took over management of the company in 1985.
Also born today: Ballerina Maria Karnilova (1920-2001), joined the American Ballet Theatre company when it was founded in 1939 and later starred on Broadway in Jerome Robbins: Ballet USA (1958) and Fiddler on the Roof (1964).