December 12
Born Today:
Lynn Garafola
Dance historian and writer Lynn Garafola (1946-) is a foremost expert on the Ballets Russes (1909-1929), the groundbreaking ballet company and artistic collaboration directed by impresario Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929). Garafola studied ballet as a youth and her dissertation became her first book, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (1989). She retired from her post in the dance program at Barnard College in 2016.
Also Born Today: German choreographer Dore Hoyer (1911-1967) was a practitioner of Ausdruckstanz, or expressive dance. British tap dancer and television personality Lionel Blair (1931-) began performing at the age of 13 after the untimely death of his father.
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Movie: Saturday Night Fever released in 1977