February 3
Born Today:
Glen Tetley
Dancer Glen Tetley (1926-2007) left medical school to study dance, and his remarkable facility allowed him to excel in ballet and modern dance. He also performed on Broadway in Kiss Me Kate (1948), choreographed by modern pioneer Hanya Holm (1893-1992). Tetley was an original member of the Joffrey Ballet and later created works fusing ballet and modern dance for dance companies including Netherlands Dance Company, Stuttgart Ballet (both of which he directed for a time), American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada.
Also Born Today: Modern dance pioneer Gertrude Bodenwieser (1890-1959), a professor of dance in Vienna, who was forced to flee Europe for Australia in 1938, where she later founded the Bodenweiser Ballet (1939-1959), one of the first modern dance companies in the country.