Born Today:
Stephanie Dabney

Ballerina Stephanie Dabney (1958-2022) began studying ballet at the age of four at Ballet Western Reserve in Ohio and was inspired to become a professional after seeing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in concert. She was awarded scholarships at both the Ailey School and at Dance Theatre of Harlem and chose to pursue ballet. Dabney performed with DTH from 1979-1994, making a particular splash in the early 1980s when she was selected to perform the title role in The Firebird, a performance that was repeated during the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Dabney retired from performing in 1996 and began teaching at Spelman College.

Also Born Today: Ballerina Hilda Butsova (1896-1976) changed her last name from Boot to appear more Russian when she performed with Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) from 1912-1925. Choreographer Hans Van Manen (1932 -) studied with Sonia Gaskell (1904-1974), directed Nederlands Dans Theatre (1961-1971), and later created dances for the Dutch National Ballet from 1973-1985. Ballerina Julie Kent (1969-) danced with ABT from 1993-2015 and began directing the Washington Ballet in 2016.