June 1
Born Today:
Robert North
American choreographer Robert North (1945-) studied dance in London and was one of the founding members of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1967. He briefly came back to the US to take class with Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) and dance with Martha Graham (1894-1991), but soon returned to LCDT and choreographed two of his best-known works, Troy Games (1974) and Songs and Dances (1981), the same year he was named co-Artistic Director. He served as Artistic Director of Ballet Rambert from 1981-1986. Since that time, he has been an independent artist making works for companies worldwide, including Batsheva Dance Company and English National Ballet, and has served as a ballet director in Italy and Scotland.
Also Born Today: Ballerina Mariane Orlando (1934-) trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and joined the company in the late 1940s.