The Center's Studio Podcast

The New York City Ballet, Balanchine and Robbins: Dance Memories of Lisa Hess Jones

Center for Latter-day Saint Arts Season 8 Episode 4

Lisa Hess moved to New York at the age of 16 and a year later was asked to join the company of the New York City Ballet. That began an adventure with some of the great choreographers and dancers of the century, in a golden age of dance in America. Hess worked with the legendary George Balanchine in his final decade of life, frequently with Jerome Robbins, and others. In this extended oral history episode, Lisa Hess Jones captures a vivid era--a girl from Amarillo, Texas who finds herself with superstars Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Farrell, and a host of luminaries as she charts her course as a female, LDS artist, before embarking on a second career as a teacher, choreographer, and mother of two boys.

Music: "Please Only Tell Me Good News” by Stephen Anderson; used with permission.

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