Wadsworth Atheneum

Connecticut

A museum in Hartford sponsored George Balanchine's immigration to America, and got his first American ballet in return.

culturehistoricalpeople

In 1933, an art museum in downtown Hartford sponsored George Balanchine's immigration to the United States from the Soviet Union. Shortly after arriving, he founded the School of American Ballet, which led to the formation of the New York City Ballet. He did not forget who brought him over. In December 1934, the school's producing company gave its first performances at the Wadsworth Atheneum's Avery Memorial Theatre. Among them was Serenade, the first ballet Balanchine choreographed in America. The same year, the museum hosted the world premiere of the opera Four Saints in Three Acts, by Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson. The man behind all of it was the museum's director, A. Everett Austin, known as Chick. He also put on the first American exhibition of surrealism, in 1931, and the first major Picasso retrospective in the United States, in 1934. The building where this happened looks like a castle, on Main Street.

This is the first of 3 parts. The rest runs about 3 minutes and is read to you as you drive past. Hear the whole piece.

What this was written from
In 1933, the Wadsworth sponsored George Balanchine's immigration to the United States from the Soviet Union.

Written from Wikipedia, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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