# Who's The Best Known Male American Ballet Dancer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614 "2009-04-10T05:16:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/1 "2009-04-10T05:16:38Z")
Outside of Edward Villella, I don’t know of any male ballet dancer that is from the United States. I don’t know anything about ballet though and the only reason I know Edward Villella is he was on the _Odd Couple_. So any ballet buffs that can inform me who is the best known male ballet dancer? ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/2 "2009-04-10T06:27:07Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Outside of Edward Villella, I don’t know of any male ballet dancer that is from the United States. I don’t know anything about ballet though and the only reason I know Edward Villella is he was on the _Odd Couple_. > > So any ballet buffs that can inform me who is the best known male ballet dancer? Alvin Ailey, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Michell, Jacques d’Amboise or Michael Kidd? Although I guess maybe they fit under choreographers more than any other category. I’m not a huge ballet fan but I know Jock Soto is considered a great dancer or was since he’s now retired. I had a chance to see him perform and he was wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/3 "2009-04-10T10:03:31Z")
patrick bissel. he doesn’t dance much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/4 "2009-04-10T12:29:58Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > Alvin Ailey, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Michell, Jacques d’Amboise or Michael Kidd? Although I guess maybe they fit under choreographers more than any other category. Good suggestions. I think people have heard of the Alvin Ailey dance company, but probably can’t extrapolate back to figure out who AA is. Jerome Robbins and Michael Kidd (who I’ve become an obsessive fan of) are both better known as choreographers for popular musicals (stage and screen). Arthur Mitchell I’ve heard of, but I think if you stopped someone on the street they’d guess shampoo brand. So of your list, I’ll vote for Jacques d’Amboise – if you don’t mind the “isn’t he French?” comments. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/5 "2009-04-10T12:41:12Z")
It’s totally a cheat, but one could say Baryshnikov - he became a naturalized American citizen in 1986. Wow - the spellchecker in FireFox includes “Baryshnikov.” That’s impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/6 "2009-04-10T12:45:37Z")
Ben Vereen, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/7 "2009-04-10T13:04:17Z")
Certainly Ethan Stiefel gained some recognition, at least amongst the teenage girl set, for Center Stage. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/8 "2009-04-10T13:19:47Z")
[Mark Morris](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Morris) may be better known as a choreographer, but he is also a dancer. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/9 "2009-04-10T13:19:59Z")
My gut instinct answer was “Balanchine” who while male and associated with Ballet in America, is also unsurprisingly, dead, and born in Russia. Obviously, I’m not a ballet buff. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/10 "2009-04-10T13:21:50Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Ben Vereen, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover None of whom did ballet. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/11 "2009-04-10T13:29:22Z")
Rahm Emmanuel? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/12 "2009-04-10T13:35:51Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > None of whom did ballet. :smack: I was thinking dancers and tap. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/13 "2009-04-10T13:39:49Z")
Ron Reagan, Jr., briefly persued a career in ballet. And he is well-known, albeit not for his dancing. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/14 "2009-04-10T14:19:47Z")
Every ballet dancer I could name would be a name I knew 25-30 years ago. Did ballet enjoy a heyday that is now over, or is it just me? ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/15 "2009-04-10T14:30:20Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Every ballet dancer I could name would be a name I knew 25-30 years ago. Did ballet enjoy a heyday that is now over, or is it just me? Some would say the “golden age” of ballet and choreography would have been Balanchine’s era with the New York City Ballet (1948-1983). Certainly the 1960s and 70s were a time when dancers like Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn became enormously popular. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/16 "2009-04-10T17:24:10Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > So of your list, I’ll vote for Jacques d’Amboise – if you don’t mind the “isn’t he French?” comments. 😉 Decades ago, before I knew who he was, I saw him interviewed by Dick Cavett. When Cavett introduced “ballet legend Jacques d’Amboise,” naturally I pictured a prissy Frenchman. I was as surprised as anyone that, though he was of French-Canadian descent, he was a blue-collar Noo Yawk guy with a heavy Noo Yawk accent. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/17 "2009-04-10T17:30:29Z")
He’s known for sports, but Lynn Swann actually studied ballet. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/18 "2009-04-10T20:34:55Z")
Well, if this thread has taught me anything, it’s that Peter Martins was born in Denmark. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/19 "2009-04-10T23:46:46Z")
I read this thread and wonder who is the best known female American ballet dancer. Darci Kisler perhaps? Suzanne Farrell? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614/20 "2009-04-11T00:41:47Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I read this thread and wonder who is the best known female American ballet dancer. > > Darci Kisler perhaps? Suzanne Farrell? Maria Tallchief? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-known-male-american-ballet-dancer/492614.md?page=2)