Villella, Edward

Edward Villella, 1936–, American ballet dancer, b. Long Island, N.Y. Villella studied at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet, joining the New York City Ballet in 1957. He soon became a principal dancer with a large repertoire of roles, most notably The Prodigal Son. Villella's dancing was remarkable for its tremendous vigor and dynamic style. He served as artistic coordinator of the Eglevsky Ballet (1979–84) and as director of the Oklahoma Ballet (1983–85), then founded and directed (1985–2012) the Miami City Ballet, which became a major regional ensemble.

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Publication information: Article title: Villella, Edward. Encyclopedia title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved. Publisher: The Columbia University Press. Place of publication: Not available. Publication year: 2013.

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