Biography for
Edward Villella More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Trivia

One of the most famous former dancers of the New York City Ballet.

The recipient of numerous awards, including the 38th annual Capezio Dance Award; the Frances Holleman Breathitt Award for Excellence, for his outstanding contribution to the arts and to the education of young people; the National Society of Arts & Letters Award for Lifetime Achievement (becoming only the fourth dance personality to receive the Gold Medal); the Dance Magazine Award (1964); the Cultural Service Award from the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts (1998), and the George C. Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, presented by the South Florida Critics Association (1997). He has been awarded honorary degrees by the State University of New York, University of South Carolina, St. Thomas University, Siena College, Fordham University, Skidmore College, Nazareth College, Florida Atlantic University where he actually serves as Artist in Residence and Union College, which established the Edward Villella Fellowship in 1991, with the first Fellowship awarded in May, 1996.

He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1997 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.

Personal Quotes

"I came from a hardworking Catholic clan."

"I graduated with my BS. I gave it to my father and told him I was going to become a ballet dancer again. He stopped talking to me for a year. Ah, well. Anyway, I dive into this thing called classical ballet. What did I have going into it? I had all the physicality I needed. I could jump. I could do tricks. Hey no problem. I was a boxer, a baseball player."

"I have nine broken toes, stress fractures in both legs, I have a knee that can't be operated on again, two artificial hips, a bad back, and a bad neck. None of that from that sissy stuff--from baseball and boxing--but from this other thing [Ballet]."

"I thought, 'Hey. I'm an athlete. I'm physical--that's all I need. You jump up and down, you grab the girls, you pick 'em up, you put 'em down, that's all there is to it.'"

(On his relationship with George Balanchine): "All I wanted to do was please him. But I was not willing to destroy myself in order to do so."

Where Are They Now

(January 2006) Founder and Artistic Director of The Miami City Ballet

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