Violette Verdy: The Artist Teacher at Chautauqua Institution

Many celebrated ballet stars, upon retiring from the stage, gravitate to teaching younger dancers. Yet a select few become coaches - destined, by virtue of covetable expertise, to pass on their years of experience and knowledge to new generations on a more advanced level. Frenchwoman Violette Verdy was one of the most preeminent examples - a peerless star with Manhattan's George Balanchine company from the late 1950s through the late 1970s, she bore extremely intimate ties to Ballanchine and Jer…