Existing comment:
Edward Villella, born 1936
Edward Villella entered the School of American Ballet at age ten but took time off for college before returning to the school in 1955. In 1957 he was invited to join the New York City Ballet, where he worked with George Balanchine and took on many important roles until injuries forced his retirement in the mid-1980s. He soon became the first artistic director of the new Miami City Ballet, a position he still holds. In 1997 President Bill Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Arts, and Villella was also named a Kennedy Center Honoree.
Sacha Newley, whose drawings and paintings are steeped in his study of the Old Masters, captures Villella's virility and resilience in this small portrait.
Sacha Newley, 2005 |