THIS SEASON'S NEVADA BALLET THEATRE production of "The Nutcracker" has a twist. This year -- if you're watching really closely -- you might notice something new: a legacy.
It will come, in part, from the arrival of Cynthia Gregory, who joined Nevada Ballet Theatre in September as artistic advisor and coach. Whereas most new hires are happy to unpack family photos for their desk, Gregory's baggage includes an entire classical tradition, handed down to her through many generations and honed during three decades of dancing with the country's best companies and choreographers.
Having appeared on her first dance magazine cover at the age of 7, Gregory joined the San Francisco Ballet at 15. Four years later, she moved to New York's prestigious American Ballet Theatre, a magnet for international dance superstars. At 21, she made her American Ballet Theatre debut as the dual character of Odile-Odette in "Swan Lake."
During her 26 years with the American Ballet Theatre, Gregory danced in more than 80 ballets. Over the course of her career, she worked with a who's-who of choreographers and directors -- George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille, Glen Tetley, Birgit Cullberg, Jose Limón -- and danced with as many famous male leads.
"From the point of view of classical ballet in America, (Gregory) was one of the most significant American prima ballerinas," says Hanna Rubin, editor of Pointe, a trade magazine for dancers." She was a legend in her own time when she was dancing."
This legend has been living right under our noses for more than a year. Gregory moved here in 2009 at the urging of friends and family, and to be closer to Los Angeles, where she was born and raised, than New York City, where she'd lived since 1965.
It didn't take long for Nevada Ballet Theatre CEO Beth Barbre to learn of Gregory's arrival, however. Gregory, who has been coaching since she retired from dancing, has long dreamed of having her own coaching center. Barbre found a way to make that happen. The Nevada Ballet Theatre's Cynthia Gregory Center for Coaching has been open for business since October.
