Donald Mahler, prolific ballet choreographer, dies at 88

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, March 29, 2024


Donald Mahler, prolific ballet choreographer, dies at 88
Elena Zahlmann and Steven Melendez of the New York Theater Ballet perform in "Cinderella" choreographed by Donald Mahler at Gould Hall in New York, Feb. 28, 2014. Mahler, a ballet dancer and prolific choreographer for the Metropolitan Opera who was the director of the company’s own dance troupe, and who was also known internationally for his stagings of ballets by Antony Tudor, died on Jan. 25, 2022, in Roslyn Heights, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 88. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times.

by Anna Kisselgoff



NEW YORK, NY.- Donald Mahler, a ballet dancer and prolific choreographer for the Metropolitan Opera who was the director of the company’s own dance troupe, and who was also known internationally for his stagings of ballets by Antony Tudor, died Jan. 25 in Roslyn Heights, New York, on Long Island. He was 88.

His sisters and only immediate survivors, Judith Dickinson and Johanna Loeb, confirmed the death. They said he had been in failing health and died at Loeb’s home, where he had moved last year.

In a decidedly unconventional career, Mahler was as apt to choreograph an abbreviated version of “Cinderella” for children as to restage “Echoing of Trumpets,” a 1963 work by Tudor about the brutalities of war.

One of the 20th century’s greatest ballet choreographers and a founding member of American Ballet Theater, Tudor was not one to cater to those seeking upbeat entertainment. Yet his dark ballets were of vital importance, as Clive Barnes noted in a Dance Magazine review of Mahler’s staging of “Echoing of Trumpets” for Ballet West in Salt Lake City in 2006.

“Mahler has done a great job in not merely reproducing but defining the choreography,” Barnes wrote. He added that the ballet’s impact remained powerful, “making Mahler’s revival all the more significant in keeping this 20th-century masterpiece — a work crucial to the Tudor catalog — alive and kicking.”

Mahler was also associated for many years with New York Theater Ballet, a highly respected small company founded and directed by Diana Byer that promotes new works and revivals of rare older ones.

Byer said in a phone interview that in coaching her young dancers, Mahler “combined a seriousness of purpose with a childlike wonder that was contagious,” adding: “He was very witty. And he taught these dancers how to go deeply into a role.”




Tudor was Mahler’s artistic mentor. But Byer said that for personal guidance, Mahler was dedicated to the teachings of Indian spiritual master Meher Baba, who died in 1969. (Among several other American dancers who became Baba’s followers were Viola Farber and Peter Saul of Merce Cunningham’s company. Many of them, including Mahler, had studied ballet in New York with Margaret Craske, who had lived in Baba’s community in India during World War II.)

Like many ballet dancers, Donald Freisinger had a different name before he began his career as Donald Mahler. He was born Feb. 16, 1933, in Brooklyn. His mother, Frances (Abramowitz) Freisinger, was a homemaker. His father, Eugene Freisinger, was in the wool processing business.

Donald moved to Manhattan with his family when he was a teenager. There, he entered the prestigious High School of Music and Art (now the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) as an aspiring painter.

An art scholarship took him to Syracuse University. But, he said, discovering dance led him to quit and return to New York, where he was accepted at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet’s school. Tudor and Craske were his teachers there, and Tudor recommended him to the National Ballet of Canada, where Mahler spent five years.

He returned to New York and began dancing in the Metropolitan’s opera productions in 1962. He retired as a dancer in 1980 and was named director of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in 1982.

He choreographed for that company and for many operas through 1986. A second career opened up for him when the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust invited him to stage or coach Tudor works for companies worldwide.

Asked to define his belief in his mentor, Mahler once replied: “Tudor’s ballets are really about humanity. He delves deeply into what makes people tick, and he wants that truth.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

February 3, 2022

Uffizi Gallery, bastion of tradition, evolves (slowly) with the times

It's gold, baby. But Niclas Castello's Cube is nothing new in art.

Hauser & Wirth opens an exhibition of works by Ida Applebroog

Meadows Museum acquires major painting by Pedro de Campaña

Hindman appoints Sean Johnson as Senior Watch Specialist

New at Blue Star Contemporary: Spring exhibitions 'Threads Bare' and the 'Black Art Library'

Phillips announces works to be sold to support The Warburg Institute

Paris Print Fair: The new Paris-based fair dedicated to printmaking

Lund Humphries publishes 'Artemisia Gentileschi' by Sheila Barker

The George Adams Gallery opens an exhibition of abstract paintings by Elmer Bischoff

Andria Hickey appointed Chief Curator of The Shed

Fine Books & Autographs at Swann Galleries February 17

American Federation of Arts names Kimerly Rorschach President of the Board of Trustees

Affordable Art Fair announces New York Director ahead of 20th anniversary in NYC

Two new Trustees join Birmingham Museums Trust Board

The Museum of Russian Icons opens an exhibition exploring the importance of tea culture in Russian art

GOST Books publishes 'Architecture + Beauty' by John Balsom

A conductor in demand, and in control

Martin McDonagh's 'Hangmen' will open on Broadway this spring

Donald Mahler, prolific ballet choreographer, dies at 88

In 'Prayer for the French Republic,' echoes of the past

In 'MJ,' no one's looking at the man in the mirror

J Dilla was a revered rap producer. A new book deepens his legacy.

Online-only auctions at Weiss Auctions gross more than $600,000.

Best Casino's Art Collections

Art & Gambling: Famous casino-themed paintings

Artist Interview: Ran Zheng Shares Her Stories On Her Journey of Playing An Irreplaceable Role On Various Projects

Boucherouite and Beni Ourain rugs : would it be a successful marriage ?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful