Lupe Serrano

Lupe Serrano
Serrano (right) with John Kriza in 1957
Born
Guadalupe Martínez Desfassiaux Serrano

(1930-12-07)December 7, 1930
Santiago, Chile
DiedJanuary 16, 2023(2023-01-16) (aged 92)
Syosset, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Ballet dancer
  • ballet teacher
EmployerAmerican Ballet Theatre

Guadalupe Martínez Desfassiaux Serrano (December 7, 1930 – January 16, 2023), known professionally as Lupe Serrano, was a Chilean-born, Mexican-trained American ballet dancer and teacher.[1][2] She spent most of her dance career at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), where she was the troupe's first Hispanic American principal dancer.[1]

She began dancing professionally in 1944 at age 13 with the Mexico City Ballet. She then moved to New York and joined ABT in 1953. She rose to international prominence after her performances in the Soviet Union,[3] and also toured Europe and South America with ABT.[2] Other highlights of her professional career included a celebrated but brief partnership with Rudolf Nureyev following his defection to the West.[4] She retired from the stage in 1971.[1]

Serrano began teaching in 1968, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the College Conservatory of Milwaukee. After she retired from performing, she held various teaching and administrative roles at the National Academy of Arts in Illinois and Pennsylvania Ballet before she became an artistic associate with The Washington Ballet, a position she held for ten years beginning in 1988.[5] She later returned to ABT to teach company classes at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.[6] Her fifty-year teaching career also included masterclasses and guest teaching.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Biography". American Ballet Theatre. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Bauer, Claudia (January 17, 2023). "Lupe Serrano, Ballerina of Power and Fire, Is Dead at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Lydon, Kate (March 2009). "Lupe Serrano: Crafting precision on pointe". Dance Magazine. Retrieved January 19, 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pointe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).