{"id":2022,"date":"2017-08-04T19:44:31","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T19:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mobballet.org\/?p=2022"},"modified":"2025-04-21T07:16:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T07:16:29","slug":"1966-cleo-quitmen-performs-with-the-joffrey-ballet-in-eugene-lorings-these-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/2017\/08\/04\/1966-cleo-quitmen-performs-with-the-joffrey-ballet-in-eugene-lorings-these-three\/","title":{"rendered":"1966 – Cleo Quitman performs with the Joffrey Ballet in Eugene Loring\u2019s These Three \/ Elizabeth Ann Thompson Joins Radio City Ballet Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

1966<\/b><\/h1>\n

<\/b>Cleo Quitman performs with the Joffrey Ballet in Eugene Loring\u2019s These Three<\/em><\/b><\/h3>\n

The Joffrey Ballet p<\/span><\/i>resented <\/span><\/i>These Three<\/span>, based on the infamous murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. Clive Barnes thought <\/span><\/i>These Three<\/span> was a failure, though he commended Eugene Loring for addressing a highly-charged human rights issue through dance theater.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cleo Quitman<\/strong><\/a>, a Detroit native, studied ballet with Sofia Tsouklas, who taught Black students privately. In 1954, at age 17, Quitman moved to New York with the hopes of studying at the School of American Ballet. Unable to attend SAB as she had arrived mid-semester, she began to study with Mattie Gabors and Alfredo Corvina at the Metropolitan Opera School.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dancing Many Drums: Excavations In African American Dance, Thomas F. Defrantz<\/a>
\nClassic Dance and Race: A Story Still Unfolding, New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\n

Elizabeth Ann Thompson joins Radio City Ballet Company<\/b><\/h3>\n

A \u201cpioneer woman of color,\u201d Elizabeth Ann Thompson joins the Radio City Ballet Company.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"Harlem native <\/span>Elizabeth Ann Thompson<\/a> performed with Les Ballets Negres, Geoffrey Holder<\/a>, and Louis Johnson<\/a> before joining Radio City Ballet Company in 1966. She is considered a \u201cpioneer woman of color in a predominantly white corps.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is said that <\/span>Llanchie Stevenson<\/a> (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, National Ballet of Washington, Dance Theatre of Harlem) was the first African American to join the corps de ballet at Radio City and <\/span>Besty Ann Dickerson<\/a>, who trained at Sydney King\u2019s school and performed in several Broadway productions, was another one of the first Black dancers with the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources:<\/b><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Hubbard, 76, Dancer and Beloved Gardener, AMNY<\/a>
\nBlack Swans Shattering the Glass Ceiling, La\u2019Toya Princess Jackson<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

See also:<\/b><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Ann Thompson<\/a>
\nLlanchie Stevenson<\/a>
\nBesty Ann Dickerson<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Other Happenings in 1966<\/b><\/h3>\n

<\/b>American History<\/b><\/p>\n

Jan 1: All US cigarette packs have to carry “Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health.”<\/span>
\nJan 10: The Georgia House of Representatives votes 184-12 to deny Julian Bond his seat as a result of his opposition to the Vietnam War.<\/span>
\nJan 12: LBJ says US should stay in South Vietnam until communist aggression ends.<\/span>
\nJan 13: The first Black person is selected for presidential cabinet (LBJ selects Robert C. Weaver).<\/span>
\nFeb 9: Dow-Jones index hits record 995 points.<\/span>
\nMay 9: A.F. Brimmer becomes the first Black member of Federal Reserve Board.<\/span>
\nNov 8: Movie actor Ronald Reagan is elected Governor of California.<\/span>
\nMar 16: Gemini 8 is launched with Armstrong & Scott, aborted after 6.5 orbits.<\/span>
\nMar 26: Large-scale anti-Vietnam War protests take place in the United States, including in New York, Washington DC, and Chicago.<\/span>
\nJul 4: LBJ signs Freedom of Information Act.<\/span>
\nSept 5: Jerry Lewis’ first Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day telethon raises $1 million.<\/span>
\nSept 15: US President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to the United States Congress, urging the enactment of gun control legislation.<\/span>
\nNov 8: Edward W. Brooke (Rep-R-Mass) becomes the first African American popularly elected to the US Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n

World History<\/b><\/p>\n

Jan 8: Georges Pompidou is re-appointed French Prime Minister and forms a new government.<\/span>
\nJan 10: India and Pakistan sign Tashkent Declaration peace accord.<\/span>
\nJan 12: Three British Members of Parliament are attacked in a hotel in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe).<\/span>
\nJan 15: The First Nigerian Republic is overthrown in a military coup.<\/span>
\nJan 19: Indira Gandhi is elected India’s forth Prime Minister.<\/span>
\nJan 31: USSR launches Luna 9 towards the Moon.<\/span>
\nFeb 2: Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir dispute as number one item for the proposed Indo-Pak ministerial talks after the 1965 war.\u00a0<\/span>
\nFeb 3: The first soft landing on Moon occurs (Soviet Luna 9).<\/span>
\nFeb 24: Coup ousts President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.<\/span>
\nFeb 25: Syrian military coup under General Hafiz al-Assad occurs.\u00a0<\/span>
\nMar 1: Ba’ath-party takes power in Syria.<\/span>
\nMar 8: An IRA bomb destroys Nelson’s Column in Dublin.<\/span>
\nMar 11: Military coup led by Indonesian Gen Suharto breaks out.<\/span>
\nMar 31: Labour Party under Harold Wilson wins British parliamentary election.<\/span>
\nApr 21: Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie visits Kingston, Jamaica.<\/span>
\nApr 28: OCAM, Common Afro-Mauritian Organization forms.<\/span>
\nMay 26: Buddhist sets himself on fire at US consulate in Hue, South Vietnam.<\/span>
\nMay 26: Guyana (formerly British Guiana) declares independence from UK.<\/span>
\nSept 8: The Severn Bridge is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.<\/span>
\nSept 30: Botswana (formerly Bechuanaland) gains independence from Britain.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Arts & Sciences<\/b><\/p>\n

Jan 12: Batman<\/em>, starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Cesar Romero as The Joker, debuts on ABC.<\/span>
\nJan 14: David Bowie releases his first single “Can’t Help Thinking About Me.”<\/span>
\nJan 19: Musical Sweet Charity<\/em>, by Neil Simon, Cy Coleman, and Dorothy Fields, premieres.<\/span>
\nJan 30: Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 11th string quartet.<\/span>
\nMar 4: John Lennon says “We [the Beatles] are more popular than Jesus.”<\/span>
\nMar 15: The eighth Grammy Awards\u2014Taste of Honey<\/em>, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra & Barbra Streisand win.<\/span>
\nApr 1: The first world festival of Black art his held (Dakar, Senegal).<\/span>
\nApr 11: Frank Sinatra records “Strangers in the Night,” a single for his album of the same name.<\/span>
\nApr 28: 38th Academy Awards \u2014 The Sound of Music<\/em>, Julie Christie & Lee Marvin win.<\/span>
\nMay 1: Last British concert by Beatles (Empire Pool in Wembley).<\/span>
\nJun 10: Janis Joplin’s first live concert (Avalon Ballroom in SF).<\/span>
\nJul 25: Supremes release “You Can’t Hurry Love.”<\/span>
\nSept 8: Star Trek<\/em> premieres on NBC.<\/span>
\nSept 16: Metropolitan Opera House opens in Lincoln Center, New York.<\/span>
\nOct 12: Jimi Hendrix Experience forms with Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell.<\/span>
\nNov 20: Cabaret<\/em> opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 1166 performances.<\/span>
\nDec 18: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas<\/em> airs for first time on CBS.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Human & Civil Rights<\/b><\/p>\n

Jan 17: Martin Luther King Jr. opens campaign in Chicago.<\/span>
\nMar 15: Racial riots erupt in the Watts section of Los Angeles.<\/span>
\nMay 13: US Federal education funding is denied to 12 school districts in the South because of violations of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.<\/span>
\nJun 1: 2,400 people attend White House Conference on Civil Rights.<\/span>
\nJun 6: Activist James Meredith is wounded by white sniper in Mississippi.<\/span>
\nJun 13: US Supreme Court’s Miranda decision\u2014suspects must be informed of rights.<\/span>
\nJul 5: National Guard mobilizes in Omaha after third night of rioting.<\/span>
\nJul 12: Race riot occurs in Chicago.<\/span>
\nAug 5: Martin Luther King Jr. is stoned during Chicago march.<\/span>
\nAug 7: Race riot occurs in Lansing, Michigan.<\/span>
\nAug 27: Race riot occurs in Waukegan, Illinois.<\/span>
\nSept 6: Race riot occurs in Atlanta, Georgia.<\/span>
\nOct 15: Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.<\/span>
\nNov 20: Men in Zurich vote against female suffrage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sports<\/b><\/p>\n

Jan 12: Red Auerbach wins his 1,000th game as coach of NBA Boston Celtics.<\/span>
\nFeb 11: SF Giant Willie Mays signs highest contract: $130,000 per year.<\/span>
\nFeb 14: Wilt Chamberlain breaks NBA career scoring record at 20,884 points.<\/span>
\nApr 11: 30th Masters Golf Tournament\u2014Jack Nicklaus wins, shooting a 288.<\/span>
\nApr 11: Emmett Ashford becomes first Black major league umpire.<\/span>
\nApr 18: Bill Russell becomes first Black coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics).<\/span>
\nApr 19: Roberta Gibb becomes first woman to run in the Boston Marathon.<\/span>
\nApr 26: Red Auerbach retires as Boston Celtic’s coach.<\/span>
\nMay 21: Muhammad Ali TKOs Henry Cooper in 6 for heavyweight boxing title.<\/span>
\nMay 25: Peru & Argentina soccer fans fight in Lima; 248 die.<\/span>
\nJul 2: 73rd Wimbledon Women’s Tennis Singles\u2014Billie Jean King (Miss Moffat) beats Maria Bueno (6-3 3-6 6-1).<\/span>
\nJul 9: 95th British Golf Open\u2014Jack Nicklaus shoots 282 at Muirfield Gullane to become only the forth person in history to win all four majors.<\/span>
\nJul 25: Mao Zedong swims the Yangtze River.<\/span>
\nAug 6: Muhammad Ali KOs Brian London in 3 for heavyweight boxing title.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1966 Cleo Quitman performs with the Joffrey Ballet in Eugene Loring\u2019s These Three The Joffrey Ballet presented These Three, based on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"timeline-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-timeline"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2022"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15282,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022\/revisions\/15282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}