Ivan Nagy

Nagy, Ivan (b Debrecen, 28 Apr. 1943). Hungarian dancer and ballet director. He studied at the Budapest State Ballet Institute and joined the Budapest State Opera in 1960, the Washington National Ballet in 1965, and New York City Ballet in 1968. From 1968 to 1978 he was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. He created leading roles in Smuin's Gartenfest (1968) and Eternal Idol (1969), in Nahat's Brahms Quintet (1969), and Ailey's The River (1970). A gifted danseur noble, and an outstanding Albrecht, he was a favourite partner of many ballerinas, including Fonteyn and Makarova. After retiring as a dancer, he served as artistic director of the Santiago Ballet (1982-9), Cincinnati Ballet, and English National Ballet (1990-3). In 1995 he returned to the Santiago Ballet as director.