Antony DeVecchi

Antony DeVecchi, an American ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, and educator, passed at the age of 89 on Sunday, July 3rd at Berkshire Medical Center.  Mr. DeVecchi was born Donald Martin on January 30, 1933, in New York City and spent most of his childhood at The St. Agnes Home and School for Children, a Catholic orphanage in Sparkill, New York.  When he was approximately eleven years old, his mother took him out of the orphanage.  The family lived on Mott Street in what is known as “Little Italy”, and one of his close friends at that time was future actor Steve McQueen.  During his teenage years, DeVecchi began boxing at the famous Gold’s Gym and competed in the Golden Glove Championships.  When his coach urged him to study ballet to improve his footwork and speed, his life changed forever.

DeVecchi studied at George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet, which then was in its formative years, along with the ballet company known today as the New York City Ballet.  While working with Balanchine, he also studied with Vladimir Oboukov, Felia Doubrovska, Pierre Vladimirov , and Helene Platova. In the mid-1950’s, he joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet under the direction of Zachary Solov, and subsequently was named Premier Danseur.  At the Met, he trained with Antony Tudor, Margaret Craske, and Alfredo Corvino, and partnered many of the greatest ballerinas of the twentieth century, including Alicia Markova, Lupe Serrano, and Mary Ellen Moylan.  He performed in many of the major operas, including Geoffrey Holder’s production of AÏDA, which even today is considered a monumental work of art.

In 1960, American Ballet Theatre’s artistic director Lucia Chase invited DeVecchi to dance with that company.  As a soloist in ABT, he performed roles in ballets such as Agnes de Mille’s RODEO and Eugene Loring’s BILLY THE KID, both ballets to music composed by Aaron Copland.  Classical roles included Antony Tudor’s JARDIN AUX LILAS (LILAC GARDEN) and works by Frederick Ashton.

Other ballet credits throughout DeVecchi’s career included Jerome Robbin’s Ballets U.S.A., Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Frederic Franklin and Mia Slavenska Ballet Company, The Hungarian National Festival Ballet, and New York appearances with the Kirov Ballet.  DeVecchi also trained in modern dance with the New Dance Group in New York City and worked with Jane Dudley, Mary Anthony, Irving Burton, and Donald McKayle.  He studied rhythm and jazz dance for two years with Louis Johnson and performed as Guest Artist with the Louis Johnson Company.

DeVecchi’s introduction to musical theatre began with two prodigious summer venues that quickly became incubators for twentieth century theatrical and musical cultural development.  The Tamiment Playhouse was a resident summer theatre that operated from 1921 to 1960 in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains and served as a training ground for many prominent Broadway and TV Performers and writers such as Danny Kaye, Imogene Coca, Jerome Robbins, Carol Burnett, Woody Allen, and Neil Simon.  DeVecchi became a leading dancer and actor there in the late 1950’s.  The Carousel Theatre opened in 1958 in Framingham, Massachusetts as the largest theatrical tent in the United States, accommodating between 2,500 and 3,000 people.  Until it closed in 1969, the theatre presented Broadway shows, musical guest artists,  comedians, and popular rock bands.  Everyone from Ethel Merman, Anthony Perkins, Danny Kaye, Joan Rivers, Jerry Lewis to Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and Led Zeppelin were featured.  DeVecchi performed as Lead Dancer in the theatre’s 1958 grand opening production of NEW GIRL IN TOWN starring Joan Blondell, was Lead Dancer in the show CAROUSEL partnering Patricia Birch as Louise, and danced the role of Chief Iron Tail in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN with Ginger Rogers.  DeVecchi also appeared in the Carousel Theatre’s productions of FANNY, MOST HAPPY FELLA, and GUYS AND DOLLS.

On Broadway, DeVecchi performed in over fifteen shows, including the original production of MAN OF LA MANCHA, one of the most prolific Broadway shows of all time, choreographed by Jack Cole and starring Richard Kiley.  Besides the Anta Theatre production of MAN OF LA MANCHA, DeVecchi performed in the Palace Theatre and Marriott Marquis productions.  Other Broadway shows included GOLDEN RAINBOW, MILK AND HONEY, TOVARICH, KELLEY, 13 DAUGHTERS, I’M WITH YOU, MATA HARI, OKLAHOMA, and CAROUSEL.  In these shows  , DeVecchi worked with Vivien Leigh, Nat King Cole, Robert Goulet, José Ferrer, Raul Julia, Sheena Easton, and many others.  He partnered both Chita Rivera and Juliet Prowse in productions of IRMA LA DOUCE and performed at The White House during the Johnson and Carter Administrations.  National tours of Broadway shows brought him not only throughout the United States but also to venues in Canada, Mexico, South America, England, Switzerland, and France.

DeVecchi’s television work included performing twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, NBC’S Your Show of Shows, You Are There on CBS, and Omnibus.  He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his choreography of the WNET, New York, production of Shakespeare’s A WINTER’S TALE.

DeVecchi continued to perform, direct, choreograph, and teach extensively in later years of his career.  He received a Drama Critic’s Circle Award for direction and choreography of a national tour of MAN OF LA MANCHA starring Howard Keel, and directed and choreographed shows for summer stock, theatre companies, and schools across the country.  Teaching positions included Los Angeles Dance Center, University of Pittsburgh, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and Berkshire Community College      

 In 1973, DeVecchi opened the Northeast American Ballet School in Lenox, Massachusetts, after spending a summer in the Berkshires teaching at Fokine Ballet Camp (now Ventfort Hall Gilded Age Museum).  In 1977, he moved permanently from New York City to Middlefield, Massachusetts, and two years later, relocated the dance school to Northampton, Massachusetts with co-founder, co-director Sharon MacDonald.  For over forty-five years NEA Dance has been a leading force in the Pioneer Valley’s arts and cultural scene, and many generations of dancers and dance teachers have had the special opportunity to experience a rare level of artistry and achievement under DeVecchi’s tutelage.

Mr. DeVecchi is survived by his longtime friend and partner, Sharon MacDonald.