Letters from Lincoln Kirstein to Donald Richie

1957-1964

Lincoln Edward Kirstein (1907-1996) was born on May 4, 1907 in Rochester, New York and educated at Harvard College (A.B. 1929, A.M. 1930). In 1934, he co-founded the School of American Ballet with George Balanchine and Edward M.M. Warburg. He also participated in the founding and/or direction of the American Ballet Company in 1935, Ballet Caravan 1936-1941, and the Ballet Society in 1946, and he became general director of the succeeding company, New York City Ballet, in 1948. Kirstein married Fidelma Cadmus, sister of artist Paul Cadmus, in 1941 and served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. His career included work with visual artists and writers on various projects, and his dance-related publications include: Dance Index books on Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, and the New York City Ballet; a history of theatrical dance; and writing assistance to Romola Nijinsky on a biography of her husband. He retired from New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet in 1989. The recipient of many distinguished awards, Lincoln Kirstein died on January 5, 1996.

Donald Richie was born in Lima, Ohio in 1924. In 1947, he moved to Tokyo, Japan, where he has since been based. Richie is a novelist, filmmaker, essayist and expert on Japanese film.