Ballerina discusses career

Jacob’s School of Music distinguished professor Violette Verdy has a breadth of experience and knowledge dancers can only hope to gain.

Hailing from Pont-l’Abbé, France, Verdy launched her career in 1945 as a soloist with Roland Petit’s Les Ballets des Champs Elysées.

Eight years later, Verdy made her debut United States tour, leading to an offer from legendary ballet choreographer George Balanchine to join the ranks of the prestigious New York City Ballet as a principal dancer — a career status she maintained for 18 years until her performance retirement in 1976.

Verdy said working with George Ballanchine was the culmination of everything she learned from her prior teachers.

“He was such a great musician, and he had a sense and a philosophy that gave him an idea of choreography in time, space and, of course, with the music,” Ballanchine said.

Upon her retirement, Verdy obtained the coveted position of director of the Paris Opera Ballet and co-director of the Boston Ballet in 1980.

Presently, she lends her valuable guidance and instruction to IU ballet students, earning the attention of President Michael McRobbie, who said in a press release Verdy is “an Indiana University treasure.”
 
He also recognized her as the recipient of the President’s Medal for Excellence this past year. Already a recipient of the 2009 French Legion of Honour, Verdy said she was floored to have received the award.

“I didn’t think I was the kind of person they would even think of giving a medal to,” Verdy said. “Ballet is a very modest kind of pursuit. We are not publicized like the football players.”

Verdy, a distinguished IU professor since 1997, said she enjoys learning about her students on a deeper level, getting to know their strengths and weaknesses and being able to enhance both.

“I immediately see what each student needs, and I love to be able to share that with them, make them aware of it and make them work on what they need to in order to save their energy,” Verdy said. “I also love to celebrate their qualities immediately and tell them what they have.”

Having worked with hundreds of students at IU, Verdy said she offers two pieces of advice to dancers looking to pursue ballet.

The first is to have a strong understanding of one’s ability.

“They need to have a clear idea of themselves ... and be informed about themselves to work on the things they need,” Verdy said.

The second is to dance from the heart.

“They have to love it to bits, and, in a way, they have to love it madly because they are going to be challenged to the core,” Verdy said. “It is an incredibly difficult, wonderful challenge but when they come out of it they are really transcended.”

Follow reporter Olivia Williams on Twitter @obwillia.