I just read on AOL news that Herbert Ross died today. He was 74. I did not know him well, but worked with him during one rehearsal period during my ABT years. I was in his ballet "Capriccios", in a role which I really liked called the "burning girl". It was an episodic ballet, based on the paintings of Goya, and one of the main sections was danced by Johnny Kriza and Ruth Ann Koeson. It was a pas de deux with the female as a dead body. Very interesting work. For those of you too young to remember Mr. Ross, he was a well known Broadway and film director. You might know him as the director of "The Turning Point". He was married for many years to Nora Kaye, a famous dancer with ABT back in the 40's and 50's. She died in the late 80's and he later married Lee Radziwell, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. They were later divorced.

He also directed several other dance related movies -- "Dancers," "Nijinsky," and "Footloose," along with several musicals.

Here's the obituary by Rik Stevens of the Associated Press:

http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/movies/apmo...lug=Obit%20Ross