1952 Recipient: Zachary Solov

Mr. Solov was best known for his work as a choreographer and ballet master for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. He was hired by Rudolf Bing in 1951 to replace the legendary Anthony Tudor. Mr. Solov was credited with the ballet revival that happened at the Met in the 1950s, and it was no coincidence that attention to dance declined with his departure from the house in 1958. He would remain with the Met as a guest choreographer until the mid-1980s, and his last work was retired there in 1996.

John Martin, the famed dance critic of the New York Times, said of Mr. Solov: "One of the most important figures to emerge from (the Littlefield Ballet)." Capezio confirmed this opinion by honoring him with the first ever Capezio Award in 1952.

Mr. Solov was known as a dancer of both excellent technique and lyrical expression, as well as for his ever-present smile that said there was nothing else he would rather be doing. Born to deaf parents in Philadelphia, Mr. Solov started as a childhood tap dancer near the grand old movie houses of Market Street, where he performed with a young Honi Coles. Early training at the Dauphin School of Arts led to vaudeville appearances and to a regular starring spot on the Horn and Hardart Children's Hour, hosted by Stan Lee Broza.

As a young boy, Mr. Solov entered the Littlefield Ballet School, under the tutelage of Caroline Littlefield. He so took to the ballet, that he requested and received permission to leave grammar school early each day to attend six hours of ballet class. Mr. Solov would study with Mrs. Littlefield's daughters, Catherine and Dorothie, and tour and perform with their Littlefield Ballet throughout the 1930s, performing in such American classics as Barn Dance, Terminal and Café Society.

Mr. Solov followed Catherine Littlefield to New York in 1940 to audition for the Leon Leonidoff production of American Jubilee at the World's Fair. The introduction to Leonidoff would lead to regular appearances at New York's Roxy Theater, where Mr. Solov partnered Carmen Miranda. While in New York, Mr. Solov went to study at the School of American Ballet, where he was invited to join American Ballet Caravan by Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. Mr. Solov was the youngest male dancer on the American Ballet's famed Latin America tour organized as a diplomatic effort by Nelson Rockefeller in the time leading up to World War II. Following that tour Mr. Solov was invited by Mr. Balanchine to join his New Opera Company.

At the same time, Eugene Loring contracted Mr. Solov to join his Dance Players company, requesting that he change his last name to Carlson (son of Carl, Mr. Solov's father), because he wanted an American sounding company. The company was sponsored by Mrs. Winthrop Palmer, and included Michael Kidd and Joan McCracken.

In 1943, Agnes de Mille asked Mr. Solov to join the first cast of Green Grow the Lilacs (later renamed Oklahoma!). Mr. Solov was forced to decline when he was drafted into the military. While in basic training in Miami, Florida, Mr. Solov organized performances for soldiers at the Pine Tree Bandstand. He would be stationed in the China, Burma, India theater where he joined the Special Services performing troop of Melvyn Douglas. Mr. Solov produced 35 different shows while in the military.

Mr. Solov returned from India in 1946 and joined Lucia Chase's Ballet Theatre. While on tour in London, he replaced Jerome Robbins in the artist's choreographed works of Fancy Free and Interplay after Mr. Robbins and Ms. Chase had a disagreement that resulted in his leaving the company.

In 1950, Mr. Solov starred with Jackie Gleason and Viola Essen in the Broadway show Along Fifth Avenue. He made regular appearances as a dancer on television shows including Your Show of Shows, and the Fred Allen Show. That year he was also the first choreographer in The Music Circus theater in the round in Lambertville, New Jersey. The critical acclaim and attention he received from New York City's dance critics came to the attention of Rudolf Bing, newly installed as the director of the Metropolitan Opera.

Mr. Solov made history in his debut at the Met by hiring Janet Collins, an African American, to be his first prima ballerina. She was the first African-American to star at the house. The production was the new production of Aida on November 13, 1951. Of Mr. Solov's debut as choreographer of the opera, Miles Kastendieck of the New York Journal American wrote: "The dancing suggested that perhaps the problem of the opera ballet is about to be solved."

Mr. Solov's choreographic efforts included works for Alexandra Danilova, the Ballet Sextette Company of Maria Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Nora Kaye, Patricia Wilde, Andre Eglevsky and Hugh Laing, and two full-length ballets performed at the Met, Vittorio, in which he played the lead with Mia Slavenska, and Soiree, staring Mary Ellen Moylen with costumes by Cecil Beaton. He also choreographed Met performances on the television show Omnibus.

Dance was not a priority for the Met, however, and after much frustration, Mr. Solov left his full-time post there in 1958. Sol Hurok subsequently organized a tour for the newly formed Zachary Solov Dance Ensemble.

In the 1960s, Mr. Solov choreographed for the San Francisco Opera, the Kansas City Civic Ballet, the Atlanta Civic Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada, among many others. In 1962, he was awarded an award from the Philadelphia Arts Festival along with Samuel Barber.

His works were performed by the Joffrey Ballet, and the national company of Puerto Rico. He continued to choreograph into the 1990s, teach master classes at universities around the country, as well as a stint on the faculty of Skidmore College, give lectures on dance, and was the executive producer of a film entitled Dance on Film, thought to have the only surviving film footage of Isadora Duncan. He also co-authored with William English a book on dance technique entitled Basic Ballet: A New Way to Learn the Fundamentals.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Solov invited John Martin, whom he described as his life-long mentor, to share his home in Saratoga Springs, New York, in his retirement. Mr. Solov continued to maintain this house until his own death, moving back and forth from New York City seasonally. He never married, claiming his work was his spouse. Mr. Solov is survived by his sister Sylvia, her children Ruthie and Arthur, and their children.