Richard Cragun (5 October 1944 – 6 August 2012) was an American ballet dancer, teacher and ballet director who performed with the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany from 1965 to 1996.
Cragun has been called a "prince of the ballet world" and "one of the most important dancers of the twentieth century."
Early life and training
Born in Sacramento, California, Cragun was one three sons. His father was a college librarian As a child, he was very interested in both music and dance. At age five, he began taking tap dance lessons .
A few years later, Cragun decided to become a professional dancer after his father took him to see Singin' in the Rain (1952),. Donald O'Connor, one of the stars of the film, became Cragun's "first, absolute idol." Inspired to emulate O'Connor's lyrical, balletic style of tap dancing, Cragun took ballet classes
As a teenager, Cragun received a scholarship to the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta. He studied there with Betty Farraly and Gweneth Lloyd. When Alexander Grant, was visiting Banff, he was impressed by Cragun's skills. He suggested Cragun apply to the Royal Ballet School in London.
Cragun spent one year at the Royal Ballet school, working with Errol Addison and Harold Turner. At age 17, Cragun went to Copenhagen, Denmark, to privately train with Vera Volkova, who was responsible for polishing his remarkable classical technique.
Performing career
In 1962, Volkova recommended Cragun to John Cranko, director of the Stuttgart Ballet. Cranko hired him sight unseen, as a member of his corps de ballet.
In 1965, soon after his appointment as principal dancer in Stuttgart, he began his dance partnership with Marcia Haydée. Cragun and Haydée performed Swan Lake, Onegin and The Taming of the Shrew. Their professional partnership at the Stuttgart Ballet lasted from 1965 until Cragun's retirement in 1996,.
Besides his appearances with leading companies in Germany, Cragun danced in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Italy, Canada, the United States, and Japan. In 1990, during the Stuttgart revival of the Broadway musical On Your Toes, Cragun exhibited his tap dancing skills.
Critical notices
Cragun was described as a big, handsome man, with a powerful physique who danced with dazzling virtuosity and distinct virility, a perfect foil for the brilliant technique and delicate femininity of Haydée. Another description said that Cragun was blessed with a perfect physique for dancing, Cragun was a virtuoso of the ballet stage, equaled by only a few male dancers of his generation. He embodied the explosive, colorful form of classical ballet that was sometimes called "the Stuttgart style." Flawless triple tours en l'air were his trademark, an athletic feat accomplished only by such bravura dancers as Edward Villella and Mikhail Baryshnikov on rare occasions.
Clive Barnes, dance critic for The New York Times, wrote, "He possesses tremendous elevation. There is a cumulative pulse and rhythmic beat to his dancing that is enormously impressive." He won high praise for his performances in principal roles in Cranko's Romeo und Julia, Onegin, and, especially, The Taming of the Shrew. "Cragun was a strikingly handsome Petruchio, by turns self-mocking, overbearing, funny, and tender. The role suited his robustly masculine and charismatic stage personality and provided a first-class showcase for his virtuosity and partnering skills. No dancer has equaled him in the role."
Roles created
In the course of his long career, Cragun created many roles in the ballets of John Cranko and other European choreographers. Among them are the following.
Ballets by Cranko
1963. L'Estro Armonico (Harmonic Inspiration), music by Antonio Vivaldi. 1965. Bouquet Garni, music by Giacomo Rossini, arranged by Benjamin Britten. 1965. Opus 1, music by Anton Webern (Passacaglia for orchestra). 1966. Concerto for Flute and Harp (aka Mozart Concerto), music by W.A. Mozart. 1968. Présence, music by Bernd Alois Zimmermann. Role: Don Quichotte. 1969. The Taming of the Shrew, music by Domenico Scarlatti, adapted by Karl-Heinz Stolze. Role: Petruchio. 1970. Brouillards (Mists), music by Claude Debussy. Role: principal dancer. 1970. Poème de l'Estase, music by Alexander Scriabin. Role: principal dancer. 1971. Carmen, music by Wolfgang Fortner, with Wilfried Steinbrenner, based on musical motifs of Georges Bizet. Role: Don José. 1972. Initials R.B.M.E., music by Johannes Brahms. Role: R (for Richard). 1973. Traces, music by Gustav Mahler. Role: principal dancer.