Eliot Feld

Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the Feld Ballet and Ballet Tech, are involved in dance and dance education in New York City. Feld has choreographed 149 ballets since 1967, with his work being performed by such companies as American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, the Juilliard School, New York City Ballet, the New York City Opera, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, among many others. Life and career Feld was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Alice (née Posner), a travel agent, and Benjamin Noah Feld, an attorney. Feld attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York, and studied at the School of American Ballet and the New Dance Group, as well as with Richard Thomas and Donald McKayle. He performed as a child in George Balanchine's original production of The Nutcracker as the Nutcracker Prince; and later with the companies of Mary Anthony, Pearl Lang, and Sophie Maslow. At sixteen he appeared on Broadway in West Side Story and was cast as Baby John in the movie version of the musical; during the filming of "Cool" (one of the hardest dances in the film), Feld was sick with pneumonia. His other Broadway credits from this period include I Can Get It for You Wholesale and Fiddler on the Roof.