It was with enormous sadness that Les Grands Ballets learned last night of the passing of Lawrence Rhodes (1939-2019), artistic director of the company from 1989 to 1999.
A native of Mount Hope, West Virginia, he danced with several companies (including Ballet russe de Monte-Carlo, Robert Joffrey Ballet, Harkness Ballet, Het National Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet). He could be seen dancing with Les Grands Ballets in 1977, before his appointment as artistic director in 1989, a position he filled for ten years.
Les Grands Ballets wishes to offer its sincere condolences to Lawrence Rhodes’s relatives, friends and collaborators, as well as to the entire dance community, who are losing in him a dancer, an artistic director and a teacher who left his mark on his time.
With his leaving, a page in Grands Ballets history is turning as well. Thank you for everything, Mr. Rhodes!
