INTERVIEWS
"We are so lucky that we get to work in an environment that is creative and new and challenging and pushing boundaries."
DOLORES LIPINSKI LONG
"My mother used to always say to me, 'Dancing's a nice hobby for rich people, Dolores. Get a profession.'"
Dolores Lipinski Long began studying ballet with Renee Urbanski, then became a scholarship student at Stone-Camryn School of Ballet. She joined the Lyric Opera Ballet as a teenager and danced principal roles with every Ruth Page company between 1954 and 1973. She and her husband, Larry Long, ​founded the Ruth Page School of Dance, where she still teaches today.
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July 10, 2015: Interviewed in the library of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Dolores Lipinski Long discussed her extensive performance and teaching career, primarily associated with Ruth Page. She shared memories of performing in summer stock in Kansas City, touring the country with the Ruth Page ballet companies, performing at the Lyric Opera, and sharing the stage with many other notable dancers. She shared her priorities as a teacher and observed how dance education has changed over time.
Chicago dance history ruth page larry long patti klekovic tour bus New york city ballet hubbard street eleanor powell carol burnett freddie franklin summer stock candlelight dancer ken johnson miss page studio school education choreographer lyric opera high school company husband saint louis st louis kansas city philadelphia
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Chicago dance history ruth page larry long patti klekovic tour bus New york city ballet hubbard street eleanor powell carol burnett freddie franklin summer stock candlelight dancer ken johnson miss page studio school education choreographer lyric opera high school company husband saint louis st louis kansas city philadelphia
"I just don't think this city had any idea... almost everybody that came and guested with us were famous."
"You can't leave dancing... it's such an important part of you, it's the only thing that really makes you happy in your life."