Jack Anderson (dance critic)
| Jack Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 June 1935 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Occupation | Poet, dance critic, dance historian |
| Notable credit(s) | The New York Times; Dancing Times and Dance Magazine (magazines); The One and Only: The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise History (books) |
| Spouse(s) | George Dorris |
| Relatives | Eleanor and George W. Anderson (parents, deceased) |
Jack Anderson (born 15 June 1935) is an American poet, dance critic, and dance historian. He is well known for his numerous reviews of dance performances in the New York Times and Dance Magazine as well as for his scholarly studies in dance history and for ten volumes of poetry.
Jack Warren Anderson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where his father, George, was a motion picture projectionist at a downtown movie theater and his mother, Eleanore, was a hospital administrator. As a youth, Jack took piano lessons and acted in little theater groups before leaving home to go to college. At Northwestern University he earned a bachelor's degree with a major in theater and minors in English literature and philosophy, and at Indiana University he earned a master's degree in creative writing. He pursued further graduate study at the University of California at Berkeley but abandoned it after a year when he got his first job with a newspaper.
In 1959, Anderson joined the staff of the Oakland Tribune, starting as a copy boy but becoming the assistant drama critic the next year. He also began writing dance criticism for the English monthly Ballet Today and contributing to Dance Magazine, the leading dance periodical in America. In 1964 Anderson moved to New York and joined the editorial staff of Dance Magazine, where he worked until 1970. After leaving his staff position he continued to contribute critical reviews of dance performances until 1978, when he became one of the three dance critics of the New York Times, along with Anna Kisselgoff and Jennifer Dunning. He remained in this prestigious post for many years, until 2005. He has since continued his affiliation with the Times, preparing listings and writing obituaries of notable figures in the dance world. Since 2007 Anderson has also reviewed dance for www.nytheatre-wire.com.
In 1970–71, while living in London with his partner, George Dorris, he served as the deputy dance critic to Oleg Kerensky (1930−1993) for the Daily Mail and occasionally appeared on the BBC radio show Kaleidoscope, talking about dance, and in 1972 he became the New York correspondent for The Dancing Times of London. In acknowledgment of his expertise, he was asked to serve on the dance panel of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1975 to 1978.
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