Darci Kistler is a phenomenal dancer who practically dominated the world of ballet for decades. She is considered a living legend and one of the best talents to have emerged from America. She is a graduate of the prestigious New York City School of American Ballet, from where she broke down barriers and collected all kinds of achievements throughout her distinguished career. This dancer became a soloist and director at a much younger age than anyone who has ever received such honors in history. Darci was a dancer without equal, and she proved this with every performance. She has over three dozen credits and was the delight of the media, critics, and audiences who were fortunate enough to witness her brilliance through body movements.
Lady Kistler was the muse of several revered choreographers, including the iconic George Balanchine, who wrote many roles especially for her. Darci has appeared in several of his works, including Agon, Concerto Barocco, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Orpheus, La Sonnambula, Western Symphony, Sylvia, Jewels Diamonds, and Symphony in C. She also performed in ballet pieces composed by other masters such as Peter Martins in his works such as Papillons, Valse Triste, and Songs of the Auvergne; In the Night, Andantino, Piccolo Balletto and In G Major by Jerome Robbins. That’s not all, she danced for Peter Martins’ Bach Concerto V, Delight of the Muses, The Sleeping Beauty, The Chairman Dances, and Burlesque, to name but a few.
Darci Kistler Bio
Darci Kistler was born on 4 June 1964 in Riverside, California. She is the last child of her parents. Her father worked as a doctor while her mother worked as a housekeeper. She has four brothers, all gifted in amateur wrestling as well as basketball, horseback riding, water skiing, and soccer. Although Darci was athletic, she had difficulty keeping up with her older brothers and was often excluded from their activities.
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She discovered her passion when she was given a tutu at the age of four and soon after began taking ballet lessons. The dance turned out to be the activity in which she excelled, completely eclipsing her brothers in this respect. During this time Darci saw Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev perform an electrifying ballet performance and she decided to become like them. From that moment on ballet became her whole life. She trained at Mary Lynn’s Ballet Arts, then under the direction of Irina Kosmovska.
Her desire to improve her skills led her to move to New York where she attended the Professional Children’s School before being accepted into the prestigious New York City Ballet’s School of American Ballet in 1979. It was there that Darci Kistler met George Balanchine, who was to be her mentor and she is muse for many years. A year later Darci Kistler joined the Corps de Ballet, the first ballet company in New York City, and quickly attracted everyone’s attention with her unmistakable talent.
In 1981, Darci was promoted to soloist, and a year later she became the youngest person to be named solo dancer. She was only 17 years old at the time. In the following years, she appeared in many characteristic roles alongside her television appearances. In 1994 she became a member of the permanent teaching staff of the School of American Ballet, where she was a dancer. After a glittering career, Darci retired from New York City Ballet in 2010. Her last performance took place on June 27th, where she delighted the audience for the last time with choreographies by George Balanchine and Peter Martins.
Darci Kistler’s Husband and Daughter
Darci Kistler is married to Peter Martins – a renowned dancer and ballet-master-in-chief for the New York City Ballet. The pair tied the knot in 1991. However, their marriage hasn’t been sunshine and smiles. Darci called the police in July 1992 after Martins had hit her repeatedly, in addition to bruising and cutting her arms and legs. He was arrested, detained for several hours, and charged with assault. However, the case never made it to court because Darci dropped the charges a couple of days later, stating that she would rather handle it without dragging the law into the picture.
Two days later during her next performance, she showed up with a new set of bruises which she tried to conceal with a heavy layer of makeup. According to family, friends, and close colleagues, the incident was not the first time that Darci had been assaulted by her husband. Martin’s career recently ended in a wave of scandals after two dozen dancers accused him of physically and sexually assaulting them at one time or the other since 1983.
The iconic dance couple has one child together, a daughter named Talicia Martins, who was born on June 13, 1996, and has been in the news a lot for all the wrong reasons since then. She was once arrested for breaking, and burglary, while she and her friends were on a crime spree at a mall in New York City. She has also been picked up at her parents’ house and detained for drug possession after crack cocaine, heroin, and a hypodermic needle was found on her.
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Facts About The Ballerina
1. Darci Kistler has amassed a sizeable wealth over the years and is estimated to be worth $5 million.
2. She was a professional dancer for 30 years before she retired in 2010.
3. Kistler has written and published an autobiography titled Ballerina: My Story.
