Solov, Zachary, 1923-

Zachary Solov (1923-2004) was a dancer and choreographer who spent many years as the ballet master at the Metropolitan Opera. He was born to deaf parents in Philadelphia and studied dance at the Dauphin School of the Arts and the Littlefield Ballet School. He was a child tap-dancer and appeared in acts all over the northeast, as well as on radio shows such as The Horn & Hardart Children's Hour .

He began his career by dancing with various up and coming ballet companies, including the Littlefield Ballet, George Balanchine's American Ballet Caravan and Eugene Loring's Dance Players. He accompanied the American Ballet Caravan to South America in 1941 as part of their tour.

In 1943, Solov was drafted into the Army. During his time with the military he danced in and choreographed 35 Army revues in the United States and in India where he developed an interest in Indian dance. Upon his discharge from the Army, he performed with the American Ballet Theatre until being invited to be ballet master of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in 1951.

While with the Metropolitan Opera, Solov worked to have dance feature more prominently within opera productions. He also engaged ballerina Janet Collins - the first black artist to be under regular contract at the Metropolitan Opera. She was engaged for the 1951 production of Aida and stayed with the opera, dancing many roles, until 1954. Solov remained as the full time ballet master until 1958, but he worked with the opera as a guest choreographer until the mid-1980s.

In addition to creating ballets specifically for operas, Solov choreographed independent ballets, including Vittorio (in which he appeared) in 1954 and Soiree in 1955. In 1960 he started his own group, the Zachary Solov Ballet Ensemble, and created dances for regional ballet troupes and musicals. He was able to re-imagine classic Broadway shows (often in the round) at the Musicircus, Melody Fair, and other large regional summer theaters. He also wrote Basic Ballet: A New Way to Learn the Fundamentals alongside William English.

Later in life, he resided in Sarasota Springs, New York with John Martin, a dance critic and a close friend. He remained there until his death in 1994.

From the guide to the Zachary Solov papers, 1870-2005, 1937-1977, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)