Bettis, Valerie, 1919-1982

American dancer and choreographer.

From the guide to the Valerie Bettis collection, ca. 1941-1967, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)

Valerie Elizabeth Bettis was born on December 20, 1919, in Houston, Texas to Royal Holt and Valerie Elizabeth Bettis. Her father died when she was thirteen, and her mother later married Hugh Prather.

Bettis began ballet lessons when she was ten with Rowena Smith in Houston. She also studied with Tina Flade, a former student of the Mary Wigman School. During high school she participated in dramatic and musical productions.

After attending the University of Texas for one year, Bettis moved to New York. Arriving in September 1937, she began studying with Hanya Holm and performed in Holm's landmark work “Trend” that same year, and remained in her company until 1940. During this time, Bettis also studied with Nanette Charisse and Aubrey Hitchins.

Bettis then took one year of work alone to prepare for her debut as a solo artist, an event which took place at Carnegie Hall in November 1941.

Great recognition came to Bettis as a performer and choreographer for her solo “The Desperate Heart” in March 1943. Performed with a poem written for the dance by John Malcolm Brinnin and commissioned music by Bernardo Ségall, the work had a tremendous impact upon the New York audiences and critics.

Bettis is cited as the first modern dance choreographer to set a work on a major ballet company. On March 11, 1947, her “Virginia Sampler” was premiered by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She later went on to choreograph works for other ballet companies, including the well-known “A Streetcar Named Desire” based upon Tennessee Williams' play for the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet in 1952.

During these years, Bettis continued her performing, which expanded to include television, film, and Broadway. One of her best-known roles in a Broadway show was Tiger Lily in “Inside U.S.A.” in 1948.

Bettis was often drawn to poetry, plays, and literature as the source for her dances. “As I Lay Dying,” based upon the William Faulkner story was one of her most highly-acclaimed works. Her establishment of and work with the Dancers Studio Foundation (founded upon a premise similar to that of Actors Studio) from 1964 onward was an outgrowth of her interest in dance within a theatrical context. Dancers Studio produced collaborative artistic productions between choreographers, writers, and musicians. It also held classes and workshops for dancers.

Bettis married Bernardo Ségall, a Brazilian pianist and composer, on September 29, 1943. They were divorced in 1955. She later married Arthur Schmidt, who died in 1969. Bettis died in New York on September 26, 1982. Earlier that year she saw a major revival of her work “A Streetcar Named Desire” by The Dance Theatre of Harlem.

From the guide to the Valerie Bettis papers, circa 1942-1982, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)