Ruth Ann Koesun, a principal dancer in American Ballet Theater who epitomized the company’s early eclectic profile by excelling in roles that ranged from Billy the Kid’s Mexican sweetheart to the “Bluebird” pas de deux from “The Sleeping Beauty,” died on Feb. 1 in Chicago. She was 89.
Her death was confirmed by her goddaughter, Ellen Coghlan.
Because of her lyrical style in ballets like “Les Sylphides,” Ms. Koesun was often cast as a Romantic ballerina. But she could also show dramatic ferocity, as the evil antiheroine Ate in Antony Tudor’s “Undertow,” which depicts a young murderer’s development.
Contemporary ballet makers favored her. In 1950, Herbert Ross, a new choreographer and future film director, cast her in his “Caprichos,” based on Goya’s etchings. She portrayed a dead woman who is tossed around by her partner in choreographed movements that suggested she was inert.
She found her signature role in Ballet Theater’s revivals of Eugene Loring’s “Billy the Kid,” from 1938. A brilliantly stylized experimental work that used occasional speech, the ballet had a biographical plotline by Lincoln Kirstein (who would become a founder of New York City Ballet), and a double role for Ms. Koesun, who portrayed both the sweetheart and the mother of the outlaw Billy.
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Her mix of hidden virtuosity and tender emotion complemented the power of John Kriza, her frequent ballet partner, as Billy. Both performed the ballet with the company before President John F. Kennedy and the first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, at the White House on May 22, 1962.
Ruth Ann Koesun was born on May 15, 1928, in Chicago to Dr. Paul Z. Koesun, a Chinese physician in Chicago’s Chinatown, and the former Mary Mondulick, who was of Russian descent.
She met Mr. Kriza, later a Ballet Theater star, while studying at the Chicago ballet school directed by Bentley Stone and Walter Camryn, and performed with him in nightclubs and summer stock.
Ms. Koesun joined the company in 1946 while it was appearing in London and advanced quickly to principal dancer. She retired from Ballet Theater in 1969. Her marriage to Eric Braun, a principal dancer with the troupe, ended in divorce after eight years.
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Ms. Koesun and Michael Lland in David Lichine’s “Graduation Ball” in 1956.CreditMaurice Seymour
Ms. Koesun, who lived in Chicago, leaves no immediate survivors.
Her first years in the company were auspicious. The cover of the Nov. 3, 1947, issue of Life magazine consisted of a double portrait of two young Ballet Theater dancers, Ms. Koesun and Melissa Hayden.
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Rarely had a novice received such rave reviews as those that greeted Ms. Koesun in May of that year for her role in Ballet Theater’s “On Stage!” Michael Kidd, the future Broadway and Hollywood choreographer, had cast her as a very young dancer suffering from stage fright at a rehearsal.
“It was little Ruth Ann Koesun who captured all hearts last night,” the critic John Martin wrote in The New York Times. He praised her “lovely line” and “immeasurable charm.”
Walter Terry, the dance critic for The New York Herald Tribune, wrote later that year that Ms. Koesun’s progress “has been so rapid” and hailed “her highly individual quality of movement, shy but not weak, delicate but assured.”
“She had a unique style,” Richard Covello, an arts writer in Chicago who followed Ms. Koesun’s career closely, said in a telephone interview, noting her hidden technical strengths. “She was a strong dancer locked in the dainty,” he said.
In 1951, Mr. Martin wrote of her “exquisite dancing” in the “Bluebird” pas de deux with the French guest star Jean Babilée, adding that he wondered why “a dancer of these potentialities does not always exhibit them.”
Over the years, Ms. Koesun’s other partners included Erik Bruhn, and her repertoire included Mr. Tudor’s “Dim Lustre,” David Lichine’s “Graduation Ball,” Bronislava Nijinska’s “La Fille Mal Gardée,” Frederick Ashton’s “Les Patineurs” and new works as well, among them Mr. Babilée’s “Till Eulenspiegel.”
She performed often in Jerome Robbins’s early ballets, including “Fancy Free” and “Interplay.” Mr. Covello said that she was the only dancer to perform each of the three female roles in “Fancy Free.” This was thanks to a fluke.
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The ballet ends with three sailors chasing a young woman who appears very briefly onstage after the two main women in the ballet have left. In previous performances, Ms. Koesun had danced each of the two main female roles. On this occasion, she was in the wings when the third woman was late and did not appear.
“So,” Mr. Covello said, “Ruth Ann went back onstage and did the part.”
Koesun, Ruth Ann, age 89, of Chicago passed away Feb. 1, 2018 of natural causes. Devoted daughter of the late Dr. Paul Z. Koesun, a distinguished physician for many years in Chicago's Chinatown, and Mary M. Koesun (nee Mondulick). Loving cousin of the late Loring and Dr. Moyra Moy of San Francisco. Dear friend of many including Mary Jane and Ted Fudacz, Susan and David Ruder, Jack Hackman, Richard "Dick" Covello, Barbara Pekow, Alison Hinderliter, Kerri Burkhardt, Barbara Landis and Michael Kramer. Loving godmother of Ellen (Hon. Matthew) Coghlan. Graduate of Mercy High School Class of 1945. Ruth Ann was a Principal Ballerina of Ballet Theatre, now known as American Ballet Theatre from 1946 to 1969 traveling extensively around the world. She debuted on July 4, 1946 at London's Royal Opera House and would go on to win international acclaim for her lyrical interpretations of many roles. Ms. Koesun was described as having a graceful yet assured technique and a sensitive feel for characterization, which along with her "porcelain-princess" beauty made her a popular and widely known performer. She, along with Melissa Hayden, were photographed by Philippe Halsman and appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1947. She taught master classes and was associated with her beloved John Kriza in ABT productions, in summer stock, and in the famous "Salute" shows at the College Inn in Chicago and the New Yorker Hotel. After retiring from American Ballet, Ms. Koesun was co-director of the Dance Department at Hull House Association and danced as principal ballerina with First Chamber Dance Company of New York, 1971-73, then became Executive Director of the Association of Illinois Dance, 1975-79. Ms. Koesun also worked as performing arts archivist at The Newberry Library, 1989-present, as a member of the dance panel of the Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, and as Administrative Assistant for Chamber Opera Chicago. Ms Koesun was a recipient of the Excellence Award in performing arts from the Organization of Chinese Americans, 1985. Visitation Saturday February 17, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. until time of Mass 10:30 a.m. at Holy Name Cathedral, 730 N. State Street, Chicago, IL. Interment at a later date. In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church, Chicago. www.sttheresechinatown.org. Arrangements entrusted to the Original Lamb Family Funeral & Cremations Service. For info call 708-710-9549.
