Apollo Ballo della Regina |
Ronald Bates, New York City
Ballet's Production Stage
Manager for many years, first
began working with that company
in
1957.
Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas,
Mr. Bates studied scenic design
at Los Angeles City College
after completing a tour of duty
in the Navy. While at college
he worked as a stage manager
and built scenery to earn
money.
After two years of stage
managing in California, he came
to New York and worked as a
stage manager on operas
produced by Lincoln Kirstein,
General Director of the New
York City Ballet. After working
at the Mozart Festival and the
Shakespeare Festival, both in
Stratford, Connecticut, and for
the NBC Opera Company in New
York City, Mr. Bates came to
the New York City Ballet at Mr.
Kirstein's invitation. He was
Production Stage Manager with
City Ballet for over 20
years.
Mr. Bates' duties as Production
Stage Manager included planning
and directing the many
technical aspects of getting
all the ballets in which the
dancers of the New York City
Ballet appeared onto the stage
of the New York State Theater
(where he also held the
position of Technical Director
of the Theater). His main
concerns were unpacking,
hanging, and storing the
scenery and lights needed for
the ballets in the active
repertory; keeping complete
records of all stage and
lighting cues; and coordinating
and directing the stage crew.
He also planned and directed
the transportation of lights
and scenery and final
production of the ballets when
the company left New York City,
whether it was to go to the
Kennedy Center in Washington,
to the company's summer home at
the Saratoga Performing Arts
Center in Saratoga Springs, New
York, or overseas to Russia,
Australia, France, or
Denmark.
As Resident Lighting Designer
for the New York City Ballet,
Mr. Bates worked closely with
George Balanchine and Jerome
Robbins from the inception of a
new ballet. He discussed design
details with the scenic
designers, oversaw the
construction of sets in various
scene shops, and even worked
with the costume designers so
that he could judge the type
and amount of light needed to
properly illuminate the dancers
He and the choreographer often
worked until just before the
curtain went up for the
premiere and sometimes
continued to make changes
during every performance until
just the right look was
achieved.
Mr. Bates was considered an
authority on dance floors and
stage floor construction and
worked with the Palm Beach
Festival in West Palm Beach,
Florida on renovating and
redesigning the stage of the
Palm Beach
Auditorium.
Mr. Bates often travelled
abroad to help direct technical
production and reproduce his
lighting designs for New York
City Ballet works that were
staged by other companies. He
was a familiar figure in
Switzerland where he worked
with the former New York City
Ballet dancer Patricia Neary,
former Artistic Director of the
Zurich
Ballet. American
Ballet Theatre used Mr. Bates'
lighting for the Tchaikovsky
Pas de Deux when the Company
first performed this work
in 1970.Bates died in August 1986 at the age of 54. |
Copyright 2007 Ballet Theatre Foundation, Inc.
All rights reserved.