Kistler, Darci

Kistler, Darci

(1964–  ) ballet dancer; born in Riverside, Calif. Determined to be a dancer from age 5, she studied with Irina Kosnovsha in Los Angeles, then went to New York City Ballet at age 14 to become the last of George Balanchine's great ballerinas, and, at age 17, the youngest principal dancer in that company's history. From 1982–85 she was sidelined due to a fractured ankle, but by 1989 she had fully recovered and returned to dancing with her peculiar mix of physical fearlessness and apparent effortlessness.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.