processed_career_life_2_para_df_m: 81
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| rowid | name | first_name | last_name | gender | career_sec | personal_sec | info | occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | Amar Ramasar | Amar | Ramasar | M | Amar Ramasar was born in the Bronx, New York City. His father, who is of Trinidadian and Indian descent, is a former United States Marine who worked as a computer technician while Amar was growing up. His mother, who is Puerto Rican, worked as a registered nurse. Outgoing and talkative as a child, he says, "No one knew anything about ballet in my family".When Ramasar was 10 years old, he impressed a music teacher in his public school with his creative talents. The teacher urged him to audition for the TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was one of two children selected from more than 300 who tried out. Because his parents worked full-time, Ramasar learned to take the New York City Subway from his home in the South Bronx to the studio on the Lower East Side, and rode public transit to get to the daily rehearsals. At the Henry Street Settlement House, where he took daily lessons, Ramasar met Daniel Catanach, a choreographer working with TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was 11 years old when Catanach showed him a videotape of the New York City Ballet production of Agon, featuring Heather Watts and Mel Tomlinson. Ramasar became instantly fascinated by ballet. He later recalled thinking to himself, "That's the ballet I want to dance, and that's the company I'm going to get into". Ramasar took his first dance lesson at the Henry Street Settlement House's Abrons Arts Center in 1993. His family was indifferent about his decision to dance. "My father didn't prevent me from doing it, but he didn't make it easy," he says. When Ramasar was 14, Catanach urged him to audition for the School of American Ballet, a school which trains young dancers who wish to try out for the New York City Ballet. He was accepted in 1993, and received his first ballet lesson there. His family had no money to support his dance education, and Ramasar relied exclusively on scholarships to pay his tuition. His first years at the School of American Ballet were difficult. Ramasar was years behind the other boys (some of whom were as young as six years old) in athleticism and technique. He later said he felt discouraged by how far behind he was: "I would look around and see all these boys who were turned-out and beautiful, and I was just a clumsy Bronx boy. It took a lot of willpower" to stay in school. Ramasar voiced his doubts to teacher Olga Kostritzky and told her he was going to drop ballet for acting. "You want to play a robber, be in movies," she told him. "You want to be a prince, stay in the ballet." Peter Martins, then-director of both the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet, proved critical in helping Ramasar develop as a dancer, giving him 10 minutes of partnering tutoring after each class. Ramasar received high praise at the School of American Ballet year-end workshops, and studied at the American Ballet Theatre's Summer Program and The Rock School for Dance Education. | Ramasar began dating Elysia Dawn Fridkin (also known as Elysia Dawn) in 2009, and they married in October 2011. She was formerly a dancer with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, artistic director of the Columbia University Ballet Collaborative, and is currently a Program Associate for MetLiveArts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2016. | Amar Ramasar was born in the Bronx, New York City. His father, who is of Trinidadian and Indian descent, is a former United States Marine who worked as a computer technician while Amar was growing up. His mother, who is Puerto Rican, worked as a registered nurse. Outgoing and talkative as a child, he says, "No one knew anything about ballet in my family".When Ramasar was 10 years old, he impressed a music teacher in his public school with his creative talents. The teacher urged him to audition for the TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was one of two children selected from more than 300 who tried out. Because his parents worked full-time, Ramasar learned to take the New York City Subway from his home in the South Bronx to the studio on the Lower East Side, and rode public transit to get to the daily rehearsals. At the Henry Street Settlement House, where he took daily lessons, Ramasar met Daniel Catanach, a choreographer working with TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was 11 years old when Catanach showed him a videotape of the New York City Ballet production of Agon, featuring Heather Watts and Mel Tomlinson. Ramasar became instantly fascinated by ballet. He later recalled thinking to himself, "That's the ballet I want to dance, and that's the company I'm going to get into". Ramasar took his first dance lesson at the Henry Street Settlement House's Abrons Arts Center in 1993. His family was indifferent about his decision to dance. "My father didn't prevent me from doing it, but he didn't make it easy," he says. When Ramasar was 14, Catanach urged him to audition for the School of American Ballet, a school which trains young dancers who wish to try out for the New York City Ballet. He was accepted in 1993, and received his first ballet lesson there. His family had no money to support his dance education, and Ramasar relied exclusively on scholarships to pay his tuition. His first years at the School of American Ballet were difficult. Ramasar was years behind the other boys (some of whom were as young as six years old) in athleticism and technique. He later said he felt discouraged by how far behind he was: "I would look around and see all these boys who were turned-out and beautiful, and I was just a clumsy Bronx boy. It took a lot of willpower" to stay in school. Ramasar voiced his doubts to teacher Olga Kostritzky and told her he was going to drop ballet for acting. "You want to play a robber, be in movies," she told him. "You want to be a prince, stay in the ballet." Peter Martins, then-director of both the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet, proved critical in helping Ramasar develop as a dancer, giving him 10 minutes of partnering tutoring after each class. Ramasar received high praise at the School of American Ballet year-end workshops, and studied at the American Ballet Theatre's Summer Program and The Rock School for Dance Education.Ramasar began dating Elysia Dawn Fridkin (also known as Elysia Dawn) in 2009, and they married in October 2011. She was formerly a dancer with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, artistic director of the Columbia University Ballet Collaborative, and is currently a Program Associate for MetLiveArts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2016. | artists |