Vicente Nebrada, 72, Leader of Caracas National Ballet, Dies
Vicente Nebrada, the director of the National Ballet of Caracas and an internationally known choreographer, died on May 26 at home in Caracas, Venezuela. He was 72 and lived in Caracas and New York. The cause was leukemia, said Zane Wilson, his colleague and companion.
He created versions of many classics, among them "Romeo and Juliet," "Coppélia," "Don Quixote" and "Swan Lake." He could tell a story dramatically, as he did in "Inez de Castro," a tale of doomed love among the nobility in early 14th-century Portugal. But Mr. Nebrada was also adept at plotless dances such as "Una Danza Para Ti" (A Dance for You), a tribute to the music of the Venezuelan pianist and composer Teresa Carreño and to the art of ballet partnering.
Born in Caracas, Mr. Nebrada began his career as a dancer with the National Ballet of Venezuela. There he came to the attention of the Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso and joined the National Ballet of Cuba. He also performed with Roland Petit in Paris and with the Joffrey Ballet in New York, which he joined in 1959. Mr. Nebrada was a founding member of the Harkness Ballet, where he created his first ballet, a signature work called "Percussion for Six Men," in 1969.
In 1977, Mr. Nebrada was appointed artistic director and resident choreographer of the International Ballet of Caracas, which became a haven for dancers from the failed Harkness troupe and for North American choreographers, among them Alvin Ailey. Mr. Nebrada became the artistic director of the National Ballet of Caracas in 1984. His artistic support as resident choreographer helped to establish Ballet Florida in Palm Beach in the mid-1990's.
His dances have been performed by companies from all over the world, including: Ballet Hispánico, American Ballet Theater, the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, the National Ballet of Canada, the Berlin Opera Ballet, the English National Ballet, the Australian Ballet and the Universal Ballet of Korea.
In addition to his companion, Mr. Wilson, two sisters, Mireya Olivares and Anita Suárez, both of Caracas, survive Mr. Nebrada. •