Rachel Ganteaume Richards
Rachel Ganteaume Richards
Studio Faculty (Ballet)
Associations
Dance
Pettigrew Hall, Room 208
About
Rachel Ganteaume Richards, born in Trinidad, first studied the Royal Academy Dance Syllabus, at The Caribbean School of Dance in Port of Spain. Her accomplishments there led her to being honored with a scholarship to the Joffrey School in New York City, where she also studied with David Howard and Maggie Black; performing feature roles in the Joffery II Company before joining the Joffrey Ballet in 1975. In the Joffrey Ballet, she performed principal roles in Oscar Ariaz鈥檚 Romeo and Juliet, Gerald Arpino鈥檚 Sacred Grove on Mount Tamalpais, Sir Frederick Ashton鈥檚 Jazz Calendar, Jose Limon鈥檚 The Moor鈥檚 Pavane, and others by Agnes de Mille, Vaslav Nijinsky, Gerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp.
Her television performances include Rodeo, presented at the Kennedy Center at the request of the White House, marking the historic meeting of President Jimmy Carter and Deng Xiao Ping, then Vice Premier of the People鈥檚 Republic of China. Moreover, her national television broadcast history included 鈥淭he Joffrey Company at Wolftrap鈥�, and 鈥淣ureyev and The Joffrey Ballet on Broadway鈥�. In 1982 she moved to Maine; joining the faculty of the Ram Island Dance Center and later The Portland Ballet where in 1996, she performed 鈥淭ituba鈥� in Sam Kurkjian鈥檚 The Witches of Salem. Rachel now teaches at the Portland School of Ballet and at The Dance Center in Auburn.