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{{about|the ballet dancer and actress|her niece, the visual artist|Sono Osato (artist)}}
{{about|the ballet dancer and actress|her niece, the visual artist|Sono Osato (artist)}}
{{More footnotes|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox dancer
{{Infobox dancer
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'''Sono Osato''' (August 29, 1919 – December 26, 2018) was an American dancer and actress of Japanese and European descent.<ref name="goldstein" />
'''Sono Osato''' (August 29, 1919 – December 26, 2018) was an American dancer and actress of Japanese and European descent.<ref>''Distant Dances'' (1980), autobiography by Sono Osato</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Sono Osato, whose given name is Japanese for "garden", was the oldest of three children born to a Japanese father (Shoji Osato, 1885–1955) and Irish-French Canadian mother (Frances Fitzpatrick, 1897–1954),<ref name="Karr">The Garden of the Phoenix:
Sono Osato, whose given name is Japanese for "garden", was the oldest of three children born to a Japanese father (Shoji Osato, 1885–1955) and Irish-French Canadian mother (Frances Fitzpatrick, 1897–1954).<ref name="Karr">The Garden of the Phoenix:
The 120th Anniversary of the Japanese Garden in Chicago Fig. 1 The Phoenix Pavilion on the Wooded Island, 1893 (courtesy of The Chicago Public Library, Special Collections) by Robert W. Karr, Jr. Published in The Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association, Issue No. 1, 2013</ref> From 1935 to 1941, her parents were the caretakers of the Phoenix Pavilion and its Japanese garden, both of which had been built for [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in Chicago in 1893.
The 120th Anniversary of the Japanese Garden in Chicago Fig. 1 The Phoenix Pavilion on the Wooded Island, 1893 (courtesy of The Chicago Public Library, Special Collections) by Robert W. Karr, Jr. Published in The Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association, Issue No. 1, 2013</ref> From 1935 to 1941, her parents were the caretakers of the Phoenix Pavilion and its Japanese garden, both of which had been built for [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in Chicago in 1893.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jasc-chicago.org/jasc-legacy-center-presents-in-the-garden-of-the-phoenix/|title=JASC Legacy Center Presents: In The Garden Of The Phoenix|publisher=JASC-Chicago.org|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref>


Japanese Americans were forbidden from traveling east of Chicago during World War II; as a result, her father was interned in Chicago under the United States Government's [[Japanese American Internment]] policy.<ref name="OldNY">{{cite web|author=Peter Vidani |url=http://www.oldnewyorkstories.com/post/11666572720/victor-elmaleh-94 |title=Victor Elmaleh - 94 |publisher=Old New York Stories |date=2011-10-25 |accessdate=2017-01-24}}</ref>
Japanese Americans were forbidden from traveling east of Chicago during World War II; as a result, her father was interned in Chicago under the United States Government's [[Japanese American Internment]] policy.<ref name="OldNY">{{cite web|author=Peter Vidani |url=http://www.oldnewyorkstories.com/post/11666572720/victor-elmaleh-94 |title=Victor Elmaleh - 94 |publisher=Old New York Stories |date=2011-10-25 |accessdate=2017-01-24}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Osato began her career at the age of fourteen with the [[Original Ballet Russe|Ballets Russe de Monte-Carlo]]; she was the youngest dancer in the troupe, and the first of Japanese descent.<ref name="goldstein" /> She later went on to dance with [[American Ballet Theatre]] (then Ballet Theatre).<ref name=goldstein/> While at ABT, she danced roles in such ballets as [[Kenneth MacMillan]]'s ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'', [[Antony Tudor]]'s ''[[Pillar of Fire (ballet)|Pillar of Fire]]'', and [[Bronislava Nijinska]]'s ''The Beloved''. As a musical theater performer, her Broadway credits included principal dancer in ''[[One Touch of Venus]]'' (for which she received a [[Donaldson Award]]), Ivy Smith in the original ''[[On the Town (musical)|On the Town]]'', and Cocaine Lil in "Ballet Ballads".<ref name="goldstein" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/ballet-ballads-2004|title=Ballet Ballads |website=IBDb.com|accessdate=2017-01-24}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
Osato began her career at the age of fourteen with the [[Original Ballet Russe|Ballets Russe de Monte-Carlo]]; she later went on to dance with [[American Ballet Theatre]] (then Ballet Theatre).<ref name=goldstein/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.wfmt.com/offmic/2016/01/08/sono-osato-96-reflects-on-dancing-with-the-ballet-russe-de-monte-carlo/|title=Sono Osato, 96, Reflects on Dancing With the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo|publisher=WFMT|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref> While at ABT, she danced roles in such ballets as [[Kenneth MacMillan]]'s ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'', [[Antony Tudor]]'s ''[[Pillar of Fire (ballet)|Pillar of Fire]]'', and [[Bronislava Nijinska]]'s ''The Beloved''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-thodos-dance-preview-ent-0106-20160105-column.html|title=Dancer Sono Osato inspires Thodos' new 'Journey'|publisher=Chicago Tribune|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TrIiBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=sono+osato+sleeping+beauty+Pillar+of+Fire&source=bl&ots=yhV_Fi1rli&sig=ZkT1-AJzOgtvmVVw7l3q9gMAlK4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiMrPbXyL_fAhULvKwKHfKaBq8Q6AEwCnoECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q=sono%20osato%20sleeping%20beauty%20Pillar%20of%20Fire&f=false|title=Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War|publisher=Google Books|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref> As a musical theater performer, her Broadway credits included principal dancer in ''[[One Touch of Venus]]'' ([[Donaldson Award]]), Ivy Smith in the original ''[[On the Town (musical)|On the Town]]'', and Cocaine Lil in "Ballet Ballads".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/ballet-ballads-2004|title=Ballet Ballads |website=IBDb.com|accessdate=2017-01-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/januaryfebruary/feature/the-original-miss-turnstiles|title=The Original Miss Turnstiles: Sono Osato Starred on Broadway|publisher=National Endowment of Humanities|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref>


In the late 1940s and 1950s, Osato briefly pursued a career as an actress, appearing on Broadway in ''[[Peer Gynt]]'', in the film ''[[The Kissing Bandit (film)|The Kissing Bandit]]'', and in occasional guest appearances on television series such as, ''[[The Adventures of Ellery Queen]]'' (1950).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/person/sono-osato-vault-0000041108|title=Sono Osato|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=2018-12-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nortonherrickcenter.org/adventures-of-ellery-queen-the/|title=Adventures Of Ellery Queen, The|date=2013-07-15|website=Norton Herrick Center for Motion Picture Studies|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-27}}</ref>
In the late 1940s and 1950s, Osato briefly pursued a career as an actress, appearing on Broadway in ''[[Peer Gynt]]'', in the film ''[[The Kissing Bandit (film)|The Kissing Bandit]]'', and in occasional guest appearances on television series such as, ''[[The Adventures of Ellery Queen]]'' (1950).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/08/01/the-memoirs-of-a-working-ballerina/4cfab345-876e-453d-bc2d-85085da64518/?noredirect=on|title=The Memoirs of a Working Ballerina|publisher=The Washington Post|accessdate=December 27, 2018|date=August 1, 1980}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/Ellery_Queen_DuMont|title=The Adventures of Ellery Queen|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref>


In 2006 Osato founded the Sono Osato Scholarship Program for Graduate Studies to help former dancers finance graduate work in both the professions and the liberal arts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uclartsandhealing.org/resources_pages/career-transition-for-dancers/|title=Career Transition For Dancers|website=uclartsandhealing.org|access-date=2018-12-27}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.danzaballet.com/sono-osato-to-be-honored/|title=SONO OSATO TO BE HONORED|date=2008-08-07|website=Danza Ballet|language=es-ES|access-date=2018-12-27}}</ref>
She founded the Sono Osato Scholarship Program in Graduate Studies at Career Transition For Dancers to help former dancers finance graduate work in both the professions and the liberal arts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.danzaballet.com/sono-osato-to-be-honored/?print=print|title=Sono Osato to be Honored|accessdate=December 27, 2018|publisher=Danzaballet}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/CTFD-Announces-Additional-250K-Sono-Osato-Scholarship-Gift-20100413|title=CTFD Announces Additional $250K Sono Osato Scholarship Gift|publisher=Broadway World|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Osato married real estate developer [[Victor Elmaleh]] in 1943, and they had two sons.<ref name="goldstein" /> Elmaleh died in 2014. She was the aunt of installation artist of the same name [[Sono Osato (artist)|Sono Osato]].
Osato married real estate developer [[Victor Elmaleh]] in 1943, and they had two sons.<ref name=elm>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/nyregion/victor-elmaleh-builder-and-entrepreneur-dies-at-95.html|title=Victor Elmaleh, Builder and Entrepreneur, Dies at 95|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref> Elmaleh died in November 2014, aged 95.<ref name=elm/>


Osato died on December 26, 2018 in [[Manhattan]].<ref name=goldstein>{{citation |last=Goldstein|first=Richard |title=Sono Osato, Japanese-American Ballet Star, Is Dead at 99| newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 26, 2018| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/obituaries/sono-osato-dead.html}}</ref>
Osato died on December 26, 2018 in [[Manhattan]] at the age of 99.<ref name=goldstein>{{citation |last=Goldstein|first=Richard |title=Sono Osato, Japanese-American Ballet Star, Is Dead at 99| newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 26, 2018| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/obituaries/sono-osato-dead.html}}</ref> She was the aunt of installation artist of the same name [[Sono Osato (artist)|Sono Osato]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-15/news/ol-848_1_art-forms|title=ART : Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Art|date=August 15, 1991|accessdate=December 27, 2018|publisher=''[[The Los Angeles Times]]''}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 08:26, 27 December 2018

This article is about the ballet dancer and actress. For her niece, the visual artist, see Sono Osato (artist).
Sono Osato
Sono Osato in Francesca da Rimini costume
Born(1919-08-29)August 29, 1919
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedDecember 26, 2018(2018-12-26) (aged 99)
New York City, U.S.
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1943; died 2014)​
Children2
Career
Former groupsBallets Russe de Monte-Carlo American Ballet Theatre

Sono Osato (August 29, 1919 – December 26, 2018) was an American dancer and actress of Japanese and European descent.[1]

Early life

Sono Osato, whose given name is Japanese for "garden", was the oldest of three children born to a Japanese father (Shoji Osato, 1885–1955) and Irish-French Canadian mother (Frances Fitzpatrick, 1897–1954).[2] From 1935 to 1941, her parents were the caretakers of the Phoenix Pavilion and its Japanese garden, both of which had been built for World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.[3]

Japanese Americans were forbidden from traveling east of Chicago during World War II; as a result, her father was interned in Chicago under the United States Government's Japanese American Internment policy.[4]

Career

Osato began her career at the age of fourteen with the Ballets Russe de Monte-Carlo; she later went on to dance with American Ballet Theatre (then Ballet Theatre).[5][6] While at ABT, she danced roles in such ballets as Kenneth MacMillan's Sleeping Beauty, Antony Tudor's Pillar of Fire, and Bronislava Nijinska's The Beloved.[7][8] As a musical theater performer, her Broadway credits included principal dancer in One Touch of Venus (Donaldson Award), Ivy Smith in the original On the Town, and Cocaine Lil in "Ballet Ballads".[9][10]

In the late 1940s and 1950s, Osato briefly pursued a career as an actress, appearing on Broadway in Peer Gynt, in the film The Kissing Bandit, and in occasional guest appearances on television series such as, The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1950).[11][12]

She founded the Sono Osato Scholarship Program in Graduate Studies at Career Transition For Dancers to help former dancers finance graduate work in both the professions and the liberal arts.[13][14]

Personal life

Osato married real estate developer Victor Elmaleh in 1943, and they had two sons.[15] Elmaleh died in November 2014, aged 95.[15]

Osato died on December 26, 2018 in Manhattan at the age of 99.[5] She was the aunt of installation artist of the same name Sono Osato.[16]

References

  1. ^ Distant Dances (1980), autobiography by Sono Osato
  2. ^ The Garden of the Phoenix: The 120th Anniversary of the Japanese Garden in Chicago Fig. 1 The Phoenix Pavilion on the Wooded Island, 1893 (courtesy of The Chicago Public Library, Special Collections) by Robert W. Karr, Jr. Published in The Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association, Issue No. 1, 2013
  3. ^ "JASC Legacy Center Presents: In The Garden Of The Phoenix". JASC-Chicago.org. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  4. ^ Peter Vidani (October 25, 2011). "Victor Elmaleh - 94". Old New York Stories. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Goldstein, Richard (December 26, 2018), "Sono Osato, Japanese-American Ballet Star, Is Dead at 99", The New York Times
  6. ^ "Sono Osato, 96, Reflects on Dancing With the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo". WFMT. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "Dancer Sono Osato inspires Thodos' new 'Journey'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War". Google Books. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  9. ^ "Ballet Ballads". IBDb.com. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  10. ^ "The Original Miss Turnstiles: Sono Osato Starred on Broadway". National Endowment of Humanities. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  11. ^ "The Memoirs of a Working Ballerina". The Washington Post. August 1, 1980. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "The Adventures of Ellery Queen". Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  13. ^ "Sono Osato to be Honored". Danzaballet. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  14. ^ "CTFD Announces Additional $250K Sono Osato Scholarship Gift". Broadway World. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Victor Elmaleh, Builder and Entrepreneur, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "ART : Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Art". The Los Angeles Times. August 15, 1991. Retrieved December 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Book reviews

External links

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