Jillana (1934–)

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Jillana (1934–)

American ballet dancer. Name variations: Jillana Zimmerman. Born 1934 in Hackensack, NJ; married; children: William and Ana.

Performed with Ballet Society; danced with New York City Ballet throughout most of career, creating roles in numerous works by Balanchine, including Capriccio Brillante (1951), Liebeslieder Walzer (1960), Midsummer Night's Dream (1962), as well as in Jerome Robbins' The Pied Piper (1951), Quartet (1954), and Afternoon of the Faun; danced with Ballet Theater (1957–58), performing in Les Sylphides and Fall River Legend, among others; created roles in Enrique Martinez' La Muerte Enamorada (1957) and in Herbert Ross' Ovid Metamorphoses (1958), both produced by Ballet Theater Workshop; served as artistic director for San Diego Ballet; became director of Jillana School in California.