Remembering Peter Frame, Former New York City Ballet Principal & Beloved Teacher
The dance community mourns another loss this week, as we learned former New York City Ballet principal Peter Frame passed away on August 30. Frame, who was 61, trained at the School of American Ballet and was a member of NYCB (his twin brother Paul danced with the company as well) from 1976 to 1990, earning the rank of principal in 1988.
Frame joined SAB faculty in 1993, where he is credited with developing a body strengthening program for the dancers as well as creating a weight training class for men. Additionally, Frame taught at Ballet Academy East, where in a 2017 blog post on their site, he shared one of his fondest memories—dancing in George Balanchine’s Episodes, where he was cast in the solo originated by Paul Taylor, who also passed away earlier this week. “Omitted since Taylor performed it, I would reintroduce the solo to the stage,” Frame said in the post. “This was one of the most exciting moments in my career.” Frame performed the solo from 1986 to 1989, becoming the only person after Taylor himself to dance it until he restaged the piece for Miami City Ballet in 2017.
Described as a “kind and generous spirit” by NYCB principal Megan Fairchild in an Instagram tribute, Frame is being remembered on social media by members of NYCB and beyond. We’re sharing some of these touching tributes below; feel free to add your own in the comments.