GISELLE ROBERGE-AGEE
September 28, 1948 – September 17, 2024
Succumbing to her chronic illness, Giselle Roberge-Agee passed away on 17 September 2024 in Hamburg. She had been a former dancer (1976-1982) and ballet mistress (1991-2000) of the Hamburg Ballet.
Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA on September 28, 1948, it was New York City rather, that formed her character as a denizen of intellectual openness and artistic curiosity imbued with a breezy irony. After formative ballet instruction in her teens, she was accepted as a student of the School of American Ballet while legendary Russian celebrities such as Alexandra Danilova were part of the teaching staff. She was chosen to dance the role of Swanhilda in Danilova's and George Balanchine's version of "Coppélia" (1st Act) for the school's graduation performance in 1965. This was something new for the school – a graduation performance – and as she was offered such an important role one can only reason that she was exceptionally talented.
When she joined the New York City Ballet she must have experienced an overwhelming sense of having arrived in the presence of a Master. The repertory of ballets she was so lovingly to dance and their artistic demands immediately brought her under the spell of Mr. B, the neo-classical genius of dance. Young and new to the company she danced in the premiere of the "Rubies" section of "Jewels" (1967).
She also danced with American Ballet Theatre, expanding in this way her CV to include working with two other choreographic geniuses of the time. Coached by Antony Tudor and participating in the premiere of Jerome Robbins's "Goldberg Variations", she performed with the crème de la crème of international ballet stars such as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. It was during this period that she encountered John Neumeier, dancing in his version of "Le Baiser de la Fée" when it was mounted on that company.
On John Cranko's death in 1973 she decided to give Europe a chance and joined a group of dancers that accompanied Glen Tetley when he was elected ballet director of the Stuttgart Ballet. The move to Stuttgart was not exactly fulfilling and when the Hamburg Ballet toured to Stuttgart in 1975, she auditioned, joining the company the year after.
Among colleagues Giselle was known as the fastest dancer in the company, the possessor of a big jump and fearless attack. In 1982 she created the role of Brangäne in Neumeier's "Tristan" to music by Hans Werner Henze. But she decided to close her career as a dancer and set herself up as a teacher/ballet mistress. Starting out in Ulm, she was rescued from the German provinces by a call from Ray Barra who invited her to join him in Spain. At that time, he was managing the Ballet del Teatro Lirico Nacional under the so-called artistic directorship of Maya Plissetskaya. This was a new challenge for Giselle: Plissetskaya, revered as a Bolshoi iconic diva was still dancing and would be taking her classes. Their backgrounds were totally different. But, in spite of a lack of a communal language, they got on rather well.
In the ballet studio, Giselle approached the dancers with impartial respect. She was always at the service of the work, intent on the best.
In 1978 she married Philip Agee, a one-time CIA officer who had been stationed in South America from 1957-69. His revelations of the Agency's dealings titled "Inside the Company: CIA Diary" published in 1975, did not make finding a place of residence easy. But the union certainly increased her appetite for widening her knowledge and understanding of politics. The couple eventually settled in Havana, Cuba from where Philip continued to observe political events. Giselle chose to spend half a year on the island and the other half (hurricane season) in Europe freelancing as a ballet teacher. She was often on call for ballet companies run by former colleagues and friends.
A feisty spirit, probably an arch feminist, she valued friendship above all else; staying in contact was a main concern. She retained her typical New York humour up to the end - just short of her seventy-sixth birthday.
