Chicago ballet dancer.

Born in Chicago June 21, 1906, Ruth Pryor was the premier danseuse of the Chicago Civic Opera and an independent dance artist. Her dance career began at fourteen when she appeared in an act called “Blossoms” for the Midwest vaudeville circuit. At sixteen she joined partner Beatrice Gardel, in a vaudeville and touring act called “Dances of Here and There”. In 1928, she joined the Chicago Civic Opera Company, becoming a soloist. She was the leading dancer with Edward Caton in a large-scale production of Aida in 1929, and in 1930 she was the first American ballerina as the Swan Queen in a special presentation of Swan Lake.

During the 1930s, Pryor freelanced, touring and performing in various venues, including picture palaces around the country. In 1940, she made a success in a big production of Carmen at Chicago’s Soldier Field. In 1950, she moved to Cleveland with her second husband, and established the Ballet Russe Academy with Laurent Novikoff.

She retired from the school in 1972 and moved west, settling in Albuquerque. She had one daughter, Janis Wildey. Pryor died May 31, 2001, just short of her 95th birthday.