Robert Edward Brassel

Background

Robert Edward Brassel was born on November 3, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, to Laurence James Brassel and Frances Judith Smith Brassel. He attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before pursuing professional ballet training in New York City.

Brassel's later memoir describes his decision to pursue dance despite beginning formal training relatively late. His family life included marriage to Linda Rose DiBona and the birth of their son, Matthew Robert.

Education

Brassel attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, from 1958 to 1962, then studied at the Joffrey Ballet School from 1963 to 1966. The Joffrey school formed part of the training system associated with the Joffrey Ballet, a New York company founded in 1956 that became known for combining classical ballet with contemporary choreography.

He also attended Indiana University, completing his studies in 1967. Indiana University was a major American public research institution whose programs in the arts and humanities complemented the professional training available through specialized ballet schools.

Career

Brassel became a charter member of the Joffrey Ballet in New York City in 1965. The company, founded by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, was part of the postwar expansion of American ballet and became recognized for presenting both classical repertory and new choreography. Brassel's early ballet career was interrupted by service in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968, when he held the rank of Specialist 5th class.

After military service, Brassel returned to professional dance. He performed with American Ballet Theatre from 1968 to 1972, became a soloist with Harkness Ballet and Ballet International during the 1970s, and later danced as a principal with London Festival Ballet and Ballet du Wallonie. His international career included performances in classical ballet repertory across numerous countries and continents.

From 1979 to 1980, Brassel served as ballet master of Basel Ballet in Switzerland. He then became co-director of Ballet Virginia and The Dance Academy in Newport News, Virginia, from 1981 to 1987. He subsequently served as an artist in residence at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and taught on the faculty of Boston Ballet School.

Brassel entered the insurance business in 1989 as a sales representative for Sun Life Canada and became broker and owner of Insurance Planning in Wakefield, Massachusetts, in 1997. In this second career, he created disability insurance coverage designed for professional dancers. From 1996 onward, he also developed adult ballet classes for health clubs, extending ballet instruction to people outside the traditional professional and pre-professional system.

Achievements

• Brassel choreographed fourteen ballets and three full-length productions during his dance career.

• He created disability insurance coverage for professional dancers, addressing the specialized income-protection needs of a physically demanding profession.

• He developed an adult ballet class for the health-club industry, helping extend structured ballet instruction beyond professional and pre-professional dancers.

Works

More photos

• memoir

  • Always a Dancer: A Memoir

    (Brassel's memoir recounts his development as a profession...)

    2006

• nonfiction book

  • Ballet for Adults: The Physical and Psychological Benefits

    (Brassel examines the physical and psychological benefits ...)

    2009

Views

Brassel's published work presents dance as a continuing discipline rather than an activity limited to professional performers. His transition from ballet to insurance and then back to adult instruction reflects a view of dance as compatible with changing stages of adult life, physical well-being, and personal development.

Interests

• Ballet education and the physical and psychological benefits of dance for adults.

Connections

Brassel married Linda Rose DiBona on August 18, 1973. DiBona was a ballerina who danced with Brassel during their professional careers. They have one son, Matthew Robert Brassel.

Father:

Laurence James Brassel

Mother:

Frances Judith (Smith) Brassel

Son:

Matthew Robert Brassel

Wife:

Linda Rose DiBona

A ballerina who performed with Brassel during their professional careers.

References

• Google Books: Always a Dancer: A Memoir Provides bibliographic information and a summary of Brassel's memoir, including his ballet career, military service, insurance work, and adult ballet teaching.
  2020
• Wipf and Stock Publishers: Ballet for Adults Publisher information describing Brassel's book on adult ballet and identifying his experience teaching ballet to health-club members.
  2023
• Better Business Bureau: Insurance Planning Business profile identifying Robert Brassel as owner of Insurance Planning in Wakefield, Massachusetts.