{{short description|American ballet dancer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox dancer | name = Merrill Ashley | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Linda Michelle Merrill | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|12|02}} | birth_place = Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = | citizenship = | education = School of American Ballet | occupation = {{flatlist| *ballet dancer *''répétiteur'' }} | years_active = | height = | spouse = {{marriage|Kibbe Fitzpatrick|1974}} | partner = | children = | website = <!-- {{URL|website}} --> | current_group = | former_groups = New York City Ballet | dances = | module = }} '''Linda Michelle Merrill''' (born December 2, 1950), known professionally as '''Merrill Ashley''', is an American former ballet dancer and ''répétiteur''. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1967, was promoted to principal dancer in 1977, and retired in 1997. She is one of the last dancers to have worked with George Balanchine, and coaches his works since she stopped performing.
==Early life== Linda Michelle Merrill was born on December 2, 1950, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and raised in Rutland, Vermont. She started ballet at age seven. In 1964, at thirteen, she entered the School of American Ballet full-time with a scholarship.<ref name=Brittannica>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Merrill-Ashley|title=Merrill Ashley|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|last=Whitney|first=Barbara}}</ref>
==Career== She joined the New York City Ballet in 1967, making her debut as a corps dancer in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-01-10-8501020855-story.html|title=Ballerina Ashley's Story of Devotion to Balanchine|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|last=Christiansen|first=Richard|date=January 10, 1985}}</ref> As there was another dancer named Linda Merrill, she performed under the stage name Merrill Ashley. She was promoted to soloist in 1974 and principal dancer in 1977.<ref name=Brittannica/> Ashley was known for her speed. She was one of the last dancers to have worked with George Balanchine,<ref name=Trucco>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/15/arts/a-last-link-to-balanchine-a-virtuoso-still.html|title=A Last Link To Balanchine, A Virtuoso Still|work=New York Times|last=Trucco|first=Terry|date=June 15, 1997}}</ref> and created two lead roles for him, in ''Ballo della Regina'' and ''Ballade''. Balanchine also revived ''The Four Temperaments'' and ''Square Dance'' for her. Ashley also originated roles in Robbins' ''Requiem Canticles'', Robbins' and Tharp's ''Brahms/Handel'' and Martins' ''Fearful Symmetries''.<ref name=Oxford/> Other Balanchine ballets she was known for include ''Concerto Barocco'', ''Donizetti Variations'', ''Gounod Symphony'' and ''Chaconne''.<ref name=Brittannica/>
Outside of the New York City Ballet, Ashley toured with Jacques d'Amboise's troupe around the US and with her own group, Merrill Ashley and Dancers, in Hawaii. She also performed ''Paquita'' and ''The Sleeping Beauty'' with the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (now the Birmingham Royal Ballet).<ref name=Oxford>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=42g8Hp-xA48C|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Dance|last1=Craine|first1=Debra|last2=Mackrell|first2=Judith|date=August 19, 2010|publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0199563449}}</ref> Her book, ''Dancing with Balanchine'', was published in 1984.<ref name=Trucco/>
Ashley retired from the New York City Ballet in 1997, shortly before she turned 47, after 30 years of dancing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/27/arts/dance-review-an-opening-for-city-ballet-a-closing-for-a-favored-star.html|title=Dance Review; An Opening for City Ballet, A Closing for a Favored Star|newspaper=New York Times|last=Kisselgoff|first=Anna|date=November 27, 1997}}</ref> She was the longest-serving dancer at New York City Ballet at the time.<ref name=Oxford/> She remained in the company as a teaching associate until 2008, then went freelance to coach Balanchine ballets in other companies. The documentary ''The Dance Goodbye'' follows her ten years after she retired dealing with injuries sustained during her dance career.<ref name=Kourlas>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/arts/dance/merrill-ashley-is-in-focus-at-the-dance-on-camera-festival.html|title=Merrill Ashley Is in Focus at the Dance on Camera Festival|newspaper=New York Times|last=Kourlas|first=Gia|date=February 11, 2016}}</ref>
==Personal life== In 1974, Ashley married Kibbe Fitzpatrick, a United Nations linguist.<ref name=Trucco/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Merrill}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Category:People from Rutland (city), Vermont Category:New York City Ballet principal dancers Category:School of American Ballet alumni Category:Balanchine Trust repetiteurs Category:American prima ballerinas Category:20th-century American ballet dancers Category:Dancers from Minnesota Category:Dancers from Vermont