The world of letters has been mourning Robert Gottlieb, who died last week at 92, as a reader and editor of qualities that became legendary. The world of dance has been mourning him as well. He neither performed nor choreographed, but he played a major role, often behind the scenes, in fostering American dance. He ran influential works of dance criticism as editor of The New Yorker, and he later became a dance critic himself for The New York Observer. Perhaps less widely known was the key role he played behind the scenes at New York City Ballet, where he served on the board of directors.

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Persons: Robert Gottlieb, Alfred A ., Mikhail Baryshnikov, Arlene Croce, Margot Fonteyn, Lincoln Kirstein, Natalia Makarova, Paul Taylor, “, Alfred Knopf, ”, ” Gottlieb —, Bob, —, George Balanchine, Balanchine Organizations: Alfred A . Knopf, Yorker, The New York Observer, New York City Ballet, The, City Center, Ballet Society, City Ballet, Sadler’s, Ballet, Metropolitan Opera House Locations: New