Obituary of David Blackburn

David Blackburn, a former dancer and associate artistic director of the Cincinnati Ballet and mentor generations of local dancers, died Saturday June 15, 2013 in the hospice unit at UC Drake Center in Hartwell. Blackburn was 76, and had been treated for cancer in recent years. Blackburn’s history with Cincinnati Ballet goes back to the company’s very first major performance on March 15, 1964. The company was known as the Cincinnati Civic Ballet then. Blackburn was a 27-year-old guest performer from the Dayton Civic Ballet who stepped in when another dancer was unable to perform. Blackburn was outgoing and outspoken, which made his leadership style a perfect complement to that of McLain, who was quiet and introspective. But it was a trait that occasionally caused Blackburn some difficulties, as well. Less than a month after McLain’s death, the president of the Cincinnati Ballet’s board asked him for his resignation. Over the years, it seemed that Blackburn had crossed swords with too many influential board members. Though he remained on the CCM faculty until his retirement in the early 2000s, Blackburn was embittered by his firing and was estranged from the company for many years. Only recently did he allow himself to become involved with the company again, actively participating in the preparation of a book celebrating the ballet’s upcoming 50th anniversary season. Together with McLain, Blackburn helped build Cincinnati Ballet into a widely respected professional company known for a wide-ranging repertory – much of it by notable American choreographers – performed by an ensemble of dancers whose acting was as agile as their dancing. To the many students and company members who worked with them over the years, they were known collectively as “The Davids.” Victoria Morgan, Cincinnati Ballet’s current artistic director and CEO, says that the 50th anniversary book, which will be released in August, has afforded her and most others at the company an opportunity to learn more about the company’s early years. “I have a new admiration for the devotion, determined effort, and visionary leadership from that era – the late ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s,” Morgan said. “The Ballet flourished under his (Blackburn) and David McLain’s loving guidance and attention, and we will be forever grateful and deeply indebted.” One of those young students was Sarah Jessica Parker, who went on to fame in film, on Broadway and as Carrie Bradshaw in television’s “Sex and the City.” Marlo Thomas’ 2004 book “The right words at the right time” asked noted people to share lessons from influential people in their lives. Parker devoted her entire chapter to Blackburn. She wrote about how he arranged for a scholarship for her and her brother Toby in CCM’s preparatory program, how when they moved to New York City, he made sure they received scholarships to study at American Ballet Theatre and how he taught her so much about acting, as well as dance. Blackburn felt a special kinship to the people who were part of those formative years of the company and made a point of staying close with many of them. “When I joined Cincinnati Ballet, David was one who brought joy into every class, every rehearsal, every single performance and every single tour,” said Debbie Wilson, a former company member who is now a choreographer and dance teacher in Toronto. “Whether it was dancing down the bus aisle singing a Bert & Ernie song from “Sesame Street” or laughing hysterically over somebody’s joke, David’s joy was infectious. Jane Wagner Green, who was Blackburn’s most frequent dancing partner in the late 1960s and early 1970s, says she felt blessed to be partnered by him. Green is how head of the head of the Dance Department at Northern Kentucky University. And while she says she is saddened about his death, she is more inclined to regard his passing in a more philosophical way. “His death is the end of an era,” Green said, “but it’s also a part of the natural progress of dance. These mentors – the McLains and Blackburns, the Freddie Franklins,” she says, referring to the Cincinnati Ballet’s 98-year-old artistic director emeritus, who died May 4 – “they have left their marks. I am the teacher I am today because of David Blackburn. And hopefully, the people who were influenced by these wonderful teachers will inspire the next generation of dancers and teachers. When one era ends, the next one arises, stronger and more creative and more knowledgeable of the craft.” Growing up in the tiny farming village of Dundee, Mich., he was unlike any of his classmates, said Blackburn’s younger half-brother, Greg Fisher of Traverse City, Mich. “Everyone else was involved with farming and sports,” Fisher said. “But David was always surrounded by books. Or he was playing the piano. He was a brilliant pianist. We had three pianos at home, and I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t playing them constantly.” Despite have such different interests, Blackburn was enormously popular with his fellow students, Fisher said. He was the senior class president at Dundee High School. And while his role as the drum major of the school’s marching band earned him more than a few catcalls, his quick wit won him many friends and defused many awkward situations. That humor was a Blackburn hallmark that remained until the end of his life, said longtime friend Dan Fulkerson. “David could bring laughter to a room like no one else,” Fulkerson said. “He was always laughing, even earlier this week, he was still laughing. And making all of us around him laugh, too.” Blackburn seemed destined for a career playing the piano until 1957, when he and a pair of University of Michigan classmates took a Thanksgiving trip to New York City. As Blackburn recounted years later, his friends were more interested in sitting in bars than seeing the city. So Blackburn took to the streets and started exploring. In chance encounter that would change the course of his life, he stumbled across a dance performance about to take place at the City Center Theatre. When Blackburn finally retired in the early 2000s, he stopped teaching ballet, but poured himself into other creative outlets. He wrote a novel, as yet unpublished, and developed into a gifted baker. He also became a devoted Cincinnati Reds fan. In addition to Fisher, Blackburn is survived by his mother, Eleanor Albers, of Traverse City, Mich., and another brother, Jeffery Blackburn, of Charlotte, Mich. Graveside services were held at Maple Grove Cemetery in Dundee, Michigan.