Carolyn d'Amboise, Photographer and Dancer Passes Away at 81

Former ballet and Broadway dancer Carolyn George D'Amboise has passed away at the age of 81.

The stage star passed away at the Manhattan home she shared with her husband, New York City Ballet star Jacques d'Amboise, on Tuesday after a long struggle with primary lateral sclerosis, a rare neuromuscular disease.

A native of Dallas, she started her career in Broadway musicals in the 1940s as Carolyn George. On Broadway she appeared in Shinbone Alley and On Your Toes among other productions.

She joined the San Francisco Ballet in the late 1940s, then the New York City Ballet in 1952. She met Jacques d'Amboise in the New York ballet company, and the two married on New Year's Day 1956.

She later found her passion as a  photographer, specialising in dance. Her work was published in various books and magazines, and she shot photos for the New York City Ballet for a time.

In 1976, the two formed the National Dance Institute, a group that introduces schoolchildren to the arts, using dance as a catalyst. The same year, she formed a New York dance exercise group called Carrie's Mob, after her nickname, Carrie. It remains active today.

She is survived by her husband and their four children, Christopher, Charlotte, George and Catherine.

A memorial service will be held March 30th at Symphony Space in Manhattan.