02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Herbert Migdoll, Joffrey Ballet Photographer for Half a Century, Dies at 90
Herbert Migdoll, the official photographer and designer of the Joffrey Ballet for about half a century, who was admired for capturing the flight of its dancers with his lens, died on April 19 in the Bronx. He was 90.
His death, in a hospital, was announced by the Joffrey Ballet on its Facebook page and confirmed by his assistant, Joseph Rivera.
Mr. Migdoll's images of the Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet's dancers helped cement its artistic reputation from the time he joined the company, in 1968, until he retired, in 2016. He eventually became the Joffrey's graphics director as well, helping to design posters and sets for such notable productions as 'Billboards,' a 1993 ballet set to the music of Prince.
Simultaneously, he served as the art director of Dance Magazine, where he was responsible for dozens of covers from the 1970s through the '90s. In a tribute on its Instagram page, the magazine described him as a visionary.
The Joffrey, in its own tribute, called Mr. Migdoll 'an extraordinary artist whose vision and photography captured the evolving story of the Joffrey Ballet for more than five decades.' That photography appeared in The New York Times and Life magazine, among other publications.
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