The Hungarian National Ballet expressed its condolences and acknowledged Kováts's standing as a major figure in Hungarian ballet.
Kováts was born in Budapest in 1932. After studying with Ferenc Nádasi, who helped establish Hungarian ballet, she became one of the most important ballerinas of her generation, together with Vera Pásztor, Dóra Csinády and Margit Müller. Kováts was first introduced to the French school of ballet, but later learned from Russian masters and even went on a six-month study trip to Leningrad, where she danced with Agrippina Vaganova.
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Kováts with her husband István Rab in The Wooden Prince |
Kováts danced for the Hungarian State Opera until 1953, the year she won the Kossuth Prize. She danced the roles of Odette/Odilia in Swan Lake, the princess in The Wooden Prince and Zarema in The Fountain of Bakhchisarai.
During a tour in Eastern Germany, Kováts and her husband decided to emigrate, first to the UK, where they danced at the London Festival Ballet, then to the United States, where they set up a school.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
Photo: Dance Archives, OSZMI
