Villella, Edward, 1936-, American ballet dancer, b. Long Island, N.Y. Villella studied at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet, joining the New York City Ballet in 1957. He soon became a principal dancer with a large repertoire of roles, most notably The Prodigal Son. Villella's dancing is remarkable for its tremendous vigor and dynamic style. He served as artistic coordinator of the Eglevsky Ballet (1979-84) and as director of the Oklahoma Ballet (1983-85), before founding the Miami City Ballet in 1986.