Adams was born on March 29, 1926, in Staunton, Va. She studied under her stepmother, Emily Hadley-Adams, before traveling to New York City, where she was tutored by Edward Caton, Agnes de Mille, and Antony Tudor. Adams made her stage debut on Broadway in the musical ‘Oklahoma!' (1943) and the following year joined Ballet Theatre, where she created the role of Cybele in Tudor's ‘Undertow' (1945) and had prominent roles in his ‘Romeo and Juliet, Numbus', and ‘Jardin aux lilas'. She also was featured as Myrthe in ‘Giselle' and in the female leads in George Balanchine's ‘Theme and Variations'. Adams, tall and long legged and combining grace with athleticism, was the epitome of the Balanchine dancer. She followed Balanchine to the New York City Ballet, where he featured her in ‘La Valse' (1951), ‘Opus 34' (1954), ‘Ivesiana' (1954), and ‘Agon' (1957), in which she and Arthur Mitchell created the central duet, considered by many the most significant and influential movement sequence in all of 20th-century dance. Adams also performed in films—she partnered Danny Kaye in ‘Knock on Wood' (1954) and worked with Gene Kelly in ‘Invitation to the Dance' (1956). She became a teacher at the School of American Ballet while still dancing. After retiring from the stage in 1963, she continued to teach until 1971. She died Jan. 10, 1993, in San Andreas, Calif.