"Elusive Muse" at Dance on Camera Festival

[Farrell Fan]

There was a tribute yesterday to Anne Belle, the documentary filmmaker whose films included "Reflections of a Dancer -- Alexandra Danilova," "Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse," and "Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas." They were part of this year's Dance on Camera Festival at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.

I attended the "Elusive Muse" showing, at which Suzanne made some introductory remarks. She said she'd had no interest in participating in the making of the film until she met Ms. Belle and saw in her eyes the same look she'd known in Balanchine's eyes, so she knew she'd be safe confiding her thoughts and feelings to her. She said that when the film shows her looking at the camera, she's actually looking into Anne Belle's eyes. When Ms. Belle died last June, Suzanne felt she'd lost her best friend.

The print of "Elusive Muse" should have been better, but it was worth seeing anyway, because it included some extra minutes of footage which are not in the video (recently shown on Channel 25). These include a brief scene in a chapel in Paris dedicated to Saint Suzanne; rehearsal scenes with the Miami City Ballet; recollections of "Diamonds" by Jacques d'Amboise; a "Mozartiana" rehearsal with Peter Boal (as well as Susan Jaffe); and Suzanne's visits to the dressing rooms of her ballerinas on opening night of "Suzanne Farrell Stages Balanchine" at the Kennedy Center in 1995. Many additions consist of just a sentence or two in interviews with Arthur Mitchell, Suzanne's mother, and Suzanne herself, among others.

It was a bittersweet occasion, but I left the theater with a warm feeling on an arctic night.