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Conrad Ludlow


Farrell Fan

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He came to NYCB in 1957 from SFB, and remained into the early 70s. Best remembered as a self-effacing, impeccable partner, he created roles in many of Balanchine's enduring works: Liebeslieder, partnering Jillana; Monumentum pro Gesualdo, partnering Diana Adams; Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Violette Verdy; Midsummer Night's Dream, as Cavalier to Melissa Hayden's Titania; Brahms-Schoenberg, Patricia McBride in the Intermezzo; Jewels, Verdy again in Emeralds; Tchai Suite No. 3, Kay Mazzo in the Valse Melancholique.

In his 1074 book about NYCB, "Dance as a Contact Sport," Joseph H. Mazo wrote: "Ludlow is the person you hope will be passing in the street should you ever fall out of a window, because the odds are that he will catch you before the bounce." Mazo went on to say, "The dance historians won't write Conny Ludlow down as a great performer, but he holds a place in his colleagues' minds as a masterful partner, a gifted teacher, a professional and a gentleman. He's the kind of man you miss when he isn't there."

When he left NYCB, I think he became artistic director of a company in Oklahoma. (He was originally from Montana.) I'd occasionally see his name in Dance Magazine, but I haven't in a long time now. Does anyone have recollections of his dancing? Or know what he's doing now?

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I saw Conrad Ludlow partner Violette Verdy when I was very young. He came with her to Miami to perform a pas de deux which I cannot even remember the name of, it was so long ago.

Until Ludlow came to Miami, I had only seen Villella partner Verdy. I remember that Ludlow was very different from Villella. He was not athletic and virile. He seemed very smooth and princely.

As if Villella were like Gene Kelly and Ludlow like Fred Astaire.

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