"The Billie Holiday of ballet?"

[Farrell Fan]

I enjoy Joel Lobenthal's ballet reviews in the New York Sun, but a simile in today's review of NYCB's "Tradition and Innovation" program struck me as not right. "The 'variations' musical material is mostly given to the ballerina's role, which was appropriate for Ms. Farrell, who might be called the Billie Holiday of ballet." I wouldn't call her that. I might call her the Ella Fitzgerald of ballet, if I didn't already know that Farrell will always remain incomparable.

[dirac]

We could say that Farrell combined the best qualities of both ladies. I think I see what Lobenthal is getting at, in the context of the quote below:

http://www.nysun.com/article/47039

Balanchine's "Mozartiana" was created in 1981 as a stunning showcase for Suzanne Farrell, its choreography a vehicle for Ms. Farrell's phrasing, which was always extremely free; she liked to jump ahead, or lag behind, and play catch-up with herself.

I enjoy reading his reviews, too, although this one maybe wasn't his finest hour - he says the ballet was first performed by Peter Martins. Nobody's perfect.

[carbro]

I think Lobenthal may have been referring to the hint of tragedy common to Billie and Suzanne (even in their sunnier moments), but not Ella, which was especially poignant when SF danced Mozartiana.

[Paul Parish]

Lobenthal is really good -- even when as in this case he makes an anagloy that is provocative.

if I'd heard hte SECOND term first -- "i.e., the billie Hloiday of ballet," I wouldn't have thought of Farrell -- my first thought was Mimi Paul, actually -- and I'd go with FF and say Fitzgerald (in fact, I've always thought that -- the freedom in the phrasing is not just temporal, it's got to do with placement, the dance equivalent of tonality, and Farrell's and Fitzgerald's sense of how to embellish within a harmony are similar. Holliday explored mood and intimacy in a different way.

But it's still a provocative comparison, good enough, and stimulates interesting conversation. And always, the way an artist stimulates the imagination of each of us is going to be different for each of us, so there's always room for comparing notes.

[drb]

I rather liked the reference to Lady Day, since Farrell was the most profoundly emotional dancer I have ever seen. Of course the revival of the Billie Holiday ballet at Ailey is still fresh in my mind, and on that program it was directly followed by a ballet starring Alicia J. Graf, who sparks my memories of Suzanne more than any other current dancer.

Regarding the Martins slip, if he missed the ballet's debut Lobenthal may have first seen it with Martins . There was, I think, only one performance that first season, as Suzanne injured her ankle (foot?) during the PdD with Ib and further performances were, I believe, canceled.

[dirac]

I think Lobenthal may have been referring to the hint of tragedy common to Billie and Suzanne (even in their sunnier moments), but not Ella, which was especially poignant when SF danced Mozartiana.

Off topic, but I was just reminded that Fitzgerald never liked being referred to as Ella - I think she thought it was condescending, as sometimes it is. (Not intended to reflect on you, carbro. )

Paul Parish writes:

But it's still a provocative comparison, good enough, and stimulates interesting conversation. And always, the way an artist stimulates the imagination of each of us is going to be different for each of us, so there's always room for comparing notes.

Very true.

[Old Fashioned]

I think the comparison works well because neither Farrell nor Holiday had the "perfect instrument"--Farrell did not have the ideal body proportions for a ballet dancer (correct me if I'm entirely off here) and Holiday did not have a strong voice. The greatest similarity has to be the one given: "Farrell's phrasing, which was always extremely free; she liked to jump ahead, or lag behind, and play catch-up with herself." Lobenthal may have also thought of the way Holiday would often sing "off-key" for a certain effect, and Farrell is well known for her off-balances. Billie never sang a song the same way twice; and from what I've read, Farrell never danced a ballet the same way each time. In addition to this, most jazz intellectuals would cite Holiday as the greatest jazz singer--a genius, no less, even Fitzgerald cannot top her in some respects--and most ballet intellectuals would say Farrell is the greatest American ballerina, even though the consensus from the the general audiences may not be so unanimous. It's much more difficult to "get" Holiday and Farrell, but it's not difficult to "get" Fitzgerald and Fonteyn.