Farrell Fan

Reminds me of the time Lincoln Kirstein wanted to rename it New York Kitty Ballet.

I did not find this article "super interesting," to use Ashley Bouder's word, but if the NY Times found it interesting enough to put on its front page, who am I to complain?

I saw it tonight on WNET, Channel 13. There was a surprising gentleness to it, and I liked it better than when I've seen it live in the theater. For one thing, nobody got thrown from a roof. Or did I miss something?

From Danilova's memoir, "Choura," (1986): "...the sleepwalker came to be one of my signature roles. Even now, there are people who tell me they cannot forget my performance in it. And now there is a legend about me -- they say that at the moment when I took the dead Poet in my arms and carried him off, I went up on the toes and carried him off the stage on pointe. It isn't true, but I'm flattered that I gave that impression." Though it's clearly impossible to carry the Poet while on pointe, Danilova's account suggests that the Sleepwalker walked some distance with him in her arms. The way the scene goes today, the Poet is placed in the Sleepwalker's arms, she staggers a bit, and they disappear.

It's startling that "Fancy Free" is not on the list and I'm startled that I failed to notice. "Afternoon of A Faun" is also misidentified as "Afternoon of The Faun."

Thanks for the heads-up, volcanohunter. Turmed out I've seen all the Robbins ballets listed except for Requiem Canticles. I voted for "In G Major" with memories of Suzanne, of course.

How does the Peter Martins ballet, "The Chairman Dances" relate to this?

Jack, you don't mention the narration in "The Balanchine Couple." Did Suzanne do it as usual?

Great stuff, Jack. Ballet Talk is lucky to have it (and you).

Thanks for the reports from Washington, Jack. It's been fun keeping up with the season in this way

I now recall that shortly before Farrell retired from dancing at NYCB in 1989, that company put on a ballet by Mejia called Sinfonia Mistica, to the music of the same name by the Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik. I heard about the planned premiere from Suzanne herself one memorable morning as I headed to work on the Second Avenue bus. I was very surprised to see her on the East Side and felt terrible noticing the difficulty she had getting off the bus at the crosstown stop. At any rate, it turned out she was not in Sinfonia Mistica, which I of course went to see. It may have been Judith Fugate who was in it. Maybe that's the ballet. Maybe not.

Apropos the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, what is the ballet by Paul Mejia? I keep tellling myself I should know, but the fact is I don't.

My stamp-collecting days ended long ago, but it seems to me that the only "official" indication that this object is a philatelic homage to Bejart is the postmark. The stamp itself may have been intended (perhaps years earlier) as a generic tribute to "the spirit of dance" or some such, and we all know that though "ballet is woman," for Bejart, dance was man. What makes the thing worth having is the photograph, which is beautiful. Thanks again, rg.

Lovely photo of Farrell, rg, thanks. The baby face has been superseded by the mature beauty still discernable today.

Thanks for the memory, carbro.

In a way, this statement is exemplified by this board, which some years ago, split itself into Ballet Talk and Ballet Talk for Dancers. I'm sorry that ever happened, because I think performers and audience have much to learn from each other. The ballet community ought to be just that -- a community.

I read "Catcher in the Rye" when I was just out of my teens and I thought it was a great book. I reread it years later, and. somewhat to my surprise, STILL thought it was a great book. Time to reread it again. Salinger long ago acquired mythic status so it never occurred to me he would die.

The issue came and it's wonderful, starting with the Costas photo of Maria Kowroski in "Bugaku" on the cover. The first thing I read was the piece on documenting "Meditation," of course, by George Jackson, and he really made you feel you were there for the two sessions with Suzanne, Elisabeth Holowchuk, and Michael Cook. The latter two are members of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. It's not mentioned in the article, but I know that despite her youth, Elisabeth has been devoted to "Ms. Farrell" (and to Charlie, Ms. Farrell's poodle) for years -- as a student at Cedar Islands, followed by the Kennedy Center, and in recent times as a member of the Farrell Ballet. So Mr. Jackson's article was especially exciting for me. I can only imagine how exciting it must be for Elisabeth to literslly follow in Suzanne's footsteps. Incidentally, a quote from Mr. Jackson has relevance to another BT thread: "Farrell herself still dances full out with her eyes."

Thanks, Bart. I eagerly await my issue.

For many years, Thursday nights at ten were reserved for listening to "The Vocal Scene" on WQXR. What a wonderful program it was! The titles of the shows give some idea of their range: "Mascagni's 'L'Amico Fritz," "Flagstad and Melchior," "Richard Tauber in Song," "Beverly Sills and the Tudor Queens," "Puccini at Dawn," "The Unknown Rossini," and so on for 36 wonderful years. Mr. Jellinek himself had a beautiful speaking voice -- calm, reassuring, with an unmannered old world accent. I sent him a note after my wife died and he responded with condolences and the hope that "you and I will continue sharing 'The Vocal Scene' for a few more years." Thanks, Mr. Jellinek, it was a great run.

One of the most noteworthy of the unannounced NYCB retirements of years past (along with that of Maria Calegari) was that of Bart Cook. It still makes me melancholic to think about.

Figaro. the Parisian hairstylist, has a lot better looking clientele than Figaro, the barber of Seville.

Years ago the New Year's Eve performance of the Nutcracker at NYCB was the occasion for lots of unscripted merriment and bizarre costume changes. I'll admit I didn't always understand what the insiders in the audience were horse-laughing about, but I enjoyed the atmosphere and the prospect that the long Nutcracker season would soon be over. Does this still go on? Or is the New Year's Eve performance now just like any other?

Thanks for your kind and perceptive words, patrick.

Suzanne Farrell is a Leo and I am an Aries -- both fire signs. Is that good?