Farrell Fan

A powerful post, dirac. Thank you.

I always enjoy clips of Farrell in live performance (or in this case, rehearsal) much more than the studio recordings.

So do I. Her live performances were miraculous.

I think it was during rehearsals for the Variations that Balanchine introduced Farrell to Stravinsky: "Igor, Suzanne Farrell, just been born."

Re: comparing McEnroe to Nureyev -- YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

I've been mulling this over and have finally decided to my satisfaction that my favorite ballet is Balanchine's "Apollo," in the version which includes the birth of Apollo and his return to Mount Olympus with the muses.

I've seen Moves several times over the years. It always gets lots of applause at the end. But I've never been able to escape the feeling of watching a stunt rather than a ballet.

Bart, I'm curious about your remark concerning watching DVDs with the sound off. Why can that be glorious?

ALL Kennedy Center Honors are awarded for lifetime achievement. This was simply a case of unclear writing.

This is exciting news for me, not least because Elisabeth Holowchuk will be dancing Farrell's role. Elisa has worked with Suzanne at Cedar Islands, the Kennedy Center, and as a member of the Farrell Company. I am looking forward to seeing both Suzanne and Elisa at the Macarter Theater in Princeton, N. J. next month. Be still, my beating heart!

The Pearly Queen was definitely one of MacBride's most memorable roles, and she performed a bump and grind in it unmatched by any of her successors.

I don't know about the problem you allude to, sejacko, but the word "fulsome" (frequently misspelled), presents its own problems. It is not simply a synonym for "full" or "ample," but means something much worse. As someone once said, you could look it up.

This may have been in '72, but as I recall (and unfortunately I wasn't there) the Stravinsky Festival was wall-to-wall Stravinsky. No fauns -- or even Swans.

The Stravinsky Festival was indeed wall-to-wall Stravinsky, but there was a faun involved -- not Debussy's but a Stravinsky

song suite for mezzo-soprano and orchestra called The Faun and the Shepherdess. Long time fans of the New York City Opera will remember the great mezzo Frances Bible, who performed it. Thanks to the wonderful little book "The Stravinsky Festival of the New York City Ballet. by Nancy Goldner, I can report that it was done on the third evening of the Festival, June 21, 1972. I may have been there but doubt I would have remembered it without this indispensable book.

I was smitten long ago, but my admiration and love for Suzanne Farrell keep growing with each passing year.

I'm surprised at how respectful the Time review is -- certainly not a rave, but not an outright pan either. My impression was that PAMTGG was generally regarded as rock bottom for Balanchine following Farrell's marriage and European exile. I saw it but remember little about it. A revival would seem unlikely however, since this most kindly of reviewers already found it "slightly dated" at its premiere.

Thanks, Perky. Thanks to the kindness of Farrell dancer Elisabeth Holowchuk and her family, I plan to see the company in Princeton.

Washington, D.C.

September 19 & 20, 2009

Kennedy Center Family Theater

Lewisburg, PA

September 26, 2009

Weis Center for the Performing Arts

Bucknell University

Princeton, N.J.

October 4, 2009

McCarter Theatre

Ann Arbor, MI

October 9 & 10

University Musical Society

University of Michigan

Santa Barbara, CA

October 21, 2009

Granada Theater

University of California Santa Barbara

Berkeley, CA

October 24 & 25

Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall

University of California, Berkeley

Washington, D.C.

March 3-7, 2010

Kennedy Center, Eisenhower Theater

Minneapolis, Minnesota

March 12 & 13,

Northrop Auditorium

University of Minnesota

Ithaca, New York

March 17, 2010

Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts

Cornell Univesity

Washington, D.C.

June 15 & 16, 2010

Ballet Across America

Kennedy Center, Opera House

Interesting that Robbins's name was in (slightly) larger type than anyone else's.

Her appearance surely garnered a lot of new ballet fans.

Really?

Maybe not new ballet fans, but maybe a few Veronika fans.

I agree; I'm one.

Her appearance surely garnered a lot of new ballet fans.

Really?

She looked lovely, giggled sweetly, put on her toe shoes and tied the ribbons. She stood on pointe and let Letterman hold her hand. In response to his questions, she said she was not in pain. Neither was I. It was over in approximately six minutes.

And thanks for your wonderful memories, atm711

kfw's reference to Deanna McBrearty makes me wonder if Part's appearance on the Letterman show could be for something as mundane as reading the evening's "top ten list." I'm hoping for something more substantive, but I've already lowered my expectations, just in case.

This is extraordinary! When was the last time that a ballet dancer was a guest on one of the late night talk shows? Perhaps it has to do with the ghost of Ed Sullivan roaming the theater named for him (where the Letterman show originates).

Jacques d'Amboise should write an autobiography. That could be a terrific book.

A couple of years ago at a NYCB guild seminar, he read from the autobiography he'd been working on. As I remember it was a very amusing anecdote about Lincoln Kirstein inviting Jacques and Carolyn to dinner and then disappearing. I agree that Jacques's autobiography would be great fun. I hope he's still working on it.

This seems to me a very well done piece, which deftly combines the facts of Tanny's life with insights into her personality. Thanks for posting it, carbro.

Thanks, cinnamonswirl. She does not accentuate the second syllable in her name, so it's very subtle.