Farrell Fan

One of the things we were asked to stress in our letters to the Postal Service was Mr. B's accomplishments as an American choreographer. It seems we succeeded too well. While I agree that this honor would have pleased him, the point of the stamp was to observe his centennial, and this aspect has been lost. Nevertheless, Graham, Ailey, and De Mille are infinitely worthier of Balanchine's company than some of the participants in NYCB's "Centennial Celebration."

Just reading that list of names is thrilling.

There was at least one other Ballet Alert poster who expressed disappointment that the DVD contained no additional material. The fact is that the original film was longer than the 105 minutes that comprised the ultimate release, so they could have added stuff. Before the film came to the Walter Reade Theater, I saw an approximately two-hour version at a screening and reception for Suzanne at the NYPL. To this day, I don't know who was responsible for my invitation, but it was one of the great events of my life.

Interesting comparison of the 60s Farrell to the post-Bejart Farrell, Gatto. I pretty much agree with it, and once heard the latter-day Farrell herself refer to her "bag of tricks." I also agree about "Dancing for Mr. B." The six Balanchine ballerinas in that film were Tallchief, Moylan, Hayden, Kent, Ashley, and Kistler, but the Apollo excerpt with Farrell was one of the highlights. Not only that -- Farrell's unseen presence seemed to dominate some of the remarks by the others. That film was by the late Anne Belle, who later made "Elusive Muse." Incidentally, I hope you've seen "Muse" subsequent to its original 1997 PBS showings, which were cut by fifteen minutes. PBS has lately been showing it in full. It's commercially available. As for the whole subject of Farrell on film, having been lucky (and old) enough to have seen Suzanne in live performance throughout her career, I really think nothing on tape or DVD captures her essence completely. Mostly that's because she never gave the same performance twice.

The Sunday Arts & Leisure section of the New York Times has articles on theater, film, television, art, pop and classical music, but not a word on ballet or dance. I don't remember this ever happening before, in all my years of reading the Times. I hope this is not a portent of the future.

"I don't like the country; the crickets make me noivous." -- Terry Molloy (Marlon Brando) in "On the Waterfront."

Now that this topic has resurfaced, I have a chance to say that I very much miss Edward Lliang at NYCB.

A point of information that's not been mentioned yet: the current roster of NYCB lists 10 women principals and 12 men, 5 women soloists and 4 men. In the spring of 1982, there were 8 women principals and 10 men, 6 women soloists and 7 men. Not much has changed, except the dancing.

I admit to being prejudiced, but the Balanchine Couple doesn't sound like a box of chocolates to me. It's not as though we're getting pas de deux from Corsaire, Bayadere, the Petipa Don Q, and Swan Lake. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld said in another context.) There's great diversity in these Balanchine excerpts, and I expect their juxtaposition will be illuminating, even to the most knowledgeable among us. Suzanne Farrell knows what she's doing.

Meaghan Spedden was also an apprentice with the Farrell Ballet during the 2002 Kennedy Center season. It should be noted that many dancers on the roster, including the five principals, are veterans of the Farrell Ballet. I may be leaving some out, but they include: Shannon Parsley, Bonnie Pickard, Momchil Mladenov, Kristen Gallagher, Elizabeth Holowchuk, Katelyn Prominski, Mariaelena Ruiz, Amy Seawright, Bill Biondolino, Eric Ragan and Stephen Straub. Ryan Kelly is a former member of NYCB.

It's great to have all the information in one place. Thanks, Alexandra. Wonderful to see Alexander Ritter's name among the dancers and BA member Jack Reed among the supporters. It's all tremendously exciting.

I thought she was wonderful. And she rang the chimes of the guy who used to sit next to me on one of my subscriptions series. He'd look at the program and if she was dancing that night, he'd say "Oh yes -- Karin von Aroldingdingdingding." I suppose some people did dislike her although I didn't know any of them. What mattered was that Balanchine loved her.

This is of strictly academic interest, but I can't resist mentioning the Meyerbeer opera, Robert le Diable, where there's a ballet for the ghosts of nuns who were unfaithful to their vows. This work (1831) was one of the great successes in operatic history, and helped make the reputation of the Paris Opera. I've never seen it, so can't report on the costumes or choreography.

Family Friendly? What is it about this program -- Theme and Variations, a pair of pas de deux, Three Virgins and a Devil, and Fancy Free -- that caused the marketeers at ABT to label it Family Friendly and schedule performances ONLY on Saturday and Sunday matinees? Phooey!

Strictly from an audience point-of-view, the corps may be regarded as weak in terms of uniformity, but it affords us the pleasure of picking out dancers "to watch." Many NYCB corps members become those "strong soloists/principals" dancerboy alludes to, and even corps members who never get promoted often hold a lasting place in our hearts and memories. I doubt this is true in many other companies. In fact, I think it's what makes NYCB unique.

The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand? I know she loved dollar signs.

I saw a ballet performance at Brooklyn College once, fifteen or twenty years ago and had a very good seat. It's a perfectly acceptable place (I think they call it the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts), but I remember it as somewhat dark and forbidding. I could be mistaken. But there's no mistaking the wonderful atmosphere at NJPAC. It is a light, airy structure which I consider far more welcoming than any of the Lincoln Center venues. There are different theaters within the one building (like at the Kennedy Center) and the Farrell Company will be in the main one, Prudential Hall. I recommend going there. It's easy to get to by PATH train to Newark. I believe there are shuttle buses from the station to NJPAC, and for the physically fit, it's within walking distance.

There's a good one in the Columbia, SC paper about Sara Mearns, a new member of NYCB. (Ari posted the article on today's links.) One of the things Mearns performed in South Carolina was "The White Swan pas de deux, in which she had an ensemble role." The same sentence also mentions her performance as Swan Hilda in Coppelia.

Thanks for this heart-felt report, rkoretzy. The National Museum of Dance deserves better than a board of directors with so little regard for people, not to mention the art of dance.

That pie-in-the-face episode never failed to make me shudder and bring tears to my eyes. I know that Mel also shudders at the thought of Balanchine's Don Q. But I'm excited at the prospect. I hope it happens.

I agree that Mr. Crabb must surely have missed the point of Judgment of Paris. Demeans womanhood? It's a spoof on a classic tale. That "whoresome trio" consists of Juno, Venus, and Minerva. Mr. Crabb further betrays an alarming Comstockery when he calls Apollo and Serenade "morally improving work." And the beginning of his review, in praise of a dancer who'd been so spectacular two nights earlier that he "should have been limping," is extremely bizarre. It's nice to know Canadians were able to enjoy this varied program outdoors and for free, but Mr. Crabb should have stayed in his room.

Yes, definitely -- "Emeralds" is French, "Rubies" American, and "Diamonds" Russian. The music for Rubies is often referred to as "jazzy," but it's Stravinskian jazz, not the real thing, as far as I'm concerned. I love it anyway. Mimi Paul and Francisco Moncion had the "walking" pas de deux in Emeralds and they were mesmerizing. Verdy's partner was Conrad Ludlow, one of the greatest of all NYCB partners. In 1976 Balanchine expanded Emeralds with an additional pas de deux for Verdy and Anthony Blum, and a pas de sept for all the principals. (Jewels had its premiere in 1967.) Coming at the height of the "dance boom," Jewels was a great hit. The New York State Theater was packed at every performance. Nevertheless, at most performances that I saw, the audience response to Emeralds was merely polite. The original cast of Jewels was long-limbed-- Mimi Paul and and Patricia Neary, the "pin-up girl" in Rubies had glorious legs. The combination of McBride and Villella was a long-established partnership at NYCB and everybody loved them. All these years later, there's been nobody as adorable as McBride and nobody with the same kind of magnetism as Villella. Diamonds featured another beloved NYCB pair, Farrell and d'Amboise. In Repertory in Review, Nancy Reynolds quotes an opinion from Partisan Review: "When Farrell is at her best, Diamonds is one of the largest, most intense, most uncluttered experiences in ballet." I'm my own kind of partisan, and all I can say is I never saw Farrell when she was not at her best.

I agree with Estelle -- it's worth bringing up this subject again. The most surprising thing about the poll results last time was that Emeralds beat out Rubies as the most popular section, and Diamonds was a distant third. This is not the way Jewels audiences typically react in the theater. For me, this ballet, more so than almost any other Balanchine work, is indelibly associated with the ballerinas who created the roles -- Violette Verdy, Patricia McBride, and Suzanne Farrell. So I thought Edward Villella did exactly the right thing when he invited all three to stage their respective parts for his Miami City Ballet production a few years ago. Alas, it's clear that Peter Martins will never do the same.

In her article about how Saratogians shouldn't take NYCB for granted (posted by Ari on today's links) Mae G. Banner writes: "There is almost certain to be a first-class Balanchine stamp to honor his 100th birthday on Jan. 22, 2004," and suggests that the Saratoga Springs post office hold a ceremony to mark the occasion. Since I was one of many people who wrote to the Postal Service urging issuance of such a stamp, I certainly hope Ms. Banner is correct. In the meantime, the other day I got a letter bearing a stamp with the likeness of Audrey Hepburn. It is one of the most beautiful U.S. postage stamps ever, in my opinion. Too bad there has to be a postmark on it.

Yes, Debra Austin was in the original cast of Ballo, along with Bonita Borne, Stephanie Saland, and Sheryl Ware, along with the principals Merrill Ashley and Robert Weiss. The choreography for Cabin in the Sky (1940) was officially credited to "George Balanchine in collaboration with Katherine Dunham."