Farrell Fan

There's a review of Reading Dance in the December 7, 2008 issue of The New York Times Book Review. To hark back to my days as a copywriter for book ads, "In dance -- as in this tremendous anthology -- there's something for every taste." This is no doubt true, although I have yet to move on past the Suzanne Farrell section in my copy.

This is easy for me. I'd tell them to give the billion to the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. They need the money tp continue the Balanchine Preservation Initiative to restore "lost" Balanchine ballets. They also need it to extend the length of their season from the pitiful week or two per year to something closer to a month or two. They need to hire more dancers and might even do some touring. It's a shame that our great living link to Balanchine must struggle to survive, with the help of the Kennedy Center, when Her company deserves to be known nationally and internationally. It would be wonderful, the best thing to happen to American ballet since the Ford Foundation grant of 1963.

I stopped going to the"Opening Night Gala" at NYCB a few years ago when I finally realized that the occasion was neither Opening Night nor Gala, so I wasn't there, but there's a delightful review by Alistair Macaulay in the Nov. 27 NY Times. (He was not delighted.)

He was erudite and always entertaining. I'm sorry he's gone.

Great dancers nowadays can dance Balanchine. But what of the dancers at the Suzanne Farrell Ballet? I'm almost embarrassed to say that critics regularly point out that they are not world-class artists. Yet their performances of Balanchine are generally well-received, to say the least. How do you explain that?

No Bobbi, I don't think they do. They were so adamant at not becoming "a museum company" that their standards for performing Balanchine have seriously eroded. As Macaulay points out in the article, "Though no company dances nearly so many Balanchine ballets as City Ballet, the main Balanchine story is now happening elsewhere. It's scarcely a matter of contention that American Ballet Theatre, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet (attached to the Kennedy Center in Washington) and the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg have all danced several Balanchine ballets better than the mother company; or that even the Royal Ballet of London is occasionally better in individual Balanchine ballets."

"We do not have to hug our memories of yesteryear. Balanchine is as much ballet's future as its past." -- Alistair Macaulay, NY Times, Nov 16, 2008

Thanks, Leigh -- good to read this. I've often wondered why NYCB didn't invite John Clifford to do something with the company following his dancing career there, but of course one wonders about many such things with NYCB.

I think we're in the golden age of dance criticism at the NY Times thanks to Alistair Macaulay. I couldn't be more pleased.

May he rest in peace and his company endure.

During the 2008 Jerome Robbins Celebration at NYCB, some programs were preceded by bits of rehearsal or archival film footage. In many cases, these added context and depth to the evening. But in others, they added little or nothing. In most cases, the clips were too short to have much impact. The film of Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth in "I'm Old-Fashioned" is well-handled. It begins the ballet on a medium-size screen, before the live NYCB dancers put in an appearance. Then, when we've grown familiar with the NYCB dancers, Fred and Rita reappear, on a much larger screen this time, while the NYCB dancers are still strutting their stuff. But at a point near the end, they stop dancing and gaze up at Fred and Rita in silent tribute. It is clear they cannot compete with the larger than life icons of the screen.

Thanks for the info, Major Mel. I'm relieved to know that I don't live on such a block.

"For the first time in 40 years, New Yorkers could experience a Balanchine ballet called Pithoprakta, re-created (and partly re-imagined) by Suzanne Farrell, on whom it was made back in 1968. The music, by Iannis Xenakis, is hardly of consequence -- but the piece itself, in the direct line of Balanchine's groundbreaking works which leads from Agon and Episodes to Symphony in Three Movements and Kammermusik No. 2 -- is riveting, more challenging, more 'modern' than just about anything anyone has made since. You can see the Farrell outline in every movement and pose the ballerina presents, and if Elisabeth Hollowchuk is no Farrell -- far from it -- you could see through her to infer Balanchine's intentions. Matthew Prescott, in the Arthur Mitchell role, was handicapped by the fact that neither Farrell nor Mitchell could remember the details of his role. The corps managed to convey a convincing jagged, ominous intensity. Thank you, Fall for Dance, for making Pithoprakta available to us once again. Too bad you chose to present it only once, rather than the two performances granted to a number of far less significant works."

Very entertaining piece, Mashinka, thanks for sharing it. I missed any reference to Previn's days as a jazz pianist. Has the "statute of limitations" passed on that? And what is "a portered block?"

The dance coverage in the Sun was indeed admirable. Just last week they had a wonderful feature on the revival of Balanchine's Pithoprakta by the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Alas.

Thank you, drb. I was there Thursday night but have remained silent till now because I thought my rabid favoritism must have clouded my judgment. It seemed to me that I was watching not a Balanchine novelty being revived, but a major Balanchine work. Surely that couldn't have been correct? Your brilliant review has reassured me that it's a worthwhile work and deserves to be seen again. Of course I saw it in 1968, but, like Arthur Mitchell, remembered nothing about it. On Thursday, I had a wonderful seat in the orchestra, thanks to the generosity of some fans of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. One of the people sitting in the vicinity was the goddess herself, who came up at intermission to visit with me. I haven't gotten over the glow yet. It had started to rain when the program finally came to an end (Suzanne stayed through it all) and taxis were impossible to come by. So I was given a ride home by Elisabeth Holowchuk's parents. What a night!

Thanks, carbro. Sounded even better the second time. Elisabeth Holowchuk did great.

Thanks for the correction, Jack.

As I recall, the ballet was fairly well-received in 1968. At the time, it consisted of two Xenakis pieces, Metastaseis and Pithoprakta, and the ballet, which starred Suzanne Farrell and Arthur Mitchell, was titled accordingly. P. W. Manchester (quoted in Repertory in Review) wrote: "The miracle Balanchine has performed here is to take two pieces of exceptional complexity and aural difficulty and make them such perfect servants of his dance that henceforth they will live in perfect oneness with the ballet." Farrell and Mitchell appeared only in the Pithorakta section, the part that has now been revived.

Suzanne Farrell and Elizabeth Holochuk, dancer with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, will be interviewed by Leonard Lopate about recreating the "lost" Balanchine ballet, Pithoprakta, which is to be seen that evening at City Center's Fall for Dance festival. I'm excited. The show is on from noon to 2 p.m., but there are always multiple guests scheduled.

At NYCB, Suzanne Farrell is most remembered for her partnerships with Jacques d'Amboise and Peter Martins. But she danced with several other partners there, most memorably for me, with Afshin Mofid in the Robbins "Afternoon of a Faun." Any unusual ballet pairings that you remember fondly?

PROGRAM A -- October 8, 9, and 11 evenings, October 12 matinee. Liebeslieder Walzer; Ragtime; Episodes (with Ballet Austin) PROGRAM B -- October 10 and 11 matinee, October 12 evening. "The Balanchine Couple" featuring narration by Suzanne and excerpts from: Apollo, La Sonnambula "The Unanswered Question" from Ivesiana, La Valse, Agon, Meditation, Pas de Mauresque from Don Quixote, Diamonds, Stars and Stripes.

Yes. Perky, Bottom is the cat who never warmed to Mr. B. Incidentally, Bottom was also called "Girl" and in her autobiography, Suzanne wrote "she didn't really approve of anyone but me, especially not men." She describes Girl's relationship with Mr. B as "testy" and quotes Balanchine as saying, "If there's one thing I'm going to do it's conquer this cat." He eventually did, but not before enduring lots of scratches. In recent years, Suzanne has had dogs. For a few years, I got Christmas cards signed by her and a poodle names TEX. There's another poodle now, named CHARLIE.

Thanks for the beautiful photo, rg

Thanks for sharing the excitement, Alexandra.