Farrell Fan

I did have something to to with it -- I prayed. They are performing Balanchine's "Pithoprakta, which they recently revived. I haven't seen the revival but I did see Suzanne in it in 1968, when she danced it with Arthur Mitchell.

Nice anecdote Phaedra, thanks.

Yes. Again from her book: "During the coda of the Black Swan pas de deux I was doing some fast pique turns in a circle when I heard a loud pop over the sounds of the orchestra. My right leg immediately turned to jelly and I lost all control." What made the moment particularly terrible was that Suzanne had chosen that performance to be reconciled with her mother who'd not spoken to her since her marriage to Paul Mejia a year earlier. Suzanne remembers being carried offstage "and seeing Mother's frantic face as she watched my knee swell up like a balloon."

Farrell wrote about this in her book. "I decided to try to fit in stylistically. But it was not possible for me suddenly to shorten my reach, lower my legs, slow down my rhythm, and generally hold back the thrust of movement that was part of my Balanchine training. I felt not only physically suffocated but emotionally confused. To consciously do 'less' when all my life I had tried to do 'more' for Balanchine seemed decidedly wrong. The ballet masters were understanding and did not insist on trying to alter my way of dancing. I was glad to have attempted the change and to reaffirm that Balanchine's was the only way...The performances were a huge and unexpected success, and I was invited back to dance several more times in Toronto at the end of November. I learned La Bayadere and their version of The Nutcracker in addition to Swan Lake, and for the first time since leaving the New York City Ballet I started feeling like a real dancer again."

My copy of "Elusive Muse" has eluded me, not for the first time, so my answer to canbelto and papeete patrick is necessarily fuzzy, given the state of my memory. There is a scene where Suzanne, back to the camera, is speculating on her marriage and says something to the effect that if that had happened (whatever that was), "the marriage wouldn't have worked either." Unlike Patrick, I've watched the film many times and the first times I heard Suzanne say this, I didn't hear the note of finality I eventually did. My impression is that she and Paul were still married when the film started being made, but by the end of it, they weren't.

The School of American Ballet family notes with sadness the death of Helene Dudin, one of the extraordinary Russian teachers who gave a sound classical base to many generations of SAB dancers. She taught at the School for nearly half a century and affected the lives of thousands of young students.

Thanks, drb, for injecting a litle excitement into an otherwise sleepy Saturday.

When "Holding on to the Air" was published, the falling out between Farrell and Martins had yet to happen. In fact, NYCB arranged a publication book-signing for her on the Promenade of the New York State Theater -- a huge crowd showed up. As dirac says, the rift was totally ignored in the "Elusive Muse" film, but the latter part of that film made extensive use of "Dance in America" footage of Farrell and Martins, so that I, for one, did not miss Martins at all. For me, the revelation in that part of the film was when Suzanne, in her oblique, yet perfectly clear way, revealed that her marriage to Paul Mejia had ended.

It worked. Thanks, audreydoll.

Times change. For years, one reason I loved Saratoga was that the audience was usually more enthusiastic than that at the State Theater.

Thanks for your response, Jim and Pat. It was great fun for me to read, and reminded me of my wife's and my first trip to Saratoga thirty years ago this month. That was the year Baryshnikov joined NYCB and his first appearances with the company were at SPAC. There was great excitement among the Guild weekenders, and also in the town as a whole. The talk among the locals was of "that Russian" who was such a phenomenal dancer -- Patty MacBride's new partner. Usually in those days, the group stayed at the Holiday Inn, but that year some of the overflow was booked into other motels. Alice and I were at the Downtowner. We asked there about where to eat and were told, "Mother Goldsmith's for dinner; Lou's for lunch." Lou's, now Compton's, happily survives, but Mother's is long gone. My memories of it have scarcely faded however. The first thing I remember seeing there was Peter Martins and Heather Watts in a booth, having a very spirited discussion. In fact, if I hadn't known that everything is beautiful at the ballet, I could have sworn they were having a fight. Alice and I continued going on the Guild weekend for fourteen years in a row, until my wife finally put her foot down and decided we'd HAD Saratoga Springs. Alice passed away in 1995. and in recent years I returned to Saratoga on my own and stayed at the Adelphi, which used to be a place where NYCB dancers and fans gathered after performances. The elevator there is one of Mr. Otis's original models. Now that my bones have grown creakier than the Adelphi's floors, I thought the resumption of the Guild's weekend trip was tailor-made for me. But as the time drew near, I had second thoughts and decided to stay home. Except for Pat's lightheadness, it sounds like you had a good time. Hope she gets a clean bill of health from the doctor. Thanks again.

Farrell mentions Villella early in her book, in connection with his dancing Oberon to her Titania. "But Titania's real dancing is not performed with Oberon, but with two other partners." She's talking about Conrad Ludlow (Titania's cavalier) and Richard Rapp as Bottom. "Dancing with Conrad, which I was to do many times over the next years, was quite simply, heaven; he seemed to be able to absorb every possible misstep or snag and leave his partner looking calm and impervious." She had more trouble dancing with Rapp as Bottom, until she got a kitten and got to know how to cuddle a pet.

I'd love to hear more about the NYCB Guild weekend in Saratoga. :foot:

I almost never go to the movies, but I did see this one and loved it.

Thank you, dancesmith. Who knew?

What is "Fiesta"-- a novel or a short story? Is it perhaps known by some other name?

It hasn't in several years now, but I live in hope.

I think the first Dancers' Emergency Fund Benefits were held when Balanchine was still alive. Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken.

The men in the Tales from the Vienna Woods section of "Vienna Waltzes" click their heels and occasionally finger their false moustaches, but nothing comparable to what is seen above.

Thank you, drb, for this exciting description. It brought back memories of Farrell herself in the rondo, slashing and burning and whipping her ribbons across her partner's face. Wooeey! Wish I had seen Ms. Mearns.

"Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell" includes trips with her to cultural insitutions in Washington.

Time for me to trot out the Arlene Croce quote to the effect that, if not for Balanchine, Farrell might have been another Isadora Duncan. To me this ia a compliment, but we'll leave aside the matter of dirty feet.

It's hard for me to think of Suzanne Farrell as in any way disrespectful of Balanchine or any of his wives -- or of anyone! She was torn and exceedingly unhappy that Mr. B was professing his love for her while he was still married to Tanny.

To put it simply, I think the problem many readers had with Kirkland's book was that she seemed to blame all her problems, including addiction, on other people, even including Balanchine. It's been years since I read the book, but I don't recall that she took responsibility or blame for anything that ever happened to her.

Whether or not Miss Page was comfortable among children, it is abundantly clear from this lovely video that the children were comfortable and loved being with her. Thanks for posting it.