1. Carmen Suite (by Alberto Alonso) because it made me fall in love with Alicia Alonso and ballet in general.
2. Concerto Barocco danced by Dance Theater of Harlem (my second ballet) with the glorious Lydia Abarca and the lovely Virginia Johnson and sent me scissoring and centime soutenuing down the streets of NYC and grand jetteing right into a subway car. The week after it danced by NYCB and the ethereal Suzanne Farrell. I was hooked on ballet.
3. Don Quixote. Because I knew then that in my next life I would have to become a ballet dancer, because it was better than even John Curry's long program,. After seeing Maya Plitseskaya, I knew I could no longer be totally faithful to Alicia. I had not been aware for my apparent predilection for older star ballerinas, limited though it was to the stage.
4. Giselle Because to this day, I replay it in my head instead of counting sheep if I cannot go to sleep.
4. Symphony in C. Because on the day that Balanchine passed, I was in the audience at the performance danced hypnotically by a great cast lead by Farrell. Since, it has been my joy to learn all I could about this unparalleled dance genius.
