Hello

[Roman]

Hello,

I was putting together a slide show chronology of my dance career and life and could not recall the name of a ballet I danced. Please don't be appalled when you hear what it is and that I could forget it - it's not the only thing I forget - some of you may relate. If not, give it time ;-).

Maybe this is why I am doing a photo-biography? I knew it was a Balanchine ballet and that it was created for Andre Eglevesky, so I figured I could go to a listing of Balanchine's ballets to find it and sure enough, there it was . . ., "a la Francaix." This find eventually lead me to a posting on this site which I was not able to access and reply to because of not being a member and . . . . here I am.

From reading the posting I became interested in finding and procurring the music to see what memories listening to it might inspire. Does anyone know the exact name of the piece by the composer, Jean Francaix?

Here is a link to a NY Times review (of a more recent performance. I danced it in the early 1980s):

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/arts/dance/23eglevsky.html

Thank you,

R. Wright

[Roman]

Hello,

I located the music used in Balanchine's "a la Francaix." It is "Serenade for Small Orchestra" by Jean Francaix

http://balanchine.com/a-la-francaix/

Thank you,

R Wright

[Helene]

The online Balanchine Catalogue states the following about "À la Françaix":

Music: By Jean Françaix (Serenade for Small Orchestra, 1934).

Choreography: By George Balanchine.

Production: Scenery by Raoul Dufy. Lighting by Jean Rosenthal.

Premiere: September 11, 1951, New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama, New York. Conductor: Leon Barzin.

Cast: Janet Reed, Maria Tallchief, André Eglevsky; Frank Hobi, Roy Tobias.

Note: A tennis-playing athlete flirts with a pretty girl until a ballerina dressed as a winged sylph appears and fascinates him; in the end the sylph, stripping down to a bathing suit, reveals herself to be an athlete too.

It sounds like it must have been fun to perform.

Welcome to Ballet Alert!, Roman. We're glad you found us and joined.

[DanielBenton]

Here is a video of presumably the piece you asked about.

Daniel

http://vimeo.com/54487898