BalanchineFan Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 (edited) This is up on youtube for the next few days. Dancers from NYCB (Emilie Gerrity, Gilbert Bolden III, Miriam Miller, Adrian D-W and perhaps I'm forgetting someone) and Lourdes Lopez is on the panel with Alistair Maccauley and author Jennifer Homans. Part of Sanguinic (4T) and the ppd from Agon are performed. Edited November 15, 2022 by BalanchineFan Link to comment
Orel Protopopescu Posted November 27, 2022 Share Posted November 27, 2022 Watch it while it's still available! It's wonderful to hear Lourdes Lopez speak of working with Balanchine. What I would add: I believe Balanchine was not a deeply conservative man, although anti-Communist for sure. From the forties on, he told his dancers to think of themselves as "Rockefeller Republicans." Kirstein's childhood friend, Nelson R. had bailed out Ballet Society and NYCB many times, long before he was instrumental in making Lincoln Center happen. And it's important to keep in mind that southern Democrats were reactionary racists in those years. Arthur Bell was never a member of the company, alas. He danced in Frederick Ashton's Illuminations, one of four males partnering Tanaquil Le Clercq. You can read Bell's history here: https://mobballet.org/index.php/2017/05/03/arthur-bell/ Dancer/choreographer Louis Johnson was never invited to join NYCB, nor John Jones, who was memorable in Faun with Kay Mazzo in 1961, although Jones was a member of Robbins's short-lived company, Ballets:USA. Mel A. Tomlinson, another marvelous dancer, was not mentioned by the panel, although he was a NYCB member, one of the few who came from Dance Theatre of Harlem. Here's the current roster of NYCB alumni: https://www.nycballet.com/discover/our-history/new-york-city-ballet-alumni Link to comment
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