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Private Dancer
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17145 |
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BOOK WORLD
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| Issue
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12 / 1990 |
3,205 Words |
| Author
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Judith Bell
Judith Bell is an art historian and novelist based in
Arlington, Virginia. |
HOLDING ON TO THE AIR
Suzanne Farrell, with Toni Bentley
New York: Summit Books, 1990
343 pp., $19.95
In the opening pages of her autobiography, Suzanne Farrell, perhaps the most glorious and mysterious ballerina of her generation, recreates "Meditation," the first of many ballets choreographer George Balanchine would make on her. How fitting that her story should open with this, the first of her increasingly thoughtful descriptions of what it was to learn from and dance for Balanchine. The story of her performing career is also a tribute to the genius of Balanchine, who died in 1983 at the age of seventy-nine. Having trained and danced at the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, Balanchine left Russia in 1924 and went on to create a Kirov for the new world - the New York City Ballet. By streamlining the classical vocabulary, eliminating the fuss and clutter that turned ballet into mere pageantry, and developing the speed, athleticism, and musicality of his dancers, he changed the way Americans see and think about ballet. He created a distinctly American style, combining the purity of his classical training with the energy of his adopted nation. Farrell, who joined the New York City Ballet at sixteen, would go on to expand Balanchine's adventurous vision. She danced with a new effervescence - with speed, precision, and freedom - yet moved through and expanded the music as though and expanded the music as though she had worlds of time. Today every talented young dancer attempting to stretch ballet beyond its classical discipline takes something from Farrell. But her importance goes beyond her influential performing career. She was Balanchine's last and greatest muse, the inspiration for such
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