NYCB Vol 10. No. 21 - The Four Temperaments
- Lauryn Johnson
- Feb 17, 2024
- 1 min read
On The Four Temperaments: “When, in the opening statements of the ballet—the first part of the Theme—we see a girl, supported on her points, turning from side to side and transferring her weight from one foot to the other as she turns, we see her do it with a finicky grace: she lifts and lowers the free foot, curls it around the standing leg, and carefully flexes it before arching to full point. We see, in short, a foot becoming a point—nature being touched to artificial life. The detail looms for an instant, then quickly takes its place in the grand scheme of the ballet.
—Arlene Croce, The New Yorker, 1975 (affiliate link)
Theara Ward and Fabian Barnes of Dance Theatre of Harlem in the First Theme of The Four Temperaments. Photo by Martha Swope.
Carol Sumner and William Weslow in the First Theme described in the caption. 1964. Via John Clifford’s YouTube Channel
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