NYCB Vol. 19 No. 15 - Bourree Fantasque, Barbara Boucher
"Underneath her treasure chest of jewels was a heart of gold, for she offered to do the costumes at cost as a favor to Mr. Balanchine. I remember going to my first fitting. She had me try on a half-finished costume and asked me to do some steps so she could see if it looked right when I moved. Mr. B was there and they stood together, he looking rather amused at my self-conscious adjustments. I was barefooted and barely covered up by the tacked together pieces of fabric, but I did a double-time rendition of my part in the first movement while humming the music. Mme Karinska threw back her head smiling, and said in her distinctive Russian Imperial accent, 'The costume has passed the test and so have you, my dear-r-r!' We all laughed!
"The last five of the Bourrée costumes, mine among them, were delivered by taxi seconds before the overture began with administrator Eddie Bigelow and the bejeweled Mme Karinska carrying them. I was in the first movement and nervously waiting in the wings, dressed with tights and shoes, hat, choker, and fan, but still in my robe, praying that the costumes would arrive! There was always War and Peace styled drama when depending on Mme Karinska. It scared Lincoln Kirstein out of his wits but, with her uncanny timing, she always came through at the last minute, like a galloping white horse to the rescue, no, an empurpled and winning racehorse!
"The ballet, with its happy and carefree vibrations, bathed the audience in sheer delight. It was considered by all as another resounding hit, and always a joy to dance. Invoking echoes of La Belle Époque, one could imagine the likes of Liane de Pougy, Mistinguette and the Spanish dancing courtesan to kings, La Belle Otéro."
--The Cage: Dancing for Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine, 1949-1954 by Barbara Bocher
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