Suki Schorer remembers her experience with the should-sits in the Grand Pas de Deux:
With Sugar Plum, Mr. B said, “Don’t get sweet.” I think I tried to be sweet with the children. He said, “No, no. Don’t get soft. Do the steps in the variation, use more attack, don’t be motherly.” I was doing Sugar Plum with Tony Blum, and there’s a shoulder-sit. At one performance I didn’t get up there. I landed on his chest. And then another time I didn’t get up there. So we were to dance it again, and I was scared to death that night. Mr. Balanchine came into the room, and he said, “you know, we’re going to change it and don’t tell anybody. We’ll put a fish in. You’ll ride it like the fish-dive in ‘Bluebird.’ And nobody will know that it’s going to be different. So they’ll all be aghast that you’re going to run and jump at the shoulder, with your hips on his shoulder, rather than your butt.” That was funny. So with Tony I did this other lift for a year or two. When I had a different partner, I switched back to sitting up.”
— Suki Schorer in I Remember Balanchine (affiliate link)
(center) Suki Schorer as Sugar Plum.
(sides) Suki Schorer as lead Marzipan.
Photos by Martha Swope. New York Public Library
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