NYCB Vol. 8 No. 23 - Theme & Variations

Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch. Photo by Alfredo Valente, 1947.

Balanchine choreographed Theme and Variations for Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch in Ballet Theatre in 1947.

"And what Balanchine did for [Alicia Alonso] in Theme and Variations was not merely to use everything she does best as a dancer—her sharp attacks, her secure feats of point-balance, for example—but to use them in a style that made her glamorous and radiant. [...] In Theme and Variations Balanche also used to best effect the things Youskevitch does well in his elegant classical style."

—B.H. Haggin in Ballet Chronicle (affiliate link)

Alicia Alonso speaking to Doris Hering in 1998.

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Watch Alonso and Youskevitch perform Theme & Variations here.