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ABT 85 - Twyla Tharp's Push Comes to Shove
The following is a chapter from Twyla Tharp's book Push Comes to Shove : Twyla Tharp Foundation Shortly after Sue's Leg, I met with Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith, co-directors of American Ballet Theatre, and their associate, Antony Tudor, in a very large, fairly intimidating, sumptuously appointed, and appropriately high-up corner office in a Chase Manhattan Bank building. Wasting no time, Miss Chase asked me to make a ballet for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gelsey Kirkland, Martine v

Lauryn Johnson
Oct 16


NYCB Vol. 15 No. 1 - Chaconne
Peter Martins and Suzanne Farrell in Chaconne. Photo by Max Waldman. I’m so happy today begins NYCB’s Spring Season. Back to my daily...

Lauryn Johnson
Apr 22


NYCB Vol. 11 No. 14 - Tzigane
Tzigane was the first ballet that Balanchine choreographed for Suzanne after she returned to NYCB. She wrote about the choreographic...

Lauryn Johnson
May 5, 2024


NYCB Vol. 8 No. 5 - Diamonds
“Mr. B was friendly with M. Arpels of Van Cleef and Arpels, and, in a mutually profitable publicity heist, I went with George to the...

Lauryn Johnson
Sep 22, 2023


NYCB Vol. 5 No. 36 - Nutcracker
[36/60] "In the beginning, there was Tchaikovsky; maybe there still is. 'I always have an idea he is so happy because we do it right,'...

Lauryn Johnson
Dec 21, 2022


NYCB Vol. 5 No. 17 - Nutcracker
[17/50] Suzanne Farrell on the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy: “She has all the authority. She is an elegant lady, beautiful and kind; and...

Lauryn Johnson
Dec 8, 2022


NYCB Vol. 4 No. 18 - Stravinsky Violin Concerto
When on tour in Russia in 1972, Stravinsky Violin Concerto was a hit with audiences. Russian dance critic, Yuri Slonimsky, praised...

Lauryn Johnson
Oct 6, 2022


Vail Dance Festival Vol. 1 No. 2 - Other Dances
A Robbins biographer, Amanda Vaill, wrote, "In its first movement the two partners indulge in a few folk-inflected gestures […] that seem...

Lauryn Johnson
Jul 27, 2022


Vail Dance Festival Vol. 1 No. 1 - Other Dances
Baryshnikov recalled the rehearsal process for Other Dances with Jerome Robbins: “He himself showed us everything; he moves beautifully,...

Lauryn Johnson
Jul 27, 2022


NYCB Vol. 3 No. 48 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
(11/12) Here are a few miscellaneous photos that didn’t fit a specific topic, but were too beautiful not to share. (top left) Kyra...

Lauryn Johnson
May 28, 2022


NYCB Vol. 3 No. 45 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
(8/12) The Oberon variation has been described by dancers as one of the fastest and most difficult male variations that Balanchine...

Lauryn Johnson
May 27, 2022
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