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NYCB Vol. 16 No. 5 - Donizetti Variations
Jacques d'Amboise and Melissa Hayden. Photo by Fred Fehl, 1960. "In Holland, a country I love with most of my heart, you don't have to...

Lauryn Johnson
Sep 19


NYCB Vol. 16 No. 2 - Swan Lake
Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow. Photo by Martha Swope, 1960s. "Though the New York City Ballet's season at the City Center closes...

Lauryn Johnson
Sep 16


NYCB Vol. 14 No. 18 - Tschaikovsky Pas de deux
This footage is from a 1970 TV Special “Ballet with Edward Villella” and shows he and Patricia McBride rehearsing Tschaikovksy Pas de...

Lauryn Johnson
Feb 15


NYCB & SPAC No. 1 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center Opens
Happy birthday SPAC! On this day in 1966, Saratoga Performing Arts Center held its inaugural performance. NYCB performed “A Midsummer...

Lauryn Johnson
Jul 9, 2024


NYCB Vol. 11 No. 27 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon and Titania are King and Queen of the fairies. Balanchine was very specific in his use of stage...

Lauryn Johnson
May 29, 2024


NYCB Vol. 11 No. 22 - Rubies
Patricia McBride: “The woman is strong, but she’s very feminine and the male is the powerhouse. We had such passion together dancing it,...

Lauryn Johnson
May 16, 2024


NYCB Vol. 11 No. 5 & 6 - Dances at a Gathering
After being away from NYCB for a decade, working on various Broadway shows, Jerome Robbins returned home to the company after he received...

Lauryn Johnson
Apr 27, 2024


NYCB Vol. 11 No. 4 - Dances at a Gathering
Dances at a Gathering opens with a solo for the Brown Boy who was originally danced by Edward Villella . Eddie wrote about this solo in...

Lauryn Johnson
Apr 26, 2024


NYCB Vol. 9 No. 50 - Nutcracker
(50/50) We've made it! Congratulation to the dancers, musicians, artistic staff, backstage staff, and front of house staff for...

Lauryn Johnson
Dec 31, 2023


NYCB Vol. 9 No. 27 & 28 - Nutcracker
(27/50) Patricia McBride and Edward Villella in the Nutcracker Pas de Deux. This was filmed in the August of 1969 at Jacob's Pillow. Stay...

Lauryn Johnson
Dec 16, 2023


NYCB Vol. 9 No. 20 & 21 - Nutcracker
(20/50) "In 1958, Balanchine removed the grand pas de deux, substituting for it a dance for the Sugar Plum Fairy supported not by a...

Lauryn Johnson
Dec 10, 2023


NYCB Vol. 9 No. 18 & 19 - Nutcracker
(18/50) A very young Gelsey Kirkland as an angel, a party child, and a Polichinelle! (top Upstage center. Fred Fehl, 1963. Upstage, last...

Lauryn Johnson
Dec 9, 2023


NYCB Vol. 8 No. 18 - Apollo
“In Apollo’s second variation, Balanchine hit on a startling image to convey that the god is conscious of his divinity. Twice Apollo...

Lauryn Johnson
Oct 8, 2023


NYCB Vol. 8 No. 9 - Tarantella
Balanchine choreographed Tarantella in 1964 for Edward Villella and Patricia McBride. “The dancers in Tarantella are also specific...

Lauryn Johnson
Sep 28, 2023


NYCB Vol. 8 No. 3 - Rubies
Eddie and Patti dancing Rubies in 1968. Footage is from the film “Man Who Dances: Edward Villella”. You can find the whole thing on...

Lauryn Johnson
Sep 21, 2023


NYCB Vol. 7 No. 28 - Swan Lake
Edward Villella as Prince Siegfried in Balanchine's Swan Lake. Photos by Martha Swope, 1959. New York Public Library

Lauryn Johnson
May 24, 2023


NYCB Vol. 5 No. 43 - Nutcracker
[43/50] We are nearing the finale of this Nutcracker season! Edward Villella and Patricia McBride in the finale. Martha Swope, 1968.

Lauryn Johnson
Dec 27, 2022


NYCB Vol. 4 No. 10 - Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux
I found photos of Eddie and Violette performing Tschai Pas at Jacob's Pillow in 1963. As it turns out, Eddie tells an anecdote about this...

Lauryn Johnson
Sep 29, 2022


NYCB Vol. 4 No. 3 - Raymonda Variations
Raymonda Variations has been described as, “an adorable confection, concocted of marzipan, diamond, youth, and nostalgia” in “candy floss...

Lauryn Johnson
Sep 22, 2022


NYCB Vol. 3 No. 47 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
(10/12) From everything I’ve read over the years, it seems clear that Balanchine never passed up an opportunity to dance. He would often...

Lauryn Johnson
May 28, 2022
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