Allegra on Episodes: "When Balanchine created the part in Episodes for me, this role was a continuation of his interest in the abstract...

“Serenade is like a labyrinth Balanchine has constructed to guide us, gently, but with no recourse but to proceed.” —Toni Bentley in...

“In Apollo’s second variation, Balanchine hit on a startling image to convey that the god is conscious of his divinity. Twice Apollo...

“Ballet began when Terpsichore touched Apollo’s finger, as on the Sistine ceiling God touches Adam’s, and inspired a pas de deux in which...

Allegra Kent was 11 years old when she first experienced an evening at the ballet (1948). The third ballet on the program was La...

Balanchine choreographed Tarantella in 1964 for Edward Villella and Patricia McBride. “The dancers in Tarantella are also specific...

In Suzanne Farrell’s autobiography, Holding on to the Air (affiliate link) she talks about a moment at the end of the Diamonds pas de...

Congratulations to the dancers of NYCB! Today is the closing performance of the 2022-23 season which makes this the 170th post I’ve made...

Did you know ... Merrill Ashley debuted in Swan Lake with only 3 days of rehearsal over the course of one week. She talks about the...

One of my favorite stories that Suzanne tells is how her partnership with Jacques began before she met him. You can listen to her tell it...

Edward Villella as Prince Siegfried in Balanchine's Swan Lake. Photos by Martha Swope, 1959. New York Public Library

“Her Odette manages to be both a ballerina’s holiday and a poetic and appealing work of art. In the quality of her movement she has...

It's a three show day at the DHKT so I'll present you with 3 posts featuring Patricia McBride as Odette. Get ready because the next 2...

"Miss Kent's performance was certainly one of the highlights of the evening. It is poetic in the extreme and wonderfully musical. Its...

Heading into a week of Balanchine's Swan Lake! On Diana Adams: “Her Odette is every inch the enchanted princess, imbued with a tender...

Baryshnikov dancing the 2nd solo in Robbins’ Fancy Free. Photo by Martha Swope, 1979 Video from “Dance in America” dir. Emile Ardolino, 1981

Diana Adams on the original rehearsals for Agon: "Balanchine rehearsals whip you into a frenzy. Keeping up with him was so difficult. I...

The most unreal photos you've ever seen of Afternoon of a Faun. (In my opinion...) These photos began as 1-inch by 1-inch proofs with red...

Lourdes Lopez and Merrill Ashley in Concerto Barocco. Photo by Steven Caras, mid 1980s. (left) Heather Watts (R) & Sean Lavery. Photo by...

"Kent has always been an enigma. […] She has a mystery, an allure that is rare in American ballerinas. […] Every step she takes on stage,...