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...

Men (L-R): Nicolas Magallanes, Jonathan Watts, ? Women(L-R): ?, Diana Adams, Melissa Hayden, Jillana, ? On Balanchine’s Divertimento No....

Edwin Denby on Concerto Barocco in 1945: “The correspondence of eye and ear is at its most surprising in the poignant adagio movement. At...

For a ballet that turns 90 this Monday (June 10th), Serenade has endured it fair share of audiences and critics hypothesizing and...

“The pas de deux with Titania and bottom in the donkey’s head is the jewel at the heart of the ballet. It is Balanchine’s triumph as a...

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...

(L-R) Harold Lang, Tommy Rall, Janet Reed, Melissa Hayden [lifted], John Kriza [lifting], Muriel Bentley, Fernando Alonso, Roszika Sabo....

“On closing night, August 19, the company had a full house despite the heat, and an enthusiastic and demonstrative audience. It was a...

“During the day we rehearsed both ballets [Serenade & Symphony in C], and it was painful. The Covent Garden stage took getting used to....

“From the sophisticated audience of London balletomanes, accustomed to the polished perfection of the famous Sadler’s Wells troupe, the...

“For a quarter of a century, Milly [Melissa Hayden] and I danced together, guesting with other companies, doing concerts and...

(48/50) Melissa Hayden. Photo by Martha Swope, 1964.

(33/50) A little something different…an excerpt of Jacques d’Amboise and Melissa Hayden dancing to the Snow Pas de Deux on the Bell...

(3/50) Jacques d'Amboise & Melissa Hayden in the Nutcracker Pas de Deux. Photo by Fred Fehl, 1962. Harry Ransom Center.

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

“Ever since I came to the United States I have liked watching parades and listening to Sousa’s marches. For many years in the back of my...

Bourrée Fantasque was choreographed by Balanchine in 1949 and was described by Nancy Reynolds (affiliate link) as, “melodious, colorful,...

Balanchine’s Western Symphony was choreographed with 4 movements—Allegro, Adagio, Scherzo, and Rondo—but Balanchine cut the 3rd movement...

“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...

[11/50] Jacques was in Hollywood shooting Seven Brides for Seven Brothers when Balanchine choreographed the Nutcracker in 1954. He...