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Suzanne Farrell was born on August 16, 1945 in Mount Healthy, Ohio. Throughout the nearly three decades of her performing career, she was the most influential American ballerina of the late 20th century, as well as the exquisite muse of one of the undisputed masters of ballet. At the dawn of the 21st century, she is fast emerging as one of the most inspiring ballet teachers and directors. Her own ballet company is young; her legacy is timeless. George Balanchine handpicked Farrell for his company when she was only 16, and guided her through the whole of his dance universe. For a generation, she danced and redefined the standards of everything from one of the earliest Balanchine ballets, Apollo, to his very last creation, Variations for Orchestra. "In the extremes of its range, her technique was hair-raising," wrote Arlene Croce in the New Yorker. "It seems safe to say we shall never see anything like it again." In Balanchine's own estimate, she was like a Stradivarius to his music. Perhaps it was Balanchine who best brought out not only Farrell's musicianship, clarity and ineffable abandon, but also that rarest, old-fashioned thing called soul. Through her example, and now through her own company, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, she is giving Balanchine back to us all. She was born Roberta Sue Ficker and began ballet classes at the age of eight in the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. At 14, she was spotted by New York City Ballet's Diana Adams, who suggested that the young dancer go to New York and audition for Balanchine. She did, on her 15th birthday. Two days later, on Balanchine's recommendation, she received a scholarship to the School of American Ballet and a Ford Foundation scholarship to cover her tuition at the Professional Children's School. By the fall season of 1961, after less than a year of study, she was invited to join the corps of the New York City Ballet. She changed her name to Suzanne Farrell, and her first role with the company was that of the dark Angel in Balanchine's Serenade. |
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 What happened next was an alchemy of genius. Balanchine recognized a kindred spirit in the young ballerina, who danced only leading roles after her debut season. Her repertory eventually would include more than 100 ballets. Among her Balanchine premieres were Movements for Piano and Orchestra in 1963, quickly followed by the sublime Meditation. To celebrate her joining the ranks of principals in 1965, Balanchine created his full-length Don Quixote for Farrell and cast himself opposite his muse as Cervantes' mad, loving knight. Farrell brought new accents and revealed new facets of Balanchine's masterpieces Concerto Barocco, Symphony in C and Apollo, even as new work followed brilliant new work: Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, the "Diamonds" section of Jewels, Metastaseis & Pithoprakta, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and Requiem Canticles. These last three miraculously were all in 1968, just before Farrell struck out on her own exploring new ballet frontiers and briefly joined Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the 20th Century in Brussels. Her contributions there were unforgettable, too, including leading roles in Bejart's Sonate, Nijinsky, Clown of God, Mass for the Present Time and I trionfi. PAGE: 1 | 2 |
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