Ballets: "Monumentum pro Gesualdo" and "Movements for Piano and Orchestra" Coach: Suzanne Farrell Interviewers: Joan Acocella, Nancy Reynolds Taped: 2001 New York City
Suzanne Farrell is so humble and wonderful. She has no ego. She is totally about being in the service of Balanchine. She contemplates carefully every question given her before answering. Farrell is a terrific interview subject. I feel Peter Martins had an over abundance of ego. Farrell offers a unique contribution as did so many former dancers such as Violette Verdy, Merril Ashley, Allegra Kent and so many others i dont name here but who are wonderful. John Clifford! Maybe the interviewer and Farrell were a little bit at crossed purposes at times in the interview (Farrell not overly analytical and the interviewer quite analytical and dissecting) but still valuable information came out. The interviewer was a little insistent at times but she was earnest and she knew her material so well and I deeply appreciated her vantage point, knowledge, and desire to know.
Brenda Anne Du Faur she always gave me the impression of someone who’s been so gracious and having a pure heart, navigated negitive waters the way she danced comming out at peace. Not bitter or looking for retribution .
All of your comments are spot on. It would be nearly impossible to fill the shoes of Balanchine-how do you replace perfection. I always found Peter Martin’s choreography to be dark and humorless. All of his major works have a heaviness to them. I don’t think he will have a lasting legacy of say, Christopher Wheeldon.
S.F.'s comments are so insightful and simultaneously so fully embodied! She's uniquely able to illuminate the internal processes that inform her dancing and greatly enhances our own understanding and appreciation of that sensibility as well. Great interview!
Terrific interview. Knowledgeable interviewer. A technically based interview. So I havent heard this type of information from Ms. Farrell before. Really excellent. Thank you so much. I'm subscribing. Keep those interviews coming!
Nuance, but notice how Ms. Farrell is sitting. She sits the same way in a class she conducted for the Kennedy Center, Washington DC. I wonder if she is partially paralyzed.
