Suzanne Farrell

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Ron Kroon : Suzanne Farrell (1965)
Farrell with George Balanchine

Suzanne Farrell (born August 16, 1945 in Cincinnati ; born Roberta Sue Ficker ) is an American ballet dancer . She is considered one of the most famous ballerinas of the 20th century and founded the Suzanne Farrell Ballet.

Life

Farrell began her dance training at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music . In 1959 a Ford Foundation scholarship enabled her to study at the School of American Ballet , which she began in 1960.

In 1961 Farrell became a member of the New York City Ballet's corps de ballet . She quickly got her first solo roles, some of which were choreographed especially for her. In 1965 she was appointed Principal Dancer . George Balanchine fell in love with the dancer he called alabaster princess and in 1965 "gave" her the role of Dulcinea in his ballet Don Quixote . In 1968 she first danced the lead role in Diamonds , one of the three parts of the ballet Jewels .

The Catholic Farrell refused a relationship with Balanchine, who was already married to the dancer Tanaquil LeClerq , and in 1969 married the dancer Paul Meija , which led to the breakup of the relationship with George Balanchine. Farrell and Meija turned their backs on the New York City Ballet in 1970 to dance with Maurice Béjart's ballet company in Europe .

In 1975 Farrell returned to Balanchine and the New York City Ballet. The relationship between the two lasted until his death in April 1983. His final works were solos written for Farrell.

After 28 years as an active dancer, Farrell gave up her profession in 1989. She began to work on the Balanchine choreographies with other companies, including the Ballet of the Vienna State Opera , the Ballet of the State Opera Berlin , the Ballet of the Paris Opera and the Bolshoi Ballet . The New York City Ballet quit her job as a trainer in 1993.

Suzanne Farrell Ballet

Farrell's association with the Kennedy Center began in 1993 with two student master classes. In 1995 it became a national program to support the artistic education of American youth, which is the mission of the Kennedy Center. The success there as well as a tour called Suzanne Farrell Stages the Masters of 20th Century Ballet led to the founding of his own company in 2000, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, today's company of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC . She has performed there since its inception and has toured the US, Canada and the Edinburgh International Festival .

Awards

Farrell has an honorary doctorate from Harvard , Yale , Notre Dame , Georgetown, and others. She has been Professor of Dance at Florida State University since 2000 . In 2003 she received the National Medal of Arts , in 2005 the Kennedy Prize and the Capezio Dance Award. In 2016 she was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jennifer Dunning: City Ballet Breaks Off Its Long Relationship With Suzanne Farrell , NY Times. August 4, 1993. Retrieved March 23, 2008. 

literature

  • Suzanne Farrell: Holding on to the air. An autobiography . Summit Books, New York 1990, ISBN 0-671-68222-9 .

Web links

Commons : Suzanne Farrell  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Farrell, Suzanne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ficker, Roberta Sue (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ballerina
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Cincinnati