Balanchine's Apprentice, livre ebook

A talented young dancer and his brilliant teacher

In this long-awaited memoir, dancer and choreographer John Clifford offers a highly personal look inside the day-to-day operations of the New York City Ballet and its creative mastermind, George Balanchine. Balanchine’s Apprentice is the story of Clifford—an exceptionally talented artist—and the guiding inspiration for his life’s work in dance.

Growing up in Hollywood with parents in show business, Clifford acted in television productions such as The Danny Kaye Show, The Dinah Shore Show, and Death Valley Days. He recalls the beginning of his obsession with ballet: At age 11 he was cast as the Prince in a touring production of The Nutcracker. The director was none other than the legendary Balanchine, who would eventually invite Clifford to New York City and shape his career as both a mentor and artistic example.

During his dazzling tenure with the New York City Ballet, Clifford danced the lead in 47 works, several created for him by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and others. He partnered famous ballerinas including Gelsey Kirkland and Allegra Kent. He choreographed eight ballets for the company, his first at age 20. He performed in Russia, Germany, France, and Canada. Afterward, he returned to the West Coast to found the Los Angeles Ballet, where he continued to innovate based on the Balanchine technique.

In this book, Clifford provides firsthand insight into Balanchine’s relationships with his dancers, including Suzanne Farrell. Examining his own attachment to his charismatic teacher, Clifford explores questions of creative influence and integrity. His memoir is a portrait of a young dancer who learned and worked at lightning speed, who pursued the calls of art and genius on both coasts of America and around the world.

Preface

Part 1

Chapter 1. Meeting “Mr. B.”

Chapter 2. Eugene Loring’s American School of Dance

Chapter 3. Balanchine’s Ballet of Los Angeles and The Danny Kaye Show

Chapter 4. School of American Ballet (Part 1): My First Trip to New York

Chapter 5. Back to Los Angeles: Sir Anton Dolin—”Western Ballet”—Maya Plisetskaya and the Bolshoi Ballet

Chapter 6. Guatemala—Variations for Four—London

Part 2

Chapter 7. School of American Ballet (Part 2): Choreography and Teachers Stanley Williams, André Eglevsky, and Pierre Vladimiroff

Chapter 8. School of American Ballet (Part 3): New York City Ballet and Its Ballerinas

Chapter 9. My First Balanchine Class and Entry into the New York City Ballet

Chapter 10. New York City Ballet Corps—Piano Lessons—Paul and Suzanne

Chapter 11. Balanchine at Work: Jewels—My First NYC Reviews—More Classes and the Kiss

Chapter 12. Balanchine’s Last Seminar on Teaching

Chapter 13. My First Principal Role, Valse Fantaisie: The SAB Workshop Goes Public

Chapter 14. More Solos and Peter Martins’s Début

Chapter 15. Jacques d’Amboise and Edward Villella: Technique and Personality

Chapter 16. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and That “Greek” Ballet

Chapter 17. Age 20: My First Ballet for New York City Ballet

Chapter 18. Teaching at SAB: Gelsey Kirkland as Student—The Bolshoi Ballet in NYC

Chapter 19. Fantasies: Mr. B.’s Suit—More Classes—In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Chapter 20. Dances at a Gathering: The Return of Jerome Robbins

Chapter 21. The 1969 Spring Gala Preview: Dances at a Gathering and Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs—Suzanne Farrell Resigns!

Chapter 22. Monte Carlo and Rubies

Chapter 23. Teaching at SAB: Gelsey Kirkland’s Rise—Reveries, My Fourth Ballet for NYCB at 22

Chapter 24. Gelsey Kirkland and Maggie Black

Chapter 25. Allegra Kent

Chapter 26. “Coach” Balanchine

Chapter 27. Balanchine’s Tastes

Chapter 28. Stars and Stripes . . . and “Panache!”

Chapter 29. The Goldberg Variations Rehearsals—PAMTGG

Chapter 30. Choreographing Elsewhere: San Francisco and Royal Winnipeg Ballets

Chapter 31. Berlin: Irina Kolpakova and Yuri Soloviev . . . and Perhaps My Own Company!

Chapter 32. The 1972 Stravinsky Festival: Balanchine Triumphant!

Chapter 33. The 1972 Soviet Tour: Kiev—St. Petersburg—Tbilisi—Moscow

Chapter 34. Back in New York: The Berlin Films

Part 3

Chapter 35. The Formation of My Los Angeles Ballet (“Baby Steps”)

Chapter 36. The Paris Opera Ballet

Chapter 37. Coppélia, Variations pour une Porte et un Soupir, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, the New York Philharmonic Promenades, and My Aborted Broadway Début

Chapter 38. The Los Angeles Ballet

Chapter 39. A “Guest Artist” with the New York City Ballet

Part 4

Chapter 40. The End of My Company, the Death of Balanchine, and the End of an Era

Epilogue

Appendix 1. New York City Ballet: Principal and Soloist Roles Danced by John Clifford

Appendix 2. John Clifford Stagings of Balanchine Ballets

Appendix 3. Ballet Companies That Have Produced Clifford Ballets

Acknowledgments

Index