Table of Contents

The "Apollo" conversion; the Monte Carlo immersion; bearing witness; ballet society; Balanchine and Stravinsky; Balanchine institutionalized; teaching; Violette Verdy and other new dancers; making the repertory; Farrell; disconnected; millennium - the years of peace.

Reviews

Halfway through his book, Garis writes that in the 1950s, "following Balanchine was the most important experience of the arts for me." A professor emeritus of English at Wellesley College and occasional dance critic for the New Republic and Partisan Review, Garis was a passionate observer of the great 20th-century choreographer and of the New York City Ballet from 1945 to the present. In this personal memoir, he details his encounters with specific ballets and performances and shares his wonder, excitement, disappointment, and understanding. His engagement with the Balanchine enterprise defined his artistic aesthetic, and in the act of judging and expressing his opinions, he created his own intellectual, emotional, and professional identity. Garis has led a life dedicated to self-discovery through art, and his book is an homage to the artist who guided his development. Primarily of interest to balletomanes.‘Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.