Well, there was Peggy Fleming. Of course, that was quite some time ago, too. The jumps she does here don’t have the difficulty of today’s jumps, but apparently the skates were different. Everything she does looks effortless. And check out the spin at the end (she starts it very slow and then builds momentum to an extraordinary degree):

As much as I love ballet, I had little idea who she was. When I tell other ballet fans I saw this class, they light up and tell me how lucky I am.

Partnering affects everything a dancer does while being partnered, and can even affect the mood of the whole performance. Some partnerships are renowned and legendary and the chemistry is great; some don’t work well at all. And then there’s everything in-between.

Almost ten years ago I wrote this post about partnering in ballet. I may write another sometime.

Certain dancers who are not household words (for example, Ivan Nagy of American Ballet Theater; watch the last two videos in this post) were renowned for their partnering abilities. Anthony Dowell of the Royal Ballet was another.

I never forgave Peter Martins for the manner in which he kicked Farrell out of the NYCB. I went back to the NYT to see if it was as bad as I remembered, and it was:

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/04/arts/city-ballet-breaks-off-its-long-relationship-with-suzanne-farrell.html

“[Farrell] was told of her dismissal in a telephone call from Patricia Turk, the company’s manager. Mr. Martins declined to comment on the action, which was reported yesterday in Newsday and The Daily News. ‘Deeply Hurt’

Miss Farrell said yesterday: “I was surprised and deeply hurt to receive a telephone call from the company manager informing me that I had been fired from New York City Ballet, although she didn’t use the word ‘fired.’ She said it was because the company was currently operating with a deficit and I was doing little or no work for them. This is true, and it has been a source of unspeakable grief to me for the past three years that I have not been allowed to serve ballet, which is my love, in the company that has been my home for nearly 25 years. I never dreamed I would live to see the day when I didn’t work for New York City Ballet.”

…

“Many people have yet to accept that Balanchine is gone,” Mr. Martins said in an interview in 1988. “I think it’s extremely narrow-minded to constantly refer to the past. And to those people who say, ‘Oh, it wasn’t like this then,’ my response is: ‘Lay off, stay out of our hair. We’re here, we’re surviving, we’re doing fine.’ “

I seldom will comment on your fine dance notes, and don’t watch the long sections of video, but do like the short ones.

I love dancing more than watching dance. I’m far more enthusiastic about ball room dancing and, especially, wild rock dancing. Where I strive: “to become the music.” Not so much as the only steps for that music, but rather, my steps to that music, as I feel, at that moment. Because I don’t really practice nor choreograph, I’m sure it’s not so great — but I do have the unsophisticated enthusiasm that some break dancers have.

Please keep writing well about the things that interest you.

Maybe school choice? And Trump’s pick for Sec of Edu?

Thanks so much! [blushes]