Temporarily unavailable.For over twenty years, the superb American ballerina Suzanne Farrell was the last great muse and quintessential interpreter of the celebrated choreographer George Balanchine. Born in Cincinnati, Suzanne Farrell was initially a reluctant ballet student. On her fifteenth birthday, her determined mother took her to New York, where she auditioned for the revolutionary Balanchine. At 16, she was asked to join his company, the New York City Ballet.
To the public, Suzenne Farrell became their legendary and beloved ballerina, reaaching international fame. To George Balanchine, she was his supreme inspiration and the object of an often obsessive love. For the luminous young ballerina Balanchine (42 years her senior) was her genius mentor and her first love.
This Academy Award-nominated documentary eloquently weaves together vintage and extraordinary never-before-seen archival clips of her radiant performances with one of the most compelling and bittersweet love stories of our time. It includes rare footage of Balanchine's "Apollo," "Meditation," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Don Quixote," capturing Farrell?s heart-stopping technique.
After Balanchine's death on April 30, 1983, Suzanne Farrell continued to dance with New York City Ballet for several years, then on November 26, 1989, she gave her farewell performance. Today, she is an inspiring stager and expert teacher of Balanchine's ballets, passing on the great roles she danced to dancers around the world. It is a way for Suzanne Farrell to keep Balanchine and the dancer in her soul alive forever.
Directores Anne Belle and Deborah Dickson's previous films, Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerina and Reflections of a Dancer: Alexandra Danilova further explore the world of ballet and illuminate the dancer's struggle to capture life as dance, and dance as life.
Academy Award Nomination
