SQUARE DANCE (Wilde and Magallanes)

[@levicopp3224]

I have always wanted to see this ballet with the caller, Elisha Keeler. Imagine my surprise to see this posted. The wit, invention and good humour. Time for a revival!

[@noblesetsentimentales]

Those gargouillades! No one can "wickety-whack" like Wilde. She was a force of nature, as Violette Verdy put it. Thanks for sharing!

[@AlfredLMartin]

I love this ballet with the caller so much more than without. It "drives home" the notion that this is a square dance. Without it, it's "just" another (brilliant) Balanchine ballet.

[@russellwright9877]

Alfred Martin well stated. “Just”

[@user-dl1yc8cb4l]

I love this ballet without the caller, but with it, whole new thing.

[@kathymyers7279]

Calling? He's rapping! This is so original. What a lost art. I wonder if the dancers are having fun with this? To be "described" while dancing! Lol

[@dancinggiraffe6058]

Patricia Wilde did the best gargouillades I've ever seen.

[@dawnmaloney190]

The caller is actually calling the real movement. I never saw it this way- amazing!

[@AuntieMamie]

George Balanchine was pure genius. Thank you so much for sharing this brilliant piece. Such talent on one stage! And kudos to the caller.

[@brendadufaur37]

SO incredible. I love dosey doe so much. I see Balanchine's wink the whole time. The caller is incredible. I love Patricia Wilde. Fun, inventive, wholesome dancing joy - Balanchine! And Vivaldi never sounded better!

[@Rysanekfan]

Fantastic! Years ago, I saw the Joffrey do this. They used the caller. I've been on a long hunt to see it again, but with the calls. Here it is! I especially love seeing Patricia Wilde do "wickety-whack"!

[@rmoore8403]

This is how "Square Dance" should ALWAYS be performed.

[@minissa2009]

OMG can't believe there's footage of this! I'd seen a tiny clip of it in part of a program about Balanchine and was just YT-surfing bemoaning the fact that I would never see it. Thank you so much!

[@nan2kaye]

I think Patricia Wilde is extremely deserving of a Kennedy Center honor. She has such a rich, diverse history in the classical ballet world. I believe she is 89-years old, so why not honor her?

[@jcliff26]

Agreed...and Allegra Kent too.

[@LaLaJonesG]

I showed this to my children, my five year old said “This is a nice dance!”😊 personally I wish they would have kept the caller!

[@lazarocedeno5270]

Glorious, gorgeous, brilliant, beautiful. Amen.

[@52worship]

What a great legacy she has left for us!

[@asclepius3117]

Balanchine was so ahead of his time!! I bet modern audiences would eat up this version with a caller.

[@uptownsunni3560]

I'm so glad to see this. I'd always heard it was originally done with a caller. Sorry to say, I prefer it without. You can hear the music better. I love Patricia Wilde, though. What quick and clear pointe work and petit allegro! All the dancing is fabulous. I think the idea of not watching past video came from Balanchine. Many dancers who worked with him said that he discouraged it (Darci Kistler, for example). He wanted them to find their own way. "There is only now" and all that business. I'm sure it worked for him. For us, I'm glad there's video!!

[@jcliff26]

That's not entirely correct. Balanchine very often brought in dancers from yesteryear to coach and teach his dancers. He didn't want anyone "copying" another dancer's style, but he encouraged them to look at the old videos and appreciate their styles...just not copy them. Without him personally there to guide the young I think it mandatory to see how dancers danced under his direction.

[@uptownsunni3560]

John Clifford I'm glad to hear that. The truth of any matter is usually a bit more complex once you dig into it.

[@lazarocedeno5270]

Mr Clifford. Great dancer in my humble opinion. Thanks dear for sharing your beautiful videos. So inspiring. I treasure them.

[@philipcondenzio1035]

She was also one of the finest teachers.

[@sophiaschlenoff523]

as a cellist and dancer who loves barn dancing this is ME

[@xavierparres7840]

georges balanchine un pur genie

[@melissaanderson9183]

Awesome!

[@ronwass]

Hugo Fiorato playing violin at about 5:50

[@LaLaJonesG]

Forgive my ignorance, but Why was the caller removed?

[@jcliff26]

Balanchine thought it dated the work.

[@nan2kaye]

Of course, Allegra too!

[@Christina4758]

Bizarre

[@kathymyers7279]

That wasn't a echappe it was a chicken scratchin!

[@tamirmickens89]

The only time I enjoyed the caller was the Badinerie finale…but everywhere else was…a little distracting. Maybe in other live versions the timing of the calls was better.

[@jcliff26]

That’s why Balanchine cut the caller for the revival. He felt it was old fashioned.

[@nan2kaye]

That's disgusting. It was my understanding that Balanchine had anointed him to be the next artistic director of NYCB. I think you would have been a far better choice with you expertise in and unmatched love of his ballets.

[@jcliff26]

No, Balanchine did not "anoint" him. Mr. B's health and brains were going downhill for a few years before he died. It was Lincoln who appointed both Peter and Jerome Robbins as co "ballet masters in chief" after Balanchine's death. That lasted five years then Jerry had enough and quite. Yes, thank you. I do love Balanchine's better than anyone, but at that time I had my own company in LA. By the time that folded Peter had firmly been in place and very popular with certain powerful women on the board of directors. Lincoln wanted me back but Peter blocked it.

[@nan2kaye]

John Clifford What a shame. It would have been such a different company under your impeccable guidance and love & respect of Balanchine.

[@jcliff26]

Thank You.

[@nan2kaye]

Peter's a fool. Sounds as if he has an oversized ego. i just hope you know how much you have enhance my life, as well as so many other viewers, by posting your clips. They're all gems! Thank you!

[@jcliff26]

Well...he's doing the best he can I suppose and some of the dancers are still glorious. I'm just a stickler for not altering the choreography or Balanchine's style. That's just me. Balanchine wanted these videos seen...that's why he did so many. He wanted, and he stated this on tape, his ballets to be seen by dancers he trained and were dancing under his direction. An historical record if you will. Things always change because dance is a very ephemeral art form, but the choreography shouldn't. Each generation will bring their own "perfume" which is fine and good. It just gets a bit out of hand in my opinion.

[@minissa2009]

I've discovered in my life as a dance critic that multiple dancers from the Balanchine Trust may teach the same piece to a company acquiring a Balanchine work, and sometimes they do either teach it differently or slightly adapt for the company acquiring the work (I learned this by sticking my foot in my mouth once about a student perf of Concerto Barocco!) I'm curious about the evolution of, for instance, the Sylvia gpdd choreo from the time of the Kent/D'Amboise video you (John) posted till the vH/Bissell version performed by ABT by at least the late 70s. Again, thanks for uploading all this glorious footage!

[@jcliff26]

minissa2009 Yes. Different stagers do slightly different versions or (worse) add their own "improvements"...which drives me nuts. As for Sylvia, Jacques made up the entrance and cut the normal Waltz entrance because of TV time restraints. Marina Eglevsky owns it and usually stages it. She did if for the Bolshoi when I was there setting Tchaikovsky Pas, Tarantella, and AGON.

[@nan2kaye]

I think Patricia Wilde is extremely deserving of the Kennedy Center honor. She has such a rich, diverse history in the classical ballet world. I believe she is 89-years old, so why not honor her?

[@exaudi33]

Blessings to you for resurrecting this l'age d'or of the NYCB, when they performed at the, ahem, NEW YORK STATE THEATER, thank you. The dancers then, including you, had such unforgettable personalities, such mystique and glamour. I used to catch the train at Albany and make a bee line for Lincoln Center!

[@toeknee1965]

thanks sooooo much. dancers now a days are so lucky to be able to see so many great kinds of dance. and even copy in their living rooms or studios. i did it with misha in theme. thanks john

[@simaraft7373]

How can we thank you enough for posting all these fantastic vids. Do you think maybe NYCB management needs to see these just to remind them...?!

[@jcliff26]

The current artistic administration is aware of these but isn't particularly interested.

[@simaraft7373]

John Clifford Of course not. I saw a clip of a current principal who said she had not seen symphony in c until she danced in it. God forbid that they should learn a thing or two from their elders and betters! And as for the management they would just as soon wipe out certain history... But there are many who remember.

[@simaraft7373]

Jam Traveller Yup it's on NYCB channel!

[@jcliff26]

Actually that is the norm but at NYCB these days they have severely restricted access to these tapes and working with people that worked directly with Balanchine. That's why Violette Verdy and Suzanne Farrell were let go.

[@simaraft7373]

John Clifford To Mr. Franck: If you understood anything you would not say bullshit to comments that are corroborated by someone like John Clifford. If NYCB of today had the true legacy of Balanchine at heart it would not only value the contributions of Suzanne and Violette and John C (and any number of other NYCB big names) but also many others who were not as famous as those but are fantastic teachers and coaches. Bullshit upon you my friend.

[@chickolettadanser]

Thank you so much for posting this! I have to say, it probably won't last long on this site. A few months ago there was a complete "Square Dance" done without a caller by the Miami City Ballet, and it disappeared. My understanding is that the Balanchine Trust made them take it down. The preview by the MCB is left to view. I have to agree with some posting here that I prefer the ballet without the caller and the addition of the male solo. I find the caller distracting to the dancing and music.

[@nan2kaye]

John, I was wondering what your thoughts were re: Sara Mearns. Do you care for her dancing? Do you think Balanchine would have enjoyed her style?

[@jcliff26]

To be honest I like others in NYCB better like Tiler Peck and Sterling Hyltin. Sara is interesting but not my personal taste. Mr. B may or may not have liked her aggressive style. Hard to say. I like the chances she takes and her energy...so who knows?

[@nan2kaye]

and, if I may ask another question .... why didn't Tanaquil LeClerqc become a teacher at the American School of Ballet?

[@uptownsunni3560]

Nancy Kaye Not sure about SAB, but Tanaquil taught at Dance Theater of Harlem. Arthur Mitchell specifically brought her in. It's in the recent film about her.

[@levicopp3224]

Perhaps because of the polio she contracted. She was confined to a wheelchair

[@nan2kaye]

Thank you for such a quick, honest response!

[@dmpfc]

Who's in the corps?

[@nan2kaye]

I'm sorry, John, I don't understand why exactly Verdy & Farrell were let go. Because they wanted the Trust to release videos they were featured in?

[@jcliff26]

No. Because Peter Martins was threatened by their knowledge and history with Balanchine.

[@photographedemode]

Wow, I can understand why they got rid of the Caller. It creates an absolutely wacky atmosphere that is very jarring.