Word: ashley
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Ballerina Merrill Ashley has considerably more than a character to offer in her painstaking book. Today she is one of the glories of the New York City Ballet, a sunny allegro virtuoso. In his introduction, British Critic Clement Crisp likens her style to bravura pianism or flawless coloratura. As Ashley documents it, however, her career was not a prestissimo ascent. It took a decade of intense, disciplined practice to perfect her astounding technique and years onstage to learn how to present herself effectively. In the early pages, the author-dancer shows just how lost a youngster can be, even...
...company's day off. Merrill never missed a session. By her own testimony she was literal- minded and scalded by self-criticism. She was puzzled that Suzanne Farrell broke all the rules and still remained Balanchine's favorite. She fretted over exactly what he meant when he said Ashley's dancing was "sweet." "See the music, hear the dance," he cried, setting another conundrum for her wary intelligence...
...early '70s, Ashley's marvels attracted a cult following. To dance fans, her debut in Square Dance (1977) was one of the season's hottest / tickets. At about the same time she met her future husband, United Nations Translator Kibbe Fitzpatrick, and he, brave fellow, undertook to give her dancing its final finish. Onstage, said her love, Ashley was "no fun"-- pursed lips, stuck-out chin, blank stare or silly smile. Out went the mannerisms, and the ballerina began to show that she enjoyed her own performances. Ashley's perfectionism shows in several picture sequences, photographed expertly by Jack Vartoogian...
...Ashley reached the perihelion when Balanchine choreographed the first of two ballets for her, Ballo della Regina. She recalls that the steps were "like loose change in his pocket." Robert Maiorano's book, written with Valerie Brooks, is an attempt to organize and explain those fabulous coins. A former soloist at City Ballet, Maiorano watched Mozartiana (1981), the choreographer's last substantial work, take shape in the rehearsal studio. As an effort to analyze creation, the book is not really successful. Maiorano cannot bring steps to life in words; nor are there photo sequences, such as the ones in Ashley...
Adopted Son Michael, 38, a Los Angeles businessman, supports Reagan but says he will not join him on the hustings. In a peevish interview last summer, Michael complained that Reagan had never even laid eyes on his youngest grandchild, Ashley Marie, now almost a year old. Michael subsequently explained that he had spoken out of "jealousy...