Word: misha
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...performing at Lincoln Center, and the gossip has centered on Mikhail Baryshnikov, who is dancing at City Ballet after four years as A.B.T.'s superstar. Did he get along with Partner Patty? Or did he miss Gelsey? Did Gelsey cancel most of her A.B.T. schedule because she missed Misha? (To their fans, dance stars, like dogs and cats, have no surnames.) Was Mr. B. snubbing Misha by not creating a new ballet for him? Was Misha in fact quitting City Ballet...
What worries A.B.T. dancers is not that Misha will experiment, but that he will be too tough. They may have a point. Baryshnikov feels that "in a way I will be onstage every night. If a ballerina does not do 32 fouettes, then I will feel that I have failed too. In fact, if you put on a ballet that calls for 32 fouettes, you should have a ballerina who can do 46." He is aware of the dancers' worries, however: "I must learn a language to speak to them. If they trust my standards, my judgments...
Most of the troupe want peppier times. Says Soloist Victor Barbee: "Misha has proved that if he wants something he can get it. In maintaining the difficult line between the business and artistic sides of A.B.T., Misha won't give up quickly...
Adds Soloist Cynthia Harvey, "Misha has a low tolerance for boredom. That will be good for those who can keep...
Ballet Star Mikhail Baryshnikov journeyed to Yale last year to watch his friend Soviet Poet Joseph Brodsky receive an honorary degree. This year Misha was back to receive an honorary doctorate of fine arts. He very nearly did not make it, however. His plane was diverted to Bridgeport because New Haven was fogged in. Baryshnikov had to be rushed to the campus by police escort, arriving barely in time to hear Yale President A. Bartlett Giamatti declare: "You have brought classical dance to millions as you made your grands jetés into their lives. With the courage of your...