Word: misha
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...American Ballet Theater it was the dancers who wept when Mikhail Baryshnikov gathered them together after last Wednesday's performance to say goodbye: "It is now or never. I have to work with Mr. B." For A.B.T. Baryshnikov's leap to Balanchine is a profound loss; "Misha" was their inspiration as well as their star, who embodied the best that the brilliant but erratic troupe could achieve...
...made his ambition known to people close to Mr. B and finally got the call. He went to Balanchine's apartment expecting exploratory talks, and instead was offered a deal to start in July. "He was simple and welcoming," says Misha. Balanchine was also reassuring about his vaunted control over City Ballet. "I don't keep my dancers like horses," he told Baryshnikov. "They are free. We are free." (In fact, Baryshnikov will continue to make lucrative guest appearances during City Ballet's offseason...
...Agon: "Clock time has no reference to visual duration; there is more concentrated movement in Agon than in most 19th century full-length ballets." A similar claim could be made for many Balanchine works, and some created by his less active co-choreographer, Jerome Robbins. So, if nothing else, Misha will need stamina, and having performed Balanchine's Theme and Variations, he knows it: "The first time I danced it I thought my legs would drop...
...work out, temperamentally or aesthetically, but there is no thought of that now. "It's like a marriage," says Misha. "I feel as if I am in a church, and in church you do not think of divorce. Some people here are skeptical, but my Russian friends will understand at once and rejoice. There Balanchine is an incredible symbol of uncompromised creative genius." It just could be the dance marriage of the century...
Amid all the praise, Gelsey was becoming increasingly miserable and insecure. Her affair with Misha fizzled out when he moved on to others. Says a friend: "It was all a romantic little dream, but it did not turn out that way. It was hard on her, but not as hard as the problem of dancing with someone who gets so much acclaim...