ballet! . . .
by mulberryshoots
A cornucopia of ideas has arisen from reading the New York Times this rainy Sunday morning. In the 1960’s, I was fortunate to attend most of the New York City Ballet’s performances while George Balanchine’s works were performed by his hand-picked ballerinas in their prime: Suzanne Farrell, Patricia McBride and Kay Mazzo.
I was reminded of that era while reading a long feature article about Sara Mearns this morning. At the end of the article, it describes a summer visit by the Company to Saratoga Springs in July wherein numerous Balanchine ballets will be performed. In reviewing the calendar, I noticed that there will also be performances of “Goldberg Variations” a ballet set to one of my favorite pieces of music by Bach, choreographed by Jerome Robbins in mid-July.
Looking at the map, Saratoga Springs is about a two and-a-half hour drive from my doorstep. Highway driving and manageable – it’s twice as far as driving to Northampton and I do that easily numerous times a year.
So, I’m tempted to take a mini-vacation to visit this area and see a couple of ballet performances. Who knew that something so luscious and enjoyable from my past could be within reach a few hours from home this summer?
mulberryshoots 
Sounds like a wonderful plan! It reminds me of one of our favorite movies, “Turning Point”, with Mikhail Baryshnikov… So beautiful! : )
Thanks! I’ve found a date in July to see classic Balanchine ballets at the 2 pm matinee and then Jerome Robbins’ “Goldberg Variations” at the 8 pm performance! We’re watching a wonderful documentary tonight about the NYCity Ballet’s return to Moscow with Peter Martins, performing Balanchine’s ballets back at the same location that Balanchine left when he went to America decades earlier. Inspiring and interesting!
Thanks for reminding me of “Turning Point” – I was also thinking about watching “White Knights,” the movie that first brought Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford together (he directed it!) FUN!