Interviews with George Balanchine and members of the New York City Ballet
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Research CatalogView IIIF Manifest
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Title
Interviews with George Balanchine and members of the New York City Ballet
Collection
Names
Balanchine, George (Interviewee)
Venza, Jac (Interviewer)
Balanchine, George (Interviewee)
D'Amboise, Jacques, 1934- (Interviewee)
Villella, Edward, 1936- (Interviewee)
Mitchell, Arthur, 1934- (Interviewee)
Farrell, Suzanne, 1945- (Speaker)
Date / Origin
Date Created: 1964
Library Location
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZTO 7-24
Subjects
Balanchine, George
D'Amboise, Jacques, 1934-
Mitchell, Arthur, 1934-
Villella, Edward, 1936-
New York City Ballet
Agon (Choreographic work : Balanchine)
Meditation (Choreographic work : Balanchine)
Tarantella (Choreographic work : Balanchine)
Genres
Notes
Funding: The processing and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
Content: Title supplied by cataloger.
Venue: Recorded for the National Educational Television network program, The American arts 1964? New York (N.Y.)
Physical Description
Extent: 4 audiotape reels (approximately 57 min.) : acetate (reels 2 and 4), full-track (reel 1) and half-track (reels 2-4), 7.5 ips; 7 in.
The sound quality is fair to poor. The volume is low, and the speakers' voices, in particular that of the interviewer, can be difficult to understand. There are frequent short gaps and occasional extraneous noises, especially in streaming audio file 4.
Abstract
Interviews with George Balanchine and members of the New York City Ballet conducted by Jac Venza, in 1964 for the National Educational Television network program, The American arts. Brief interviews are conducted with Jacques D'Amboise, Arthur Mitchell, and Eward Villella; Suzanne Farrell contributes a few remarks. Streaming audio file 1 (approximately 30 minutes). George Balanchine speaks about the reasons he would not accept a commission to choreograph for the Opéra de Paris Ballet; distinguishing "American music" from "American composers;" his ballet Agon and the music to which it is set; Balanchine and Jacques D'Amboise speak about differences between how dancers work in Europe and in New York; Balanchine speaks about how he and his work are viewed by the New York critics; the fact that his work is better received in Europe; his ballet, Meditation [ends abruptly]. Streaming audio file 2 (approximately 2 minutes). Arthur Mitchell, Suzanne Farrell, and George Balanchine (very briefly) discuss the ephemeral beauty of a dancer's performance [ends abruptly]. Streaming audio file 3 (approximately 11 minutes). George Balanchine speaks (briefly) about romantic love in dance; the difficulty in identifying what constitutes inspiration; his choreography as a craft; the central role of music; exploring the United States by car. Jacques D'Amboise speaks about dancing as a collaboration between the dancer and the choreographer as for example his role in Balanchine's ballet, Meditation [fragmentary comments by Suzanne Farrell? and Jacques D'Amboise are heard]; Arthur Mitchell speaks about working with Balanchine. Streaming audio file 4 (approximately 14 minutes). Edward Villella speaks about George Balanchine's ballet Tarantella; the approach of the [New York City Ballet] dancers to tempo; working with Balanchine; Villella's strengths and style of dancing; more on Tarantella; his repertoire; more on his style.
Languages
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 39895029
NYPL Catalog ID (bnumber): b12117364
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): cf232120-797b-0136-f6c3-73ed12d27485
Rights
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
Type Of Resource
Cite this item
MLA format
Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interviews with George Balanchine and members of the New York City Ballet" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1964. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/cf232120-797b-0136-f6c3-73ed12d27485
APA format
Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1964). Interviews with George Balanchine and members of the New York City Ballet Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/cf232120-797b-0136-f6c3-73ed12d27485
Chicago/Turabian Format
Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interviews with George Balanchine and members of the New York City Ballet" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 13, 2026. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/cf232120-797b-0136-f6c3-73ed12d27485
Wikipedia citation
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/cf232120-797b-0136-f6c3-73ed12d27485 | title= (sound recording) Interviews with George Balanchine and members of the New York City Ballet (1964) | author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library | accessdate=January 13, 2026 | publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>