When I started going to New York City Ballet back in the mid-1970s everyone - of both sexes - was in love with Peter Martins. 'The blonde god', that's how I remember him being described before I saw him dance for the first time. Peter danced the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux on the very first night I ever saw NYCB, and even though I knew very little about ballet at the time (and next to nothing about NYCB except that TJ adored them), I wrote in my diary that Peter's "combination of cool partnering and bravado solo dancing made his performance the highlight of the evening." Peter was dancing then with Kay Mazzo and their partnership continued to impress me in RAYMONDA VARIATIONS and DUO CONCERTANT although the latter ballet I found to be 'corny' on first viewing. I have since changed my mind about it, several times.
Mazzo had this beautiful, vulnerable quality and Peter's looming yet protective presence enhanced her dancing visually to fine effect. His partnering was so assured and steadying but always just a bit aloof. We have all read Balanchine's admonishment: "You are not in love with your partner," and Peter was true to that; he never displayed the kind of torrid angst some European dancers do when partnering. He had seemingly enormous hands which must have made his ballerinas feel totally secure.
Check out the cast of my first Tchaikovsky PIANO CONCERTO #2 in the box at left. By this time, Merrill Ashley and Colleen Neary were just about at goddess status for me, and Peter was the impeccable prince of the dance. Ballets were starting to fall into echelons for me and TPC #2 was at the top. Colleen Neary was a brilliant dancer (try to imagine morphing Sofiane Sylve and Teresa Reichlen and you get the idea) and Merrill & Peter looked great together; but within two months of this performance something happened that revised the shape of NYCB and put Peter's career in a different light.
Suzanne Farrell had spent five years away from NYCB - much of the time dancing for Maurice Bejart - after her marriage caused Balanchine to go into a jealous snit and let his prize ballerina fly away. I was there on the night of her return and the audience was thrilled to have her back; she even had a solo bow which is almost verboten at NYCB. Peter's partnering was so immaculate, he almost seemed to 'disappear' as he displayed Suzanne to the adoring public. I must say that I did not fall for Farrell immediately; the big thrills for me in that SYMPHONY IN C (my first) were Colleen Neary in the 1st movement and Sara Leland stepping into 3rd Movement at the last minute and dancing with Robert Weiss. But Suzanne's return caused waves thru the Company; her former roles reverted to her and Peter was called on to be her cavalier most nights.
Of course, the Suzanne/Peter partnership wasn't exclusive; my first DIAMONDS was actually Mazzo/Martins and a terrific treat came when Peter and Christine Redpath blew the roof off the State Theatre with a dazzling virtuoso performance in one of my favorite Robbins ballets, AN EVENING'S WALTZES. This piece really needs to be seen again at NYCO. Peter & Christine swirled thru their waltz to a breath-taking exit and thunderous applause; they had to come out twice to bow even though such mid-ballet calls were frowned-upon.
COPPELIA was a big crowd-pleaser at NYCB at that time; Swanhilda was danced by the inimitable and unforgettable Patricia McBride with her most frequent partner Helgi Tomasson at the premiere. But it was inevitable that Peter Martins would eventually appear as Franz. No one was quite sure how Mr. Cool, the Iceman, would handle this full-length fun-filled role since we were used to him in the abstract Balanchine format. Peter played Franz as sort of a dumb blonde, but understated. He looked phenomenal in the costumes, causing more hearts to throb. The passages which call for virtuosity were delivered with defining brilliance. He & McBride got on like a house afire, reaping big ovations. At ABT, choruses of 'bravos' were commonplace mid-variation but not at City Ballet; Peter's Franz had people screaming as he nonchalantly tossed off various combinations. Despite Peter's big success, the role pretty much reverted to Tomasson after this, maybe because Peter was really busy dancing with Suzanne.
APOLLO, the ballet which originally drew Martins into the Balanchine sphere and became his signature role, was memorably danced with Suzanne Farrell {left}. Another palpitating performance of the Farrell/Martins partnership was the Jerome Robbins setting of AFTERNOON OF A FAUN which I saw for the first of many times in their classic interpretation. I was living in Hartford then, and Peter & Suzanne came up to the provinces to dance FLOWER FESTIVAL and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux.
I went thru a phase of going less often but I still managed to see Martins in such diverse repertoire as MIDSUMMER NIGHT''S DREAM, BOURNONVILLE DIVERTISSEMENTS, GOLDBERG VARIATIONS, VIENNA WALTZES {in the Merry Widow segment with Kay Mazzo} and UNION JACK which was a big attraction in its early seasons: everyone was buzzing about how great Martins looked in a kilt or in his sailor's uniform, and Suzanne Farrell was strutting her stuff in culottes as the saucy Wren. Peter Schaufuss, another Dane, joined the Company {photo left} and the next generation of ballerinas was coming up so that I was treated to Peter's partnering of Kyra Nichols in the Robbins VERDI VARIATIONS {which eventually became part of THE FOUR SEASONS} and in the Rondo finale of BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG QUARTET.
The last time I saw Peter Martins dance was MOZARTIANA with Farrell. Sean Lavery and Adam Luders were assimilating Peter's roles in the early 1980s and time was moving swiftly; Balanchine was dying and Peter was shifting his energies from dancing to choreography and preparing for the impossible task of taking over the reins. How does one replace a genius?
Peter's running of New York City Ballet has been monumentally controversial and his choreographic efforts seldom please the majority. Now at almost a quarter century since Balanchine's death Peter's tenure inspires fierce debates. For better or worse, the repertoire, the theatre itself and most importantly the individual dancers keep me going back time and again. However one feels about his running of the Company, his accomplishments as a dancer - for those who saw him onstage in his prime years - are unforgettable.
What a treat to read this, Philip.
Thank you for writing it! Love the photos too! A wonderful and informative post.
Deborah
Posted by: Deborah | March 24, 2008 at 07:07 PM
Thanks, Deborah...I had fun digging thru my old pictures and programs to put this item togther.
Posted by: Philip | March 24, 2008 at 09:40 PM
What a rare opportunity to have seen Suzanne Farrell and all these other famous dancers in their heyday, in ballets that were made for them. That's a lovely photo of Farrell and Martins. This entry was a fun read, thanks!
Posted by: jolene | March 25, 2008 at 06:31 PM
Thank you, Jolene...I have some other photos from that period of time that I wanted to add here but my scanner is malfunctioning!
Posted by: Philip | March 26, 2008 at 12:17 AM
Looking at films of Martins he seems not only aloof but prissy, I don't like his dancing much.
On the other hand boy could Kay Mazzo MOVE she was amazing I like her more than the Farrell.
Posted by: Brett | March 26, 2008 at 05:08 PM
He never struck me as prissy but I seem to recall a story about Balanchine making fun of Peter's dancing.
Posted by: Philip | March 26, 2008 at 11:53 PM
Somewhat aloof and seemingly detached at times, yes, but "prissy" - never! Peter Martins was without question one of the greatest male dancers of his generation. With all due respect to Nikolaj Hubbe, Peter's Apollo remains for me the gold standard for that role. And there were many other roles, such as Diamonds and the Merry Widow segment of Vienna Waltzes, on which he put his indelible stamp.
Posted by: Bob | March 27, 2008 at 10:35 AM
In my early ballet-going days, I thought Peter and Ted Kivitt of ABT were the most exciting male dancers.
Posted by: Philip | March 27, 2008 at 11:42 AM