Above: former New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Leland has passed away.
In the Autumn of 1974, I had moved into TJ's dorm room at Sarah Lawrence College, pretending to be a student; he and I were making frequent trips into Manhattan for the opera. We'd spent the Summer on Cape Cod, performing with a small ballet company. I had never liked ballet until I got caught up in it by dancing in COPPELIA. Now that we were living within range of Lincoln Center, TJ began taking me to see The New York City Ballet.
It was a heady time at NYCB, with Kay Mazzo, Patricia McBride, Karin von Aroldingen, and Violette Verdy as reigning ballerinas. And on our third visit to the House of Mr. B that season, Suzanne Farrell returned to the Company after five years in exile following her falling out with Balanchine...yes, we were there that night.
Whilst these lovely ladies were giving one spectacular performance after another, both TJ and I had a special affection for Sara Leland, a truly unique ballerina. I first saw Sara in the Valse Mélanconique of TCHAIKOVSKY SUITE #3; a few days later, she danced the third movement of SYMPHONY IN C in Farrell's return performance.
In May of 1975, I saw my first JEWELS, and it was RUBIES that most dazzled me, with Ms. Leland and Marnee Morris, another favorite, in the leading roles. Robert Weiss stepped in on very short notice for Edward Villella that night. Read about it here.
We went on to see Sara Leland in Balanchine's UNION JACK (above, with Helgi Tomasson), SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS, and VIENNA WALTZES, and in Robbins' DANCES AT A GATHERING (in Apricot), SCHERZO FANTASTIQUE, GOLDBERG VARIATIONS, AN EVENING'S WALTZES, and THE CONCERT.
Both TJ and I were especially fascinated whenever Sara danced with Bart Cook. They had a kind of offbeat sexiness, and they somehow could be both edgy and poetic at the same time:
Another of Sara's frequent partners, John Clifford, posted a film of SYMPHONY IN C, third movement; watch it here.
Sara Leland's romantic side shines thru in this lovely photo of her with William Weslow in Balanchine's LA VALSE.