Few people have done more to advance neoclassical ballet in the last half-century then the girl from Cincinnati who started turning heads when she was a teenager.
Suzanne Farrell’s unique talent brought her to the attention of the legendary George Balanchine, and together they transformed the modern world of ballet.
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Over a career that spanned nearly three decades Farrell set the standard for a generation of dancers.
A hip replacement surgery ended Farrell’s ballet career in 1989. She has devoted her life to teaching since then. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
The year after her retirement she wrote a memoir called Holding On To The Air. I met her that fall when she was on a book tour.
So here now, from 1990, Suzanne Farrell.
Suzanne Farrell is now 79. She is a professor of dance at Florida State University.