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2003 Medal of Arts Recipients


Portrait of Suzanne Farrell  

Suzanne Farrell

Suzanne Farrell was one of ballet choreographer and director George Balanchine's most celebrated muses. During her 28 years on stage, primarily with Balanchine's New York City Ballet, she danced a repertory of more than one hundred ballets. Nearly a third of those were created for her by Balanchine, including the "Diamonds" section of Jewels, Chaconne and Mozartiana. Other choreographers such as Jerome Robbins and Maurice Bejart also created original works for her. Farrell's performances of many ballets including Apollo, Concerto Barocco and Symphony in C are legendary. She is a repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust, staging his work for ballet companies around the world. Since the fall of 2000, Farrell has directed The Suzanne Farrell Ballet at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center and has been a tenured professor of dance at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Photo by Paul Kolnik.


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