DONIZETTI VARIATIONS ( 2 solos and Coda)

This 1960 Balanchine ballet is a tour de force of allegro technique. Original dancers were Melissa Hayden and Jonathan Watts who were both rather compact. So it’s quite something the much taller and long-limbed Merrill Ashley, and Danish trained Ib Andersen do such a spectacular job here, nearly 23 years later. The choreography is rather Bournonville style, so Andersen is at home, but for Ashley this was a breakthrough. Balanchine revived this in 1971 for Kay Mazzo, another ballerina one would think might have difficulty because she was quite delicate and willowy. However, she conquered it with ease. I was her partner for several years in this ballet (before Ashley and Andersen’s time) and can attest it is a killer.