In 1961, Nancy Lassalle was given permission to photograph a two-day teachers seminar led by George Balanchine at the School of American Ballet. The workshop, funded by the Ford Foundation, was intended to elevate the level of ballet education across the United States by offering the highest standard of training to future dancers. Teachers came from around the country to learn directly from Balanchine. The fourteen photographs collected in Balanchine Teaching show Mr. Balanchine demonstrating various ballet positions, doing pliés, making slight adjustments on students, at once articulating his command of the art as well as his generous desire to share that knowledge. They offer a rare glimpse behind the scenes of a pivotal moment in the history of American dance when ballet s greatest choreographer is deeply engaged with his most fundamental calling: teaching dancers to dance. Through her involvement with SAB and NYCB, Mrs. Lassalle had unique access to Mr. Balanchine during this foundational experience which deepened her subsequent life-long relationship with the School and the Company.Suki Schorer s essay and commentary on each of the photographs demonstrates a deep understanding of Balanchine s teaching. Schorer was chosen to assist Balanchine during these 1961 workshops and appears in several of the photographs. In her essay, she notes that while Balanchine is known to the world as a choreographer; for most ballet lovers he is the greatest of the twentieth century, if not of all time...Yet he said of himself, I am a teacher. That is my contribution.
