Research Catalog

Title

Interview with Andre Eglevsky [sound recording].

Author

Eglevsky, André.

Publication

1975.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Rosen, Lillie F.

Description

5 sound discs (ca. 248 min.): digital; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

• Disc 1 (ca. 49 min.). André Eglevsky speaks with Lillie F. Rosen about his background beginning with his family's leaving the former Soviet Union in 1921; studying ballet in Nice, France with [Maria] Nevelska; being seen by [Michel] Fokine and continuing his studies in Paris with Alexandre Volinin; moving to Lubov Egorova's school; seeing Anna Pavlova perform; being recruited by Leonide Massine for [Colonel W.] de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo; his roles and his technique; an anecdote about a review of his solo in Paris; an anecdote about his use of candle wax on stage [ends abruptly but continues on disc 2].
• Disc 2 (ca. 49 min.). André Eglevsky speaks with Lillie F. Rosen about performing with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in London at the Alhambra Theatre and the effect it had on his career and style, in particular seeing Anton Dolin in La sylphide and Swan lake; studying with Nicolas Legat; his multiple pirouettes and his high ballon; performing small roles with de Basil's company [Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo] in New York City; his second season in London, at Covent Garden including his roles; an anecdote about himself and Alexandra Danilova; leaving the company after the second London season to study with Legat for two years; more on Legat's teaching methods including how they differed from [Enrico] Cecchetti's; joining René Blum's Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo in 1936, including his audition with Michel Fokine; the constraints of the steps taught in class as contrasted to the freedom of the steps created by a choreographer [ends abruptly but continues on disc 3].
• Disc 3 (47 min). André Eglevsky continues to speak with Lillie F. Rosen about his roles in René Blum's company including his excellent working relationship with Michel Fokine; the death of Nicolas Legat and the purchase of Blum's company by Julius Fleischmann; coming to the U.S. as a permanent resident; an anecdote about asking George Balanchine for a job; his engagement by Balanchine to dance at the Metropolitan Opera; performing in the musical comedy The great lady including an anecdote about Balanchine, himself, and his (future) wife Leyda Anchutina; dancing with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the U.S.; joining Ballet Theatre [later American Ballet Theatre] including his relationship with Lucia Chase; Fokine's Helen of Troy [announcement by Rosen regarding the recording process]; his first big success at Ballet Theatre, in the role of the Bluebird; Balanchine's restaging of Helen of Troy for Vera Zorina; the difference between the ballet audiences in England before and after World War II; leaving Ballet Theatre for the Marquis George de Cuevas company [Marquis de Cuevas' Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo], including Chase's reaction; dancing in Giselle with Alicia Alonso including why he does not think he was an ideal Albrecht and Dolin's excellent coaching; the Marquis de Cuevas including his generosity [ends abruptly but continues on disc 4].
• Disc 4 (ca. 47 min.). André Eglevsky continues to speak with Lillie F. Rosen about the Marquis de Cuevas, including how his European company came into being and Eglevsky's role in bringing Rosella Hightower to Europe; an anecdote about dancing in George Balanchine's Symphony in C for the first time; reason he left the Marquis de Cuevas' company; the circumstances of his joining New York City Ballet; briefly, some of his partners including Maria Tallchief, Rosella Hightower, Alexandra Danilova, Mia [Slavenska], [Alicia] Alonso, and Irina Baronova; other partners including Tanaquil Le Clercq, Diana Adams, Patricia McBride, Melissa Hayden, and Tamara Toumanova; favorite or most successful roles including the Sylvia pas de deux [choreographed by Balanchine] and the Minkus pas de trois [choreographed by Balanchine; from the ballet Paquita]; Mikhail [Michel] Fokine's comment on Eglevsky's performance of Le spectre de la rose; difference in type of character represented by the Spectre and by the male lead in Balanchine's Scotch symphony; the challenges of personifying a character; Balanchine's Apollo including why he hated dancing it and what he perceives as its flaws; Balanchine's attitude toward his dancers [ends abruptly but continues on disc 5].
• Disc 5 (ca. 57 min.). André Eglevsky continues to speak with Lillie F. Rosen about George Balanchine's attitude toward his dancers; Eglevsky's and Balanchine's relationship; the circumstances of his leaving New York City Ballet; today's dancers; his children and his hobbies; his school; coaching Mikhail Baryshnikov in Le spectre de la rose and his admiration for Baryshnikov's dancing; understanding a choreographer's style and aesthetic sense as the key to reconstructing his work, including Fokine and Balanchine as examples; reasons he created the André Eglevsky Ballet Companies.

Alternative Title

Dance Oral History Project.

Subjects

• Balanchine, George
• Audiotapes > Eglevsky, A
• Balanchine, George > Apollo
• Volinin, Aleksandr Emel'ianovich, 1882-1955
• Eglevsky, André
• Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
• Spectre de la rose (Choreographic work : Fokine)
• Fokine, Michel, 1880-1942
• New York City Ballet
• Ballet > Study and teaching
• Legat, Nikolaĭ Gustavovich, 1869-1937
• André Eglevsky Ballet Companies

Note

• Interview with André Eglevsky conducted by Lillie F. Rosen on June 7, 1975 at his home in Massapequa, New York, for the Oral History Project of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
• Sound quality is good overall but on disc 1, the recording of the interviewee's voice is marred by an extraneous rasping noise. In addition there are occasional extraneous noises and short gaps.

Funding (note)

• The assistance of the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts is gratefully acknowledged.

Call Number

*MGZTL 4-961

OCLC

79323467

Author

Eglevsky, André. Interviewee

Title

Interview with Andre Eglevsky [sound recording].

Imprint

1975.

Original Version

Original format : 2 sound reels (ca. 248 min.: 5"; 1 7/8 in. per sec.; half-track; 1 channel; polyester). Originally recorded in 1975.

Funding

The assistance of the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts is gratefully acknowledged.

Local Note

For a transcript of the audio recording see: *MGZMT 5-961.

Former call no.: *MGZT 5-961

Archive original: *MGZTO 5-961 no. 1-2 Restored and rehoused following water damage in 2015.

Added Author

Rosen, Lillie F. Interviewer

Research Call Number

*MGZTL 4-961