Early career at NYCB Initially part of the
corps de ballet at NYCB, Farrell soon moved on to dancing featured roles. The first ballet choreographed for her was
Passage, now
Arcade, by
John Taras in 1963. Balanchine first paired her with
Jacques d'Amboise to
choreograph his
Meditation, which debuted in December 1963. One of her most notable roles was Dulcinea in Balanchine's
Don Quixote, which premiered in May 1965; Balanchine's creation of that ballet was thought to be a
valentine to his newest "muse", and Balanchine performed in the role of Don Quixote on opening night. In 1965, she was promoted to
principal dancer. Her first role in her new title was
Agon with
Arthur Mitchell at the
Paris Opera.
George Balanchine quickly fell in love with his "alabaster princess" and created many roles for her. Farrell described learning choreography from Balanchine as a collaborative process, saying, "When Mr. B was working on a ballet, something would just spill out of his body; he could rarely duplicate it, so I tried to see precisely what he wanted the first time." Balanchine was married to the polio-stricken former ballerina
Tanaquil Le Clercq, however, and Farrell was a Catholic. Though Balanchine divorced LeClercq to pursue Farrell, she instead married fellow dancer Paul Mejia. This caused the relationship of Farrell and Balanchine to fracture. There was enormous tension between them, which caused Farrell and husband Mejia to leave the company. Mejia and Farrell were married from 1969 to 1997. '' She and her husband later joined the European company
Ballet of the 20th Century of the French choreographer
Maurice Béjart, based in Brussels. With this company she danced leading roles, some created for her, for four years, exploring a style of choreography completely different from Balanchine's. During this time, Farrell found herself often paired with the Argentine dancer, Jorge Donn. She eventually returned to Balanchine and the New York City Ballet in 1975. Balanchine continued to create new ballets for her, such as
Chaconne,
Mozartiana,
Tzigane and ''
Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze''. While living in New York City, she appeared in the 1979-1980 season of the children's television show
Sesame Street. Farrell's partnership with Balanchine lasted until his death in April 1983; his last works were solos for her. She retired from the New York City Ballet at age 44 on November 26, 1989, after being fired by Martins due to her three-year long absence from the stage, which was caused by her arthritis. In 2000, Farrell began teaching in the Dance Department at
Florida State University (
Tallahassee, Florida). Despite positive reviews and an annual budget ranging from $1-$1.4 million, the center announced in September 2016 that the company would be disbanding at the end of the 2017 performance season.
Deborah Rutter, President of the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, noted that the center would be undergoing a new expansion project to include additional performance and rehearsal space. Farrell's new role in the organization remained unclear, however, Rutter emphasized that Farrell would continue to be an "artistic partner" at the center. ==See also==