Suzanne Farrell

Suzanne Farrell, born Roberta Sue Ficker on August 16, 1945, in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a former American ballerina, dance educator, and founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She received her early training at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before being selected in 1960 to study at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet on a Ford Foundation scholarship. Following her acceptance into the program, Farrell, her mother, and her younger sister Beverly relocated to New York City, where they took up residence at the Ansonia apartment-hotel. In 1961, she joined the New York City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet.

Farrell's ascent within the New York City Ballet was rapid. John Taras choreographed the first ballet created specifically for her, Passage — later retitled Arcade — in 1963. That same year, Balanchine paired her with Jacques d'Amboise for Meditation, which debuted in December 1963. One of her most prominent early roles was Dulcinea in Balanchine's Don Quixote, which premiered in May 1965, with Balanchine himself performing the title role on opening night. She was promoted to principal dancer in 1965, with her first performance in that capacity being Agon with Arthur Mitchell at the Paris Opera. In 1968, Balanchine cast her as the lead in the "Diamonds" section of his three-act ballet Jewels.

Personal circumstances led to a significant rupture in Farrell's relationship with Balanchine. Though Balanchine divorced his wife, the former ballerina Tanaquil Le Clercq, Farrell instead married fellow dancer Paul Mejia in 1969, a union that lasted until 1997. The resulting tension prompted Farrell and Mejia to leave the New York City Ballet. The couple subsequently moved to Brussels, where Farrell joined Maurice Béjart's Ballet of the 20th Century. Over four years with that company, she danced leading roles — some created specifically for her — and was frequently partnered with Argentine dancer Jorge Donn. Her Broadway appearance in 1977 was connected to this chapter of her career, when she appeared on Broadway with Béjart: Ballet of the Twentieth Century.

Farrell returned to the United States and rejoined the New York City Ballet in 1975. Her renewed collaboration with Balanchine produced several new works created for her, including Chaconne, Mozartiana, Tzigane, and Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze. During the 1979–1980 season, she also appeared on the children's television program Sesame Street. Balanchine continued creating work for Farrell until his death in April 1983, with his final compositions being solos made for her. By 1983, Farrell had begun developing arthritis in her right hip, and despite two years of varied treatments, her performing career was severely curtailed by 1985. She ultimately retired from the New York City Ballet on November 26, 1989, at the age of 44, giving her final bow at the State Theater with company co-founder Lincoln Kirstein at her side. Her final performances included Sophisticated Lady and Vienna Waltzes.

Following her retirement from performing, Farrell transitioned into teaching and staging Balanchine's work for companies around the world, including those in Berlin, Vienna, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Kirov Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet. She held a teaching position with the New York City Ballet until 1993, when the company dismissed her from that role. Beginning in 2000, she joined the Dance Department at Florida State University in Tallahassee as a professor.

Farrell's relationship with the Kennedy Center began in 1993 and 1994 with a series of ballet master classes for students between the ages of 13 and 17. The program expanded to a national level in 1995 and eventually developed into a full initiative known as Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell. In the fall of 1999, she received critical recognition for the Kennedy Center engagement and East Coast tour of Suzanne Farrell Stages the Masters of 20th-century Ballet. In 2000, she founded the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, a company of professional dancers produced by the Kennedy Center, which performed at the center in 2001 and 2002 and undertook extensive national touring before disbanding at the end of 2017. In 2007, the company formalized the Balanchine Preservation Initiative, through which lost or rarely performed Balanchine works — including Ragtime, Pithoprakta, and Divertimento Brillante — were recreated and staged.

Among the honors Farrell has received are the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. In 1987, she was presented with the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement at a ceremony in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016 and has also received several honorary degrees.