Farrell, Suzanne (1945-…), won fame as one of the greatest dancers in the history of American ballet. Farrell became closely identified with choreographer George Balanchine at the New York City Ballet (NYCB). She collaborated with Balanchine on several of his best-known ballets, and he created many works for her.
Farrell was born on Aug. 16, 1945, in Mount Healthy, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her real name was Roberta Sue Ficker. She began dance lessons at the age of 8 and moved to New York City at the age of 14 to attend ballet school. Farrell entered the School of American Ballet in 1960. She joined the corps of the New York City Ballet in 1961 and soon changed her name to Suzanne Farrell.
Balanchine created the ballet Don Quixote for Farrell in 1965 and promoted her to principal dancer of the NYCB later that year. She later danced in Balanchine’s Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (1966), the Diamonds part of Jewels (1967), and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and Requiem Canticles (both 1968).
Farrell left the NYCB in 1969 over Balanchine’s disapproval of her marriage to company dancer Paul Mejia. Farrell and Mejia danced with Maurice Bejart’s Ballet of the 20th Century in Brussels, Belgium, from 1970 to 1974. In 1975, Farrell rejoined the NYCB. Balanchine created several more ballets for her, notably Tsigane (1975), Chaconne (1976), Vienna Waltzes (1977), and Mozartiana (1981). Farrell retired as a performer in 1989.
Beginning in 1993, Farrell conducted ballet master classes for young people. These classes were sponsored by the Education Department of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. They led to the development of a full ballet company in 2000 called the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, with Farrell as artistic director. The company has toured throughout the United States and in Canada. Farrell has written a highly praised autobiography, Holding On to the Air (1990). A film documentary, Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (1996), was nominated for an Academy Award.
See also Balanchine, George .
