In Balanchine's Company: A Dancer's Memoir

by Barbara Fisher

Intimate recollections of a wondrous time and place.

During her twelve years with Ballet Society and the New York City Ballet, Barbara Milberg worked under the direction of George Balanchine. She rose from corps de ballet to soloist, danced leading roles in Swan Lake and Illuminations, and performed in celebrated world premieres. In this observant and poignant memoir, she shares her recollections of Balanchine, his craft and his values, and lends insight into surprising aspects of his personality. Fisher gives readers a rare glimpse inside Balanchine's artistry, including vivid accounts of the makings of such important ballets as Schoenberg's Opus 34, AGON, and the world-famous Nutcracker. Told through the eyes of a young dancer in what seemed a truly magical place and time, In Balanchine's Company is ideal for ballet fans young and old. Rich in anecdote, insight, and humor, it offers a unique perspective on one of the twentieth century's cultural giants.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

236 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2006

Reviews

[Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is another in the "must read" category for lovers of ballet and dance. Fisher's account of her career, and the early days of Balanchine's company, are not only an important cultural text interms of the history of 20th century ballet in America, but as interesting and complex as the choreographer himself. Fisher's style, while sometimes uneven, has moments of rich detail and lyric storytelling. One such moment in the book is when she recounts the mold-y smelling, stale cosutmes pulled out for a performance, costumes designed for the old Ballet Russe and created by none other than Chagall. Fisher's prose is delightfully more put together and more uniquely her voice than other memoirs by Balanchine ballerinas. Clearly she is a writer in her own right, which is also part of the charm of this book.

[Liz Haigney Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic, big format problem

It’s a case where I wish we could separate star ratings into content vs. format categories. This is a four-star text with a big problem — the photos are omitted from the Kindle version.
Dance is a highly visual topic, and this narrative was clearly constructed to be enhanced by quite a few photos, many from the author’s own collection. In the Kindle version, all you will get are blank spaces and captions. If you want to experience this book fully, you’ll have to get your hands on a paper copy.
“In Balanchine’s Company” is part memoir and part cultural essay, a look at the New York City Ballet in its early, exciting, shoestring-budget days. Barbara Milberg Fisher studied at SAB, joined the brand-new company right out of school and eventually became a soloist, creating roles in works such as Agon. After leaving dancing she went into academia, and the text is flavored with allusions to literature, history and art as well as dance.
Sometimes the narrative rambles — Fisher has a habit of inserting flashbacks into flashbacks, so that you lose the thread for a bit. And readers looking for a straight-up, strictly dance account might find her musings on literary and artistic parallels distracting. (I found them pretty interesting, and I also loved her early memories as a hyperactive, bookish kid.)
Overall, it’s extremely worth reading for anyone interested in what it took to get NYCB off the ground in the early days. Just don’t buy the ebook version.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading every book I can on Balanchine because I find him fascinating. How lucky the dancers were that danced for this genius who spent some time on Earth! The book started slowly for me and the first few photos were dark and barely visible, but I am glad I didn't bail. This is truly one of the best accounts of what it was like to dance for and live with Balanchine. I loved the stories of their tours in Europe and the glimpses into what that must have been like. What I enjoyed most was how the author came from a different place than other books I have read--she didn't WORSHIP him, she challenged him and got him to answer questions that most dancers would not dare to ask him. Descriptions of the ballets, classrooms, rehearsals all made me feel like I was there. I appreciate and treasure this. I had heard before about how Blanchine talked about when he was gone his ballets would die, but what I hadn't heard before is how his dancers would travel all over, spread his method, and joie de vivre the world over ---and they have!

[Cherylann · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are two types of memoir writers that I cannot stand: People who are completely uninteresting (what gives you the right to write a memoir) and those who are interesting but CAN’T WRITE! This book was the latter.
I did ballet all through high school, but stopped in college. I really started missing in around my second semester, so I bought a couple of ballet books to fill my void. It is REALLY hard to find a respectable ballet book. I had hope for this one, but it also failed to measure up.
I wish this book had a ghostwriter.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the content and I found her stories entertaining (I laughed aloud multiple times), but the style of prose was not for me. The fragments, interruptions, and tense changes distracted me from the story.

[Gorgas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really interesting and fun recollections in here