Episode 25.2: Hear the Dance: Diamonds (Part 2)

In the second half of our two-part Hear the Dance on Balanchine’s Diamonds, host Silas Farley is joined by Principal Dancer Sara Mearns, who has performed the lead role for over 12 years with seven different partners—for seven very different experiences. Mearns takes us through a detailed play-by-play of dancing this regal, demanding movement from Jewels, from the slow opening, which allows her to warm up, to the physically challenging dancing to come, and through to the triumphant, emotional conclusion. (36:15) This is a continuation of Part One of this episode. Music: Pelléas et Mélisande (1898) by Gabriel Fauré Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929) by Igor Stravinsky Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29 (1875) by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky Recommended Reading:  1) Holding On to the Air: An Autobiography by Suzanne Farrell and Toni Bentley        2) Dancing for Balanchine by Merrill Ashley      3) George Balanchine: Ballet Master: A Biography by Richard Buckle in Collaboration with John Taras