George Balanchine for President! [by Stacey Harwood-Lehman]

George Balanchine (c) Martha Swope

I'm relishing my time with Dance in America, Mindy Aloff's important new anthology from the Library of America. It's a volume that one can roam around in and I've only just begun to do so. Last night I read Susan Sontag's "On Dance and Dance Writing," John Updike's "Genial, Kinetic Gene Kelly," and George Balanchine's "If I Were President." If only. Here's an excerpt from Balanchine to whet your appetite:

    If I were president, I would devote at least one speech to a very large section of our population which is not usually thought of or addressed as a separate unit by people in the government--I refer to the intellectuals and artists of the United States and to people who are interested in the intellectual and artistic life of our country, in other words in the spiritual and not just the material values of our existence.
    There are a great many of us: writers, painters, sculptors, actors, composers, instrumentalists, and dancers. And there are uncounted millions of those for whom their interest in our creative efforts is as important and sometimes more important than all the other ordinary details of their lives. That is why we would like the president to show an interest in and speak to us about the other half of our life--the nonmaterialistic part of life, which we represent. Actually this very large group of citizens of whom I am speaking has never made any very great demands. None of us is especially interested in money or power, but all of us want to be recognized and given the possibility to create and to enjoy art. Certain forms of art have received wonderful support from the public itself; from private citizens and groups of interested people who have created libraries and museums and supported symphony orchestras, and we them a great debt of gratitude. But writers and artists have never been accorded full recognition by a government body or official--and the person who first gives us this recognition will earn our wholehearted gratitude and support. . .
    This brings us to the important problem of our children who are our future. Their taste for art should be developed from early childhood. They should learn to love the beautiful and impractical as well as the useful and practical. One should give them fairy tales, music, dance, theater. This is real magic for children, and it is strong enough to overcome many dangers that threaten them, mainly because their minds are unoccupied and their imaginations unfed. developing these qualities in our children is the first step to promoting peace in the world--by giving them trud standards of what is most important in human life. Inner nobility will safeguard them from the cynicism of utilitarianism. Some twenty thousand young children saw special performances given for them by New York City Ballet. It was absolutely extraordinary to see how avidly they devoured those performances. The children must be reached before they are corrupted by life. 

George Balanchine (1904-1983) is widely considered a genius, and the greatest choreographer of the 20th century. As Aloff notes, he "left behind the greatest corpus of ballets the world possesses." You can read more of Balanchine's writing in "Dance in America," which you can purchase here. 

Find an interview with Mindy Aloff here. 

-- sdl

Comments

[Mindy Aloff]

I'm thrilled to see this passage from the "Dance in America" anthology. And, just FYI, George Balanchine was both an immigrant and, by the time he published this comment (he acquired his American citizenship c. 1940), a Republican.
Great picture, too, by Martha Swope.

[lally]

terrific post stacey, and great quote (though it seems he left out poets in his list)
and all the more relevant in these times, I wonder is there anything from Edwin Denby in the anthology?

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Thank you for posting this, Stacy. It shows, in part, why Balanchine has been such an influence on my life. He created beauty and dispensed common sense. I loved the man.

[Stacey Lehman]

Yes, Michael, Edwin Denby is in the anthology. Here's a link to the table of contents. It's such a rich collection! https://www.loa.org/books/591-dance-in-america-a-readers-anthology