Patricia Wilde, in George Balanchine’s “Swan Lake” (1951), photographed by George Platt Lynes
This photograph of the late Patricia Wilde (1928-2021), by George Platt Lynes (1907-1955), shows her in George Balanchine’s one-act Swan Lake (1951), in which she created the pas de trois. Remarkable for both virtuosity and versatility, she later danced the role of Odette, Queen of the Swans, in the same production. Her costume and the decor are by Cecil Beaton.
Her pose here is thoroughly interesting. The croisé tendu-front, crossed wrists, and forward-leaning torso are all features of body language deriving from the archetypal Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni (1804-1884); the further tilt of the torso here is a standard part of Lev Ivanov’s choreography for Swan Lake in the 1895 St Petersburg full-length production of the ballet. The flared wings and knee-length skirt are features of the original 1877 costume for Odette (Pelagia Karpakova) in the Moscow world premiere production of Tchaikovsky’s ballet: I suspect that Beaton was prompted to imitate the 1877 designs by Balanchine and/or Lincoln Kirstein. The emphatically parted fingers are very much of Balanchine style.
Wilde entered the Balanchine firmament in 1945, dancing Polyhymnia in his Mexico City production of Apollo , beside Nicholas Magallanes (Apollo), Marie-Jeanne (Terpsichore), and Joy Williams (Calliope). He then incorporated all four dancers into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as he became that company’s ballet master. He cast Wilde in a pas de trois in his and Alexandra Danilova’s new three-act production of Raymonda (1946); she created many roles for him over the next fifteen years, and danced in his New York City Ballet from 1950 to 1965. Up until her very late eighties, she coached her old roles for the Balanchine Foundation. Away from Balanchine, she did much: notably teaching at American Ballet Theatre and (in 1982-1996) directing Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Her gargouillades - sideways jumps in which the feet write rings in the air - remain legendary: Balanchine showcased them in his Vivaldi-Corelli Square Dance (1957). Dozens of ballerinas have performed Square Dance since then. People still talk of Wilde’s gargouillades.
Sunday 8 August
Patricia Wilde, leading the pas de trois of George Balanchine’s Swan Lake (1951). Photograph: George Platt Lynes.