I picked that up immediately! I thought that was pretty amusing. It seems Matt likes to give relevant names to characters but not make the character that exact person. Like Karen Erickson (McCann-Erickson).

I think Farrell is a homonym for "ferral." Betty's hallucinated father calls her a "house cat." Suzanne is wild, untamed -- at least to Don. And she is also very much like Rachel Menken, physically and otherwise, down to losing a parent.

.....Nancy.....Could be.....

Suzanne Farrell was George Balanchine’s star muse in the American Ballet Theatre for many years.

I assumed the teacher character’s name was something of a joke, considering our introduction to her was watching her cavort and dance, barefooted, in the grass. Maybe the joke even went so far as to make reference to Elisabeth Moss’ own ballet studies with Miss Farrell herself.

As an aside, the famed prima ballerina Gelsey Kirkland, who was frequently partnered with Mikhail Baryshnikov and who, while immensely talented herself, fostered an obsessive and somewhat tragic envy of Miss Farrell, and Balanchine’s favor of her.

Because of Miss Kirkland's obsession with Suzanne Farrell, and her own lack of self-esteem, she went so far as to undergo drastic facial plastic surgery (way before drastic facial alterations were de rigueur), at the same time developing a serious case of anorexia, in order to look like Miss Farrell.

Lot's of people named Suzanne Farrell, including the ballerina. Could have named the teacher anything at all. Didn't take this as Weiner trying to be cryptic again but maybe he was. I don't think it makes much difference.

Hi Dry!
I still love watching Gelsey Kirkland dance! I treasure my DVD of "The Nutcracker" with Kirkland and Baryshnikov.

I didn't know that about her. She looks beautiful, and of course, ballerina thin in the ballet. Did the plastic surgery and anorexia happen after she danced "The Nutcracker"?

I have heard of many female ballet dancers having eating disorders because they are strongly encouraged to be reed thin.
Thanks for the info.!

60schild: She had her share of problems in the extreme. Read "I'm Dancing As Fast As I can." I think that's the name of it. My daughter read it. She wanted to become a ballerina. Thank goodness she did not.

60schild: Or maybe the Kirkland book was "Dancing on My Grave," yes, that was it. It's been a long time since my daughter read it. I read passages too. Made me glad my daughter did not become a ballerina after all.

60schild: Or maybe the Kirkland book was "Dancing on My Grave," yes, that was it. It's been a long time since my daughter read it. I read passages too. Made me glad my daughter did not become a ballerina after all.

Hi Littlehouse!
Thank you!

Hi All: Just wanted to say I am another dance fan. Nice to meet you all!

…..Hi 60’schild and NeverNot!

Yes, the book was Dancing on My Grave.

I read it several years after it was written, and remember that I couldn’t put it down. Being in dance class and always obsessing on every calorie (and the occasional boy), the struggles she wrote about met with easy identification.

The Nutcracker taping was after the surgeries. As I said, they were drastic, including large-sized lip implants and having radical orthodontia to produce the quirky overbite which Suzanne sported naturally. Unfortunately, it completely distorted Gelsey’s already REALLY beautiful, delicate face, and fragile bone structure.

The before and after photos are almost heartbreaking, at least to me. You see a lot of that in Hollywood now, but in those days, it seemed so much more extreme.

BTW – I always thought that the comment made about Peggy’s literate virtuosity, “Home Run Ballerina,” was also a clever and sly reference to Elisabeth’s ballet background.

Hi all fellow dance lovers, total ballet nerd and OP here, a former serious student myself. I also have read "Dancing On My Grave". I think it's out of print now. I think it was published in the 80s. I found it in a used bookstore. Dry Manhattan totally nails the gist of it. I think Gelsey Kirkland's mother may have in fact instigated or at least suggested her plastic surgeries as well. So sad. She was indeed very pretty before. Both Kirkland and Farrell were such amazing dancers. I knew Elisabeth Moss had a ballet background but I didn't know she'd studied with Farrell... that's a very cool bit of random trivia there, DM, thanks! I did pick up on how Freddy Rumsen affectionately referred to Peggy as "ballerina" a couple of times.

Drifting further off-topic here: does anyone else think that Balanchine's habit of giving perfume to his female dancers was creepy? I always thought he was a bit of a sexual harasser. Encouraging them not to get married. And then of course the Farrell affair where he took away her roles and she had to flee to Bejart's troupe of all places.

Hi all... I'll chime in as yet another dance lover -- (ballet and more). Love the dance trivia bits too!Read Dancing/Grave long ago-- tragic.

NNT.. share your feeling that there was something v creepy about Balanchine...he was definitely a genius - and sometimes G types can certainly have their unbalanced creepy sides. Such a manipulator.

CRS is my bete noir... anyone remember the name of that great ballet movie w/ Anne Bancroft & Shirley Maclaine??

My fave dance movie was Carmen (Carlos Saura, flamenco) others??

Yes indeed, Balanchine was famous for wanting to have complete control over his ballerinas' personal lives. Totally creepy. He not only discouraged marriage, he even disapproved of them going out on dates. He was obsessive about a lot of things.

@MelbaToast, that awesome ballet movie with Bancroft and Maclaine is called "The Turning Point". Gelsey Kirkland was offered a part in it as the teenage daughter, but she turned it down. P.S. Don't feel bad, we all have CRS moments.

Balanchine, while a genius, was totally creepy! :)

I recently left my job as Public Relations Director for Ballet Nouveau Colorado (named 25 to watch this year by dance magazine). It was fascinating to watch the choreographers create contemporary ballet based in the classics.

Bluegirl.... thanks! (netflix here I come....) and while I'm at it...I really enjoy your posts! Very thoughtful and well said..

.....I've always thought of Balanchine, while loving and respecting him so much as an artiste, as the Alfred Hitchcock of dance. They were equally creepy and unbalanced on the subject of their various muses.

I'll never forget the story of Grace Kelly's "replacement," Tippi Hedren, after Miss Kelly's marriage and departure from Hollywood. How, when Mr. Hitchcock made an inappropriate pass at Miss Hedren, she recoiled and uttered an exclamation along the lines of "Never, you fat little toad."

Hitchcock vowed she would never work in film again, and apart from a scant few more films, I understand that came true. Not sure..... but it was a scandal anyway!

AdGirl.....What a great job!

I guess I am a dance nerd, because I just love any film, whether good or bad, which features great dance scenes of almost any kind.

@Dry... me too! and its nice to see you... Methinks you are too much away...

.....Hi Melba - how sweet. Good to see you too!

There are quite a few who seem to be hiding these days......hmmmm.....

I think it is obvious Miss Farrell will be Don's next affair. I wondered about the connection when he saw her dance...flowing hair w/garland, Maypole and all. I also thought she resembled Rachel but much more innocent and naive. The phone call to Don after she had been drinking leaves one wondering if she's joined the ranks of "gottahaveits". Perhaps after the class graduation and being "surprised at both parents attending the conference", she thinks Don has indeed noticed her. Maybe Sally will get an A or were the grades S / U in those days?. It's been too long.
jb