This is the story of a good ballerina, turned bad – turned great.
In 1969 Gelsey Kirkland was already a soloist at the New York City Ballet, aged just 16. Obviously talented and hand picked by George Balanchine to join the company just a year earlier, she would go on to become one of America’s greatest Ballerinas – but by her own admissions it was a rocky road.
Having joined the NYCB in 1968, the young Gelsey struggled with injuries, eating disorders and the desire to dance the classics such as “Giselle” and “Swan Lake”. Her sudden move to American Ballet Theater in 1974 to dance with Mikhail Baryshnikov gave her the opportunity, but brought its own price
In her 1986 autobiography “Dancing On My Grave” she details her struggles whilst at ABT with a serious cocaine addiction. Still a talented technical dancer, the magic of the performance seemed to be mostly lost for the audience. Eventually fired from ABT for her drug use, she performed freelance and for various companies until meeting her soon to be husband Greg Lawrence, also a cocaine addict. Together they shook their drug habits and Gelsey returned to perfoming, this time with The Royal Ballet in England alongside Anthony Dowell. Now a mature and seasoned artist, her performances in “Sleeping Beauty” and “Romeo & Juliet” with the company are arguably some of the best ever – certainly worth a Google search to view!
Upon retiring from dancing, Gelsey began to pass on her knowledge, living and teaching in Australia for a number of years before returning to New York to open her own studio – The Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet. She has also shared her story in her two autobiographies Dancing on My Grave and The Shape of Love.
Below is some rare footage of her early time dancing at ABT in Giselle. You cannot fault the lightness of her steps, and the innocence of her performance in the role. She is truly an artist.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Tgfx5jFkI?rel=0&w=853&h=480]