Tribute to Sallie Wilson: 1932-2009
True dancers, like all artists, are known to have a calling. From the time they are first exposed to dance, they instinctively know -- this is what they are going to do, what they must do; it’s their destiny. And much to some parents’ disappointment, there is no negotiating.
Young Sallie Wilson, growing up in Fort Worth, TX, came to this point in her life from a slightly different perspective. She played both the violin and cello before succumbing to Terpsichore’s call at the age of 12. When she was 15, her mother took her to New York to study at Ballet Arts in Carnegie Hall. Diana Byer, artistic director of New York Theatre Ballet and longtime associate and close friend, tells the story that after taking one class with Margaret Craske (Cecchetti’s choice to carry on his work), Sallie came to her mother and said, “Mama, that’s my teacher.” She knew that very moment what she had to do. Her mother returned to Texas without her.
At that time, Ballet Arts had on its faculty not only Miss Craske but also Anthony Tudor and Edward Caton, all legends in the ballet world. In 1949 when she was 17, Wilson began her professional career when she joined Ballet Theatre. She also danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and New York City Ballet for two seasons, during which time she performed ballets by Balanchine and Robbins as well as Martha Graham. But what Wilson became famous for was being the foremost exponent of the ballets of Antony Tudor and Agnes de Mille. As a dancer, she is especially known for dancing Hagar in Tudor’s “Pillow of Fire,” “Dark Elegies” and Lizzie Borden in “Fall River Legend.”
After retiring from performing, Wilson was entrusted with the care and setting of Tudor’s ballets throughout the world. She also expanded into choreography. Among her works was a four-act ballet for Carla Fracci as well as numerous creations for New York Theatre Ballet and other companies in the U.S., France and Italy. She also became ballet mistress and teacher for New York Theatre Ballet. Byer wistfully reflects, “What she brought to the children as well as to the professional dancers was special. She is irreplaceable.”
Byer describes Wilson’s special qualities, “She taught the public about how to get inside a role; she was a person who happened to dance instead of a dancer trying to be a person. She was the ultimate artist. You didn’t see the effort or the thought process. She just was that person. It was never studied; it was spontaneous. When she danced, she tore your heart to pieces.”
Most of all Byer remembers Wilson’s integrity as well as her respect for the integrity of the ballets. She admits that having this quality could appear as being difficult. “Sometimes that’s not a bad thing; Tudor was known for being difficult.”
In the early evening on November 6, American Ballet Theatre and New York Theatre Ballet hosted a memorial tribute to Ms. Wilson at ABT’s studios. Dancers, friends and associates from the past and the present gathered to celebrate the life and artistry of one of the greatest ballerinas of our time. Kevin McKenzie, Katharyn Horne, Amanda McKerrow, Eleanor D’Antuono and Anderson Ferrell delivered warm and touching tributes. A letter from Ms. Fracci was read. When McKenzie asked if there was anyone who wanted to add a personal remembrance, Elliot Feld stood up and said, “When Sallie and I worked together she used to call me Ellery, so I called her Sallery.” Through tears, smiles emerged.