Ashley, Merrill

▪ 1998

      Ballerina Merrill Ashley's farewell performance on Nov. 25, 1997, not only marked her retirement from a 30-year career with the New York City Ballet (NYCB); it also represented a good-bye to one of the few remaining direct links to George Balanchine, the company's legendary founder. Ashley was the only NYCB ballerina who was still performing a ballet that Balanchine had created especially for her. Ballo della regina, choreographed in 1978, showcased the virtuoso aspects of her technique—her speed, clarity, and precision—and was featured frequently throughout her final season.

      Ashley, born Linda Michelle Merrill on Dec. 2, 1950, in St. Paul, Minn., and raised in Rutland, Vt., began studying ballet when she was seven. In 1964, when she was 13, she received a Ford Foundation scholarship and began to study full time at the School of American Ballet, the official school of NYCB. In 1967 she joined NYCB's corps de ballet—and changed her name because the company already had a member named Linda Merrill—and before long she was dancing solo roles in addition to appearing with the corps. Ashley officially became a soloist in 1974 and began adding such demanding choreography as the "Sanguinic" movement in The Four Temperaments, the "Rubies" section of Jewels, and the lead role in Square Dance to her repertoire. She was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 1977. Balanchine began casting Ashley in more lyrical ballets—the "Emeralds" section of Jewels, his one-act Swan Lake, and In the Night among them—to broaden her range, and in 1980 he created the second of the two ballets he choreographed for her, Ballade, to display this softer, more romantic side. Other Balanchine ballets that especially demonstrated her artistry included Concerto barocco, Donizetti Variations, Gounod Symphony, and Chaconne.

      Besides dancing with NYCB, Ashley formed her own group, Merrill Ashley and Dancers, which toured in 1980 and 1981. She also performed as a guest artist with a number of companies. Her autobiography, Dancing for Balanchine, was published in 1984. Ashley's departure from the stage did not mean she was abandoning ballet; she planned to teach dance.

BARBARA WHITNEY

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