we all can't be balanchine.i would say balanchine was technically more difficult. but you were much more naked in a robbins ballet, in a sense to be yourself to be natural, and yet you still have to go out there and, and perform in front of 3,000 people. there was a very delicate balance between including the audience and not selling the dance. it was this balance that jerry was very interested in. you go too fast. martins: jerry liked when you marked a ballet. he didn't like you to dance full out. he said, "easy, boy, easy, baby, easy, baby, easy, baby easy, easy, baby." whereas mr. b. would say "why are you taking it easy?" they were completely opposite, in every way. jerry's rehearsals were physically easy, but mentally, hideous. and balanchine's rehearsals were mentally delighul and physically nightmarish. narrator: 1972 marked a milestone in the history of the new york city ballet -- the stravinsky festival, a one-week marathon of 30 ballets, 21 of them premieres including two masterworks by balanchine. rob

musicals robbins finally connected -- with a show called "great lady," choreographed by george balanchine a russian émigré ballet-maker currently working on broadway. the new chorus boy went on to two more musicals where he was joined by other unemployed ballet dancers. man: nora kaye and jerry, and alicia alonso, too, were in a musical called "stars in your eyes." they were in the chorus, tapping away behind ethel merman. and they went on into ballet theatre, and then i began to watch ballet theatre the first season and i fell in love with it and i thought, "god, what a wonderful place to be." so i auditioned and got into it. narrator: founded in 1940, ballet theatre was the first large-scale american ballet company, dancing contemporary works as well as the traditional russian-influenced repertory. from the beginning it was a touring company, with a touring company's camaraderie. robbins: it was a great school for me to be able to go from rehearsal to rehearsal in the same day and work with different choreographers. narrator: agnes de mille creator of the high-spirited "rodeo," gave the