A Pas de Deux for John Lanchbery

We knew John Lanchbery briefly in the mid-70s while he was doing a stint of conducting at the American Ballet Theater. For a few days he stayed in our apartment as a guest of his friend the dancer John Meehan, who lived with us for several months along with another Australian dancer, Robert Ray. Meehan was in his first season as a principal dancer with ABT. I remember in the afternoon before his first night's performance the arrival a telegram from Dame Margot Fonteyn wishing him good luck. Those were days of "good tickets" for us. One evening at the Metropolitan Opera House we saw a performance of Giselle with Mikhail Baryshinikov and Gelsey Kirkland; two rows behind us in the orchestra was Jacqueline Bisset and in the parterre was Mrs. Onassis. I think, though, that the Giselle that impressed us most was danced by Natalia Makarova and Peter Schaufuss in, if I remember, the City Center.

Pas de Deux 2