#tbt: Dance Magazine's Tribute Issue Honoring George Balanchine

The July 1983 issue of Dance Magazine was dedicated to George Balanchine, who had passed away in April of that year. Our pages were filled with tributes to the choreographer who irrevocably altered the course of American ballet. Dancers from Tamara Toumanova to Alexandra Danilova to Mikhail Baryshnikov contributed reflections, though perhaps critic Edwin Denby summed it up best:

“Dancing is such a momentary impression. Balanchine always said that his ballets are like butterflies: They live for a season. He didn’t much like reviving works because he didn’t seem to remember them, being much more interested in new things. I have no idea what will become of Balanchine’s ‘butterflies’ now…Tastes change, styles change, techniques change…But we know one very important thing about Balanchine: He changed the way we look at dance.”