Little Dancer of Fourteen Years
The "Little Dancer" wax sculpture we see today is a reworked version of the original sculpture that was shown in 1881. After seeing the wax sculpture in Degas’ living quarters in April 1903, the New York collector Louisine Havemeyer expressed interest in buying the wax. After proposing a bronze or cast wax of the sculpture, which Mrs. Havemeyer refused, Degas took his wax figure upstairs to his working studio and told Vollard he was reworking the sculpture for Havemeyer for 40,000 francs. Degas never sold the sculpture to Mrs. Havemeyer. After Degas died, it was found in a corner of his studio. Paul Lefond, Degas’ biographer, described the "Little Dancer" wax after Degas’ death as "nothing but a ruin;" and Mary Cassatt telegraphed Mrs. Havemeyer "Statue Bad Condition." However, the wax sculpture we know today is not a ruin. It is Degas' reworked second version of his wax figure. At some point before Degas extensively reworked his sculpture, he allowed a plaster to be cast from the wax figure. This recently re-discovered plaster records the "Little Dancer"’s original pose, bodice, and hairdo. The plaster is now in a private collection in the United States.
Doug Fitch
On February 22, 2012, Giants Are Small and the New York Philharmonic announced a new collaboration, A Dancer's Dream, featuring Igor Stravinsky's ballets "Fairy's Kiss" and "Petrushka", conducted by Alan Gilbert, directed and designed by Doug Fitch and video directed and produced by Edouard Getaz in June 2013 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. The show is partially based on a version developed in 2008 at the University of Maryland, directed by Doug Fitch in collaboration with conductor James Ross. Early in 2013, Giants Are Small announced that the show will also comprise one excerpt of Louis Durey's "Neige". New York City Ballet's Sara Mearns will be the star ballerina, representing various characters throughout the show, in a choreography by Karole Armitage. The production features a mix of music, live filmmaking and puppetry, and ballet.