Our next very special guest is known 
as the dancer and actress mime.

A choreographer, a director, a wife, 
a mother, and a lady who

conquered a most difficult illness
with great valor.

A lady who like Igor and (inaudible) 
and Alonzo, and the others that are here

tonight pioneered in the development 
of American dance,

in its multiplicity of forms.

This lady changed the course not only
of ballet and of dance itself,

but of the American theater, and
indeed the theater around the world.

There's nobody like her.

I need say no more, except Mrs. Agnes
De Mille.

(applause)

>> What a happy thing it is, 
what a joyous thing it is,

to be here tonight, to be with all 
of my beloved, beloved friends,

and my companions, and 
comrades in work,

and how we've enjoyed ourselves,
a kind of giant house party.

And what a delight, what a joy it is, 
to celebrate Igor, our beloved Igor,

and to remind ourselves what, once
more, what he really stood for,

and what his quality was.

Quality, in this age, of computerized
gymnastics,

of pedantic musculature.

When we are so beset, with how
far, how high, how round,

how often, how repetitive, how long 
we can do anything.

(laughing and applause)

And how much we can get for it.

(laughter) 
(applause)

You know, we- the children come to me, 
little children,

ten years old, twelve years old they 
say, "who's the best?"

I say, who is the best what?

"Oh the best!" meaning who gets the 
most money,

who turns the most or something.

Oh my, we didn't used to think that way,
Igor never thought that way,

he was so good, and he had such
a big technique,

but he didn't think that way.

If he decided to do four turns, 
because four turns

was proper for the music, nothing 
on God's earth

would've persuaded him to try 
to do eight.

Although I'm sure he could've.

Not for Igor.

I'm going to tell you two little stories
about him, because I think

they illustrate what he was.

When I first met him, he was the 
classic,

the head of the classic wing of 
Belarus de Montica,

although I was traveling with them
because I was rehearsing "Rodeo",

and I was a maverick, they didn't
know what I was,

they didn't pay much 
attention to me,

but I found out that Igor not
only was a very great dancer,

but he was also honored in the
company, and rather respected

and almost revered.

He was sort of the elder 
statesman of the group,

he was all of 30 of that at 
the time I think,

and they came to him for reaffirmation
and for approval,

for when they had crisis, 
which they had all of the time,

though never stopped, and 
I know this because they used to

come to me to write their letters,
and they didn't believe

in anything I said,

but they didn't think I knew anything,
but they knew I could write,

and they knew I could write English,
so I was useful to them,

but I know that Igor was thought
of that way,

so that when he entered the stage,

there was a man, somebody
that was somebody,

a personage, this came on 
the stage with him,

and believe me it was like
a stallion, it was like

something noble, something nobly

breed, this counted.

In 1944 he went into the Navy, and
what I asked him last night,

I said "Igor what did you do
in the navy?"

He said, "Well I had to teach some 
about amphibious landings",

and I said, "how did you know
about that?"

Well he didn't tell me but he knew, 
and there was a great

deal of talk about him in there, 
because they had

heard he was a dancer.

A dancer, "a fancy dancer?", yes,
"a ballet dancer in tights?" Yes.

Can you imagine what the gob 
said, can you imagine.

Their vocabulary is limited you know,
but it's awful expressive.

(laughter)

Well Igor I'm sure was quite aware
of all of this,

and he realized it wasn't too 
good for morale,

so he says he would give them 
a demonstration.

And since it was amphibious it
had to do with water,

and since it had to do with water,
he'd go in with it, and

show him something or other.

Now he had been, one of the
great gymnasts of (inaudible),

the organization of gymnastics 
in Yugoslavia.

He was an Olympic caliber, that they
hadn't bargained with.

So he hit the water and as
David Savinovich Leviadin said,

it was like two shots racing for 
a piece of meat.

Just foam, they never say him.

When he stopped, it was found out
that he'd

beaten every record in the camp, 
ever.

Well that was good, then he said 
amphibious also means land,

so he showed them something
about land,

and he got on all of the parallel bars,
and the rings and things

and showed him that.

And they were thunderstruck.

That they really did understand, 
they couldn't do it,

but they understood it.

It was like a good hit in baseball,

or a good pitch.

Or a forward pass, that was 
their language. Okay.

But they still wondered about him, 
so he said he would dance for them.

Well the language was quite 
direct at that point.

"In tights?" yes. "Do it with that fancy
music?" yes.

Tchaikovsky probably, they didn't
know what that was,

but it was fancy, and so he 
did for them, "Petipa",

and, full out in the gymnasium,
and they were thunderstruck.

And what they saw, was a 
great gentleman,

coming into his element, 
a prince,

they'd never met a prince but 
they recognized one.

Someone bred to nobility.

Someone bred to manner.

Someone bred to ease, to 
culture, to style, to achievement,

and they were awestruck,
and they were reassured

these poor ignorant boobs, who 
are about to go out and be killed,

they saw beauty, and they 
were gladdened,

as we have always been, 
when we saw Igor.

Gladdened and reassured, and 
heartened.

When Igor Youskevitch danced.

(applause)