American Masters

(soft pensive music) (soft pensive music continues) (car door thuds) (soft pensive music continues) (soft pensive music continues) (soft pensive music continues) (soft pensive music continues) (no audio) (light piano music) (light piano music continues) - As the famous choreographer, George Balanchine says, "All of the positions are based on two principles: the horizontal alignment of each movement in space and the vertical balance of the human figure.

There are over 600 steps, positions, and their variations listed in one dictionary of classical ballet.

In infinitely varied combinations, they become for the ballet dancer, a second language.

(light piano music continues) (gentle music) - That's right.

(both laughing) (gentle music) (camera clicking) (gentle music) (camera clicking) (bright cheerful music) (camera clicking) ("The Nutcracker: Tea" by Tchaikovsky) ("The Sleeping Beauty" by Tchaikovsky) (people chattering) - [Patricia] "The Flower Drum," straight down.

- [George] Okay.

- Hi.

- Oh my God.

- Nice to see you.

(people murmuring) (both laughing) (George laughing) (camera clicking) (light piano music) - This story is about the... Well, it's about the two generations in San Francisco, the Chinese, the older generation, which can't understand the young generation, the younger generation, which has gone quite American, can't understand the older generation, now becomes a very delightful love story.

(gentle cheerful music) (gentle cheerful music continues) (gentle cheerful music continues) (bright music) (audience applauds) (upbeat music) (crowd murmuring) - Yeah, yeah.

Thank you.

- Huh?

- Go in the pit.

- Yeah, yeah.

(gentle somber music) - it's a good church.

- Yeah.

- [Priest] Let us pray.

- [Congregation] Lord, hear our prayers.

(soft pensive music) I'm a girl and by me that's only great - [Person] Patrick.

(light music) (people chattering) (light music continues) (people chattering) (all laughing) (light music continues) (people chattering) (light music continues) (people chattering) (people chattering) (light music continues) (people chattering) (light music continues) A hundred million miracles A hundred million miracles Are happening every day (audience applauds) (light cheerful orchestral music) (light cheerful orchestral music continues) - [Person] Do it again, George.

- Yeah.

Okay.

You going to in here and they going fly out and they gonna play in here and fly out.

And that's it.

Yeah.

Well we did that though, but we don't stay too long though.

Yeah, we just do that, you know what I mean, we do picture most of the time to do that, but most of the time we do this and that.

And that was it.

And then we open, we fly and then go in down again and then open up to be fly, you know what I mean?

This (indistinct) I hate this, done that, "Blue Bird."

- [Person] Thank you, George.

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