The more I review films of Eric Hyrst’s ballets, whether they are those he created with me or ballets created with the music of others, the more insight I gain into what he wanted to create, form, express – as a choreographer and dancer.  The photo above, from The Judgement of Paris, showing Mercury (Raphael Santiago Pirado) with the apple, is not only classical in gesture, but also in subject matter.

In the photo below, from Variation Three of “Waltzes – A Ballet Pas d’Action”,  is found a group of seven dancers in contrasting motion. Perhaps another side of Eric, slightly more modern, but never losing its classicism. The photo looks almost like a sculptural freize.

Several interviews and videos about Eric Hyrst may be found on Youtube that include ballets made in the 1980’s and 90’s. As dancer he danced with the Royal Ballet and New York City Ballet under Balanchine, and was Premier Danseur at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens for 11 years.