At a party as warm and unassuming, as genuine and humorous as the man himself, 300 well-wishers helped Willam Farr Christensen celebrate his 90th birthday on Tuesday night.
Gathering at the Salt Lake Country Club, family and friends, dancers from his earliest days in the profession up to the present, colleagues, patrons and well-wishers paid tribute to Christensen as the founder and former artistic director of two companies - San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West.Greetings came from Jacque D'Amboise and Cyd Charisse; from Gov. Norman H. Bangerter and Sen. Orrin Hatch; from Richard Philp, editor of Dance Magazine, and Sally Ann Kriegsman, dance director from the National Endowment for the Arts.
A significant contingent from the San Francisco Ballet was led by artistic director Helgi Thomasson and dancers Janet Reed and Jocelyn Volmar from the Chris-tensen era. Also in attendance were Ruby Asquith and Gisella Cazzialanza, widows of the Christensen brothers Harold and Lew.
"Thanks to Willam Christensen, San Francisco Ballet will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year - the oldest ballet company in the country," said Thomasson. "He was a pioneer on the West Coast, where he produced the first full-length `Nutcracker,' `Coppelia' and `Swan Lake' in America. His talent for teaching, his ability to look forward, are wonderful gifts."
Ballet West's artistic director, John Hart, sounded a theme echoed by many others. "Bill was a pioneer in dance in this country, and because of his efforts, we are working here today," said Hart. "He has many youthful qualities - his enthusiasm, his eagerness to work, his willingness to learn."
Christensen began his Utah career teaching ballet at the University of Utah. Barbara Hamblin, chairwoman of ballet at the U. of U.; Shirley Nielsen of the Utah Ballet Teachers' Association; and Susan Barrell, executive director of Ballet West, joined in announcing a scholarship in Christensen's name, to be awarded annually to a male dancer, for study at the University of Utah. Christensen is noted for his expertise in training male dancers.
Maurice Abravanel, who earlier this year celebrated his own 90th birthday, highlighted some of his and Christensen's joint ventures, beginning with opera in the stadium at the U. and followed by the first Utah "Nutcracker" in 1954, which most people predicted would be a dismal flop.
"Bill has been through a lot of discouragement, but he is a survivor," said Abravanel, "and he meant a lot to me and the Utah Symphony. People heard the ballet music, and it created a taste for other fine music as well."
Bruce Marks, Ballet West's second artistic director, who now heads the Boston Ballet, also praised Christensen for his pioneer "Nutcracker" - the first of dozens around the country, and the staple by which many companies are able to exist. "Boston Ballet thanks him for the 150,000 who saw `The Nutcracker' last season in 47 performances," said Marks. "All the companies in America thank him."
Praising Christensen's ability to live in the present and future, not the past, Marks also recalled some funny Christensen stories. "He said that as a child he was given a choice between piano lessons and dancing lessons. `I took a look at the piano legs and at the girls' legs, and it was easy to choose,' he said. One time we were philosophizing and I asked him, `How will it be when I'm over the hill?' `Well, when you're over the hill you pick up speed,' he said."