Leslie Caron will follow in the footsteps of Gene Kelly, the man who discovered her, when she receives the Lifetime Achievement Award of the School of American Ballet on Monday at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. Kelly, who died last month, received the award in 1992.
"I feel so honored, especially so many years after having given up that career," Caron said, talking about ballet. "It is very kind of the school, and I am extremely touched by the fact that people remember me as a dancer. I gave up the ballet around 1955 because I found it difficult to keep up both acting and dancing, but then I returned to it 30 years later" when she toured with the musical "On My Toes."Caron recalled that Kelly approached her to make a screen test for "An American in Paris," the 1951 film classic, a year after seeing her dance in "La Rencontre" with Roland Petit's Ballets des Champs-Elysee.
"He said, `I am not going to test your dancing because I know you can dance,' " she said. " `We will make a test of your acting and see if you are photogenic.'
"I was not all that excited because I loved being in the ballet," she added. "Then I got a call saying your contract has been picked up and you're leaving for Hollywood in three days."