And would "Variations," so much a creation for Miss Farrell, look the same without her?

She would not confirm Miss Farrell's salary, which is said to have been just over $30,000 a year.

Miss Farrell is one of a dozen former Balanchine dancers working with the trust.

"I had always thought that one could have everything in life," Miss Farrell writes, "just not all at the same time."

Miss Farrell had danced the role - in the ballet's final, culminating section - many times before.

"A dancer should probably end her career as she ends every performance, with a silent bow," Miss Farrell said.

After the final waltz, Miss Farrell was awarded a 12-minute standing ovation.

For more than two decades, Miss Farrell has been crucially important to the company.

Miss Farrell looked alluring in both of the works she danced on Sunday.

Miss Farrell is a specialist, the kind that many another ballerina could only dream of being.