Editing Suzanne Farrell (section)

{{short description|American ballerina}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Suzanne Farrell
| image = Suzanne Farrell 1965c.jpg
| caption = Farrell in 1965
| birth_name = Roberta Sue Ficker
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|08|16}}
| birth_place = [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, United States
| alma_mater = [[School of American Ballet]]
| occupation = Ballerina; Masterclass Dance Teacher
| years_active = 1960–1989; 1989-2017
| spouse = {{marriage|Paul Mejia|1969|1997|end=div}}
| known_for = Dance Career; Dance Guru
| honours = [[Kennedy Center Honors]] (2005)<br />[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (2005)
}}
[[File:Suzanne Farrell 1965.jpg|thumb|Farrell in 1965]]
'''Suzanne Farrell''' (born August 16, 1945) is a former American [[ballerina]] and the founder of the [[Suzanne Farrell Ballet]] at the [[Kennedy Center]] in Washington, D.C.

Farrell began her ballet training as a child in [[Cincinnati]]. In 1960, she received a scholarship to the [[School of American Ballet]]. Her first leading roles in ballets came in the early 1960s. A muse of [[George Balanchine]], she left the [[New York City Ballet]] in 1969 and subsequently moved to Brussels to dance for [[Maurice Béjart|Maurice Bejart]]'s [[Ballet of the 20th Century]].

In 1975, Farrell moved back to the United States, where she collaborated with Balanchine until his death in 1983; she retired from ballet six years later after a [[hip surgery]] she had due to [[arthritis]]. Farrell had an unusually long career as a ballet performer, and since her retirement in 1989 has acted as a teacher in numerous ballet schools. She held a teaching position with the [[New York City Ballet]] until 1993, and has been a professor of dance at [[Florida State University]] since 2000; the same year, she founded her own company, the [[Suzanne Farrell Ballet]], which disbanded at the end of 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/suzanne-farrell-ballet-last-season-2511373468.html|title = Endings: The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Faces Its Last Season|date = December 5, 2017}}</ref>

The recipient of several honorary degrees, Farrell remains well-known and respected in the world of ballet and has been recognized for her influence on dance with several awards and honors, including [[Kennedy Center Honors]] and the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the latter being the highest civilian honor in the United States. She was presented in 1987 with the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] at a ceremony in Scottsdale, Arizona.<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Suzanne Farrell Biography and Interview |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=  https://achievement.org/achiever/suzanne-farrell/}}</ref> She was also elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Suzanne+Farrell&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>