As we look back, the past often tempts us to see present outcomes as inevitable, especially in cases of great and singular institutions like the New York City Ballet. In Balanchine and Kirstein’s American Enterprise, author James Steichen reminds readers that history is often what survived from the meanderings, broken plans, and chance encounters of any given effort. However, he is also cognizant that his subjects were two extraordinary individuals who exhibited almost superhuman persistence, talent, and vision—qualities that already shone in those earliest years of the now legendary partnership between impresario Lincoln Kirstein and choreographer George Balanchine. This lean and focused narrative—just short of 300 pages, fifty of which are notes—is aimed at the informed reader, beautifully written, and full of well-researched information and perceptive insights. Salacious personal tidbits and psycho-speculations are absent. Several illustrations accompany the text, mostly pertinent rehearsal photos, posters, and programs. The book is nestled into a space surrounded by the growing, but still not prodigious, literature on Balanchine, Kirstein, and NYCB. To a lesser degree, it contributes to the scholarship on American cultural history and modernism. While other books cover the same years as part of an overarching narrative of these two men’s careers, Steichen narrows in on 1933 to 1940, from the first meetings between Kirstein and Balanchine up to a (we now know, temporary) parting of the ways. He puts into relief the disasters, vulnerabilities, and erratic human behavior that often impeded yet failed to completely derail the enterprise. The structure of the book reflects the pattern of Balanchine and Kirstein’s interaction over the decade: a story of dual tracks that intersected for a few years and then diverged beginning in 1937. Following the introduction, four chapters of ten recount the activities of Kirstein and Balanchine as they worked in concert, collaborating more or less exclusively. We follow the move from Hartford to New York, the formation of

中文翻译：

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他们曾经的样子：Balanchine 和 Kirstein，1933-1940

当我们回顾过去时，过去常常诱使我们认为现在的结果是不可避免的，尤其是在像纽约市芭蕾舞团这样伟大而独特的机构的情况下。在巴兰钦和柯尔斯坦的《美国企业》中，作者詹姆斯史泰钦提醒读者，历史往往是从任何特定努力的曲折、破碎的计划和偶然相遇中幸存下来的。然而，他也意识到他的拍摄对象是两个非凡的人，他们表现出近乎超人的毅力、才华和远见——这些品质在导演林肯·柯斯坦 (Lincoln Kirstein) 和编舞家乔治·巴兰钦 (George Balanchine) 之间现在具有传奇色彩的合作关系的最初几年中已经闪耀。这篇简洁而重点突出的叙述——短短 300 页，其中 50 页是笔记——面向知情读者，文笔优美，并且充满了经过充分研究的信息和敏锐的洞察力。不存在色情的个人花絮和心理推测。文字附有几幅插图，主要是相关的排练照片、海报和节目。这本书坐落在一个空间中，周围是关于巴兰钦、柯尔斯坦和纽约市商业中心的不断增长但仍然不是惊人的文学作品。在较小程度上，它有助于美国文化史和现代主义的学术研究。虽然其他书籍涵盖了同一年作为这两个男人职业生涯总体叙述的一部分，但史泰钦将范围缩小到 1933 年至 1940 年，从克尔斯泰因和巴兰钦之间的第一次会面到（我们现在知道，暂时的）分道扬镳。他将灾难、脆弱性和不稳定的人类行为付诸于救济，这些行为经常阻碍但未能完全使企业脱轨。这本书的结构反映了巴兰钦和柯尔斯坦十年来互动的模式：一个双轨故事，交叉了几年，然后从 1937 年开始分道扬镳。引言之后，十章共四章叙述了柯斯坦和巴兰钦的活动当他们协同工作时，或多或少是专门合作的。我们跟随从哈特福德搬到纽约，形成