This is one in a series of Greenwich Time Sunday profile stories I did (with not even a comma edited out). The subject, Chris Ramsey, was personable and passionate about marketing. I spent around eight hours of prep work, reading a book about Balanchine to get a feel for the genesis of NYC Ballet, which I knew nothing about beforehand. I am sort of compulsive about acquiring the right information to dig up and at new ground for a story. This one, I knew, would have to encompass all the creative intricacies of the art form itself, to do the interview and write-up justice, and also to satisfy the art lovers in Greenwich who would be likely to be more up on the arts scene than the readers of just any local newspaper. All that matters to me as the writer of a profile is crafting the most compelling story to do my subject the justice it (or he or she) deserves. This article was (ostensibly) about Mr. Ramsey and his role as marketing director of the New York City Ballet, but it really was about much more: the troupe of world-class dancers that started from a small gathering in a White Plains benefactor's backyard to what has become a world-class icon of choreography.
