“Arthur and I were dancing in Balanchine’s Agon, with music by Igor Stravinsky, the last ballet on the program. Balanchine was nervous. The cast was nervous. But not Arthur. (Arthur was never nervous.) In the wings before our pas de deux, he could see I was jumping out of my skin. He said, ‘This is just a small town, Allegra’” What he said was so ludicrous that it calmed me down.”