Robert Fairchild ends ballet career with confetti, flowers

NEW YORK (AP) - Silvery confetti has rained down on the stage at New York City Ballet for dancer Robert Fairchild, who ended his ballet career by handing out roses to each of his fellow dancers.

The Tony nominee for "An American in Paris" will now focus full-time on theater and film.

For his final ballet Sunday evening, 30-year-old Fairchild performed George Balanchine's "Duo Concertant" with a longtime partner, ballerina Sterling Hyltin. After curtain calls, in grand ballet tradition, a succession of dancers came out to congratulate him. Usually the dancers bring bouquets; Fairchild tweaked the tradition a bit by handing out roses himself.

Fairchild's next projects include acting and dancing in a production of "Brigadoon," and choreographing and starring in a production of "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein."