A fact from Mary Ellen Moylan appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 14 May 2021 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that for several nights early in her career, ballerina Mary Ellen Moylan danced in a Balanchine ballet, then took a taxi to another theater to appear in the second act of an operetta?
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Latest comment: 3 years ago4 comments2 people in discussion
Anyone who would like to add more details to this article, please feel free to do so. I do not have time to do any further work on it right now. --Robert.Allen (talk) 20:43, 14 April 2021 (UTC)Reply
I don't think IBDB is a reliable source, and I found nothing about Hanks, so it should be omitted for now. I have access to a few books about Balanchine that also have significant coverage of her, but it will take me a while to get through them. Corachow (talk) 10:44, 15 April 2021 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 3 years ago14 comments5 people in discussion
The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.
... that ballerina Mary Ellen Moylan was described as "the first great Balanchine dancer"? Source: "Or as Ms. Tallchief said in an interview for the television documentary 'Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas,' Ms. Moylan had become 'the first great Balanchine dancer.'" ([1])
ALT1:... that for several days, ballerina Mary Ellen Moylan would perform in a Balanchine ballet, then take a taxi to another theater to appear in the second act of an operetta? Source: "While Ms. Moylan was appearing in 'Rosalinda,' Balanchine cast her in the virtuosic ballerina role in “Ballet Imperial,” with music by Tchaikovsky, in its New York debut. She would perform in that ballet, at the Broadway Theater at 53rd Street, and then take a taxi to the 44th Street Theater to appear in the second act of the operetta." (same link)
@Victuallers: That’s not what Balanchine means. He was a choreographer and educator with his own distinct style. I believe “the first great Balanchine dancer” means she was the first to be trained by him and associated with him throughout her career. Corachow (talk) 10:00, 20 April 2021 (UTC)Reply
For my two cents, I think ALT1 is a much hookier hook— it doesn’t rely on me finding Balanchine interesting but conveys that she is an in-demand and dedicated dancer; I got very curious about the article. ~ oulfis 🌸(talk) 18:43, 2 May 2021 (UTC)Reply
new enough, long enough, well-written article. Hook is verified. Image is licensed. The first hook is fine and short; let's go with it. Drmies (talk) 00:24, 7 May 2021 (UTC)Reply
I don't mind either way. If you want to strike through the others and leave 1, go for it. I'll accept on good faith that the book verifies the fact. Drmies (talk) 12:12, 7 May 2021 (UTC)Reply
Corachow, I came to promote this and also like ALT1, but the article doesn't specify the length of time Moylan performed in both shows (i.e. it doesn't say anything about "several days"). Also, I think your hook would reads stronger without all the "woulds" i.e.
ALT3:... that for several nights early in her career, ballerina Mary Ellen Moylan danced in a Balanchine ballet, then took taxi to another theater to appear in the second act of an operetta?