New York Sun
By MARY STAUB June 18, 2007
Three pas de deux in two weeks is a lot of material for any young dancer. Three pas de deux in two weeks with a new partner performed under the critical eyes of the former directors from the Kirov Ballet and Paris Opéra Ballet is a hurdle of nearly unimaginable proportions. But that is exactly what a group of 17- to 24 year-old dancers has had to tackle during the New York International Ballet Competition, which holds its final rounds beginning Wednesday at Lincoln Center.
"All dancers have had to learn things the weekend before, but to learn something and be judged on it is different," a dancer, Chris Mackenthun, said after rehearsal at the start of his second week in New York. "Usually it doesn't have to be perfect because things can be off, and the everyday audience doesn't notice. This time, though, the judges will know when you're off, and they'll let you know."
For the past two weeks, 48 young ballet dancers have been sweating out the minutes, up to nine hours a day, six days a week, at an uptown dance studio, eagerly learning the steps and styles of three pas de deux — an excerpt from "Coppelia," the Black Swan pas de deux from "Swan Lake," and "Divertimento," a contemporary work by Victoria Mazzarelli, who won the gold medal at the first NYIBC in 1984 — from scratch. Dancers compete in three rounds and a gala performance for various prizes, including one-year contracts with American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet. Past winners include ABT principal dancer Gillian Murphy, Royal Ballet principal dancer Sarah Lamb, and Paris Opera Ballet dancer Ludmilla Pagliero,
Several dancers, including Mr. Mackenthun, entered the competition with the added difficulty of only recently having met his or her partner. Five weeks prior to coming to New York, Mr. Mackenthun flew down to Costa Rica to meet Margarita Peralta. The two dancers became acquainted and rehearsed for five weeks, then took a one-week break before meeting again in New York in early June. Ms. Peralta was driven to seek a partner outside Costa Rica because, as she put it, "in Costa Rica there are no male ballet dancers and people don't really care about ballet."
With dancers from 19 countries including Russia, the Philippines, and Costa Rica, NYIBC unites competitors from very distinct sets of circumstances.
Some are just out of school and have little stage experience, while others have worked as full-fledged company members for years. Some arrived solo, others with well-rehearsed partners. Some have toured widely and know what it is like to adapt to new stages, while others have mainly local recitals under their belt.
From day one during class it is evident to most competitors — or participants as they prefer to be called — that their fellow dancers bring with them a wide range of experience, schooling, technique, and style. But what might be cause for contention, competition or intimidation, has instead been a source of inspiration for most.
"It's been a great learning experience to watch different dancers and many I can see where they've been trained," a dancer, Crystal Hartford, 17, said while sipping Coke at the end of a nine-hour day of dance. Because ballet technique can be taught in various styles, including the Russian Vaganova technique, the Italian Chiccetti style, and the American Balanchine method, the same steps can appear wildly different on dancers from various backgrounds. "When rehearsing, I want to watch others, too, because it's so interesting to see what others are doing versus what we're doing," Ms. Hartford said.
Although the rules demand that all dancers must learn and perform the exact same steps and nothing be altered — regardless of how much an individual might struggle with a particular piqué turn to his right versus left — the dancers are encouraged to freely integrate into their performances their own heritage, background, schooling, and culture.
"As judges, we have to see beyond the steps, beyond the extensions, jumps and turns, to what's inside the steps, the passion," the president of judges and the director of Dance Conservatory of New York, Valentina Kozlova, said. "Although they have to know the movement, it's not about technique. It's about how they relate to each other and it has to do with touching the heart of the audience. They must touch the audience, make you feel, and tell a story; that is the artistry."
The learning process, though, isn't limited to choreography. For some dancers, it includes learning English, and for others it means gaining more experience onstage, or dealing with exceptional pressures in a very short amount of time.
"I always hope dancers go away a little richer and wiser and have learned something about themselves," the competition's cofounder, Ilona Copen, said. "Of course, I hope that they go home as better artists, but I also hope they gain a generosity of heart towards other dancers and more openness towards other cultures."
Until July 24 (Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500).
Monday, June 18, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
A Partner to Remember
New York Sun
By MARY STAUB June 8, 2007
If professional demand is any measure of expertise, then Roberto Bolle is unquestionably of the highest caliber. Last month, Mr. Bolle, a Ballet Étoile at La Scala in Milan, partnered Darcey Bussell, a beloved principal dancer at London's Royal Ballet, for her farewell performance at Sadler's Wells. This month, the 32-year-old is in New York to partner Alessandra Ferri, a celebrated principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, in the final performances of her 22-year career with ABT.
While Mr. Bolle has worked as principal guest artist throughout Europe — at the Royal Opera Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and more — for the past 11 years, his career in America is only just beginning. His performance in ABT's "Manon" on June 11 will mark his first principal role in this country.
"It's a great moment in my career, but it is also a very sad one because Alessandra is leaving and Darcey is leaving," Mr. Bolle said modestly in lyrical, Italian-accented English during a break in his tight New York schedule. Sprinkled throughout rehearsals, he had a photo-shoot with Italian Vanity Fair one day, a discussion of his New York debut at the Italian Cultural Institute the next.
Although the Ferri-Bolle pairing is new to American audiences, it is by no means new to the dancers themselves, who danced together for the first time in 2002 at the Bolshoi and who have worked together more than 40 times since. Mr. Bolle credits Ms. Ferri with teaching him what it truly meant to be an artist onstage when the two danced together in "Romeo and Juliet."
"The first time, I have to say I was scared to perform opposite Alessandra because it is very different dancing with her," Mr. Bolle said. "She is so natural, she doesn't care about the steps and technique in this kind of dramatic ballet so much, but really wants to tell stories; she wants you to have real reactions, like a real person. So sometimes she changes reactions or steps because in that moment she feels different."
Any anxieties Mr. Bolle had at the time have clearly vanished. At a recent rehearsal of "Manon" at the Metropolitan Opera House — a rehearsal that included the tragic final scene in which Manon lies dying in her lover des Grieux's arms — Ms. Ferri and Mr. Bolle resembled young children playing at love and death with each other. Each time their steps, turns, or lifts didn't quite match up, they broke into laughter and exchanged animated advice, in Italian on how to adapt to each other's style, steps, and bodies.
"You don't have to put me down, I can just slide off and find the floor. Especially with your shoulders, it's like lying on a bed," Ms. Ferri said, half jokingly, after a descent from atop Mr. Bolle's broad shoulders ended with a clunk.
After another segment, in which Mr. Bolle tossed her seemingly two body-lengths above his head, Ms. Ferri commented, "I know you're high already, but I also know you can go even higher."
Ms. Ferri's coach, Wilhelm Burmann, sat discreetly at the side, offering occasional individual directions — "Make sure the attitude piqué is en face," or "Make sure your foot is stretched" — but left the two dancers to work out most of the details on their own.
Mr. Bolle and Ms. Ferri's ease with each other stems partly from their shared Italian roots — Ms. Ferri is from Milan, Mr. Bolle from Casale Monferrato, a small town in northwestern Italy. In part, though, their ease stems from a palpable shared enjoyment of continuously reinterpreting a story as it take its course.
"It is especially important in these dramatic ballets that you really use the steps to communicate, not just to move," Mr. Bolle said of works such as "Manon" and "Romeo and Juliet." "Just today after rehearsal, Alessandra told me, ‘Be careful because if I feel to do different, I will do it different, and if you feel to do different, you do it and I will react; if you have another feeling — a bit more sad, a bit more angry, you want to be nasty or more jealous — you do it.'"
With his New York debut just around the corner and an overflow of offers to dance with the most popular ballerinas of our time — he reluctantly declined a second request from Darcey Bussell due to scheduling conflicts — there are few things that Mr. Bolle truly longs for in his career. He'd like to dance "Eugene Onegin," and would love the chance to work with more living choreographers. But these are just minor wishes. His only real qualms are over those who are leaving; Ms. Ferri in New York and Ms. Bussell in London.
"I've danced with Darcey for eight years, Alessandra for five," Mr. Bolle said. "And there are no other dancers like that, with that experience, that maturity, that artistry."
June 11, 14, and 23 (Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500).
By MARY STAUB June 8, 2007
If professional demand is any measure of expertise, then Roberto Bolle is unquestionably of the highest caliber. Last month, Mr. Bolle, a Ballet Étoile at La Scala in Milan, partnered Darcey Bussell, a beloved principal dancer at London's Royal Ballet, for her farewell performance at Sadler's Wells. This month, the 32-year-old is in New York to partner Alessandra Ferri, a celebrated principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, in the final performances of her 22-year career with ABT.
While Mr. Bolle has worked as principal guest artist throughout Europe — at the Royal Opera Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and more — for the past 11 years, his career in America is only just beginning. His performance in ABT's "Manon" on June 11 will mark his first principal role in this country.
"It's a great moment in my career, but it is also a very sad one because Alessandra is leaving and Darcey is leaving," Mr. Bolle said modestly in lyrical, Italian-accented English during a break in his tight New York schedule. Sprinkled throughout rehearsals, he had a photo-shoot with Italian Vanity Fair one day, a discussion of his New York debut at the Italian Cultural Institute the next.
Although the Ferri-Bolle pairing is new to American audiences, it is by no means new to the dancers themselves, who danced together for the first time in 2002 at the Bolshoi and who have worked together more than 40 times since. Mr. Bolle credits Ms. Ferri with teaching him what it truly meant to be an artist onstage when the two danced together in "Romeo and Juliet."
"The first time, I have to say I was scared to perform opposite Alessandra because it is very different dancing with her," Mr. Bolle said. "She is so natural, she doesn't care about the steps and technique in this kind of dramatic ballet so much, but really wants to tell stories; she wants you to have real reactions, like a real person. So sometimes she changes reactions or steps because in that moment she feels different."
Any anxieties Mr. Bolle had at the time have clearly vanished. At a recent rehearsal of "Manon" at the Metropolitan Opera House — a rehearsal that included the tragic final scene in which Manon lies dying in her lover des Grieux's arms — Ms. Ferri and Mr. Bolle resembled young children playing at love and death with each other. Each time their steps, turns, or lifts didn't quite match up, they broke into laughter and exchanged animated advice, in Italian on how to adapt to each other's style, steps, and bodies.
"You don't have to put me down, I can just slide off and find the floor. Especially with your shoulders, it's like lying on a bed," Ms. Ferri said, half jokingly, after a descent from atop Mr. Bolle's broad shoulders ended with a clunk.
After another segment, in which Mr. Bolle tossed her seemingly two body-lengths above his head, Ms. Ferri commented, "I know you're high already, but I also know you can go even higher."
Ms. Ferri's coach, Wilhelm Burmann, sat discreetly at the side, offering occasional individual directions — "Make sure the attitude piqué is en face," or "Make sure your foot is stretched" — but left the two dancers to work out most of the details on their own.
Mr. Bolle and Ms. Ferri's ease with each other stems partly from their shared Italian roots — Ms. Ferri is from Milan, Mr. Bolle from Casale Monferrato, a small town in northwestern Italy. In part, though, their ease stems from a palpable shared enjoyment of continuously reinterpreting a story as it take its course.
"It is especially important in these dramatic ballets that you really use the steps to communicate, not just to move," Mr. Bolle said of works such as "Manon" and "Romeo and Juliet." "Just today after rehearsal, Alessandra told me, ‘Be careful because if I feel to do different, I will do it different, and if you feel to do different, you do it and I will react; if you have another feeling — a bit more sad, a bit more angry, you want to be nasty or more jealous — you do it.'"
With his New York debut just around the corner and an overflow of offers to dance with the most popular ballerinas of our time — he reluctantly declined a second request from Darcey Bussell due to scheduling conflicts — there are few things that Mr. Bolle truly longs for in his career. He'd like to dance "Eugene Onegin," and would love the chance to work with more living choreographers. But these are just minor wishes. His only real qualms are over those who are leaving; Ms. Ferri in New York and Ms. Bussell in London.
"I've danced with Darcey for eight years, Alessandra for five," Mr. Bolle said. "And there are no other dancers like that, with that experience, that maturity, that artistry."
June 11, 14, and 23 (Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500).
Monday, June 4, 2007
Cedar Lake Goes Gaga
New York Sun
By MARY STAUB June 4, 2007
Adapting to a new choreographer's style is never easy, but this season has been a particular challenge for the dancers at Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Working under the direction of guest choreographer Ohad Naharin, the artistic director of Israel's Batsheva Dance Company, the classically trained dancers have had to discover a whole new approach to movement: "gaga."
For the past three months Mr. Naharin and assistants from his company have supplemented the Cedar Lake dancers' classical training with daily workshops in gaga, Mr. Naharin's original movement approach, to prepare them for performances of Mr. Naharin's "Decadance," a piece composed of excerpts from 10 past works that begins performances June 7.
Gaga has more to do with the discovery of a certain quality, texture, and intention of movement than a specific technique, according to the choreographer. "The first thing we do is cover the mirrors and we try to get the dancers to really start sensing their bodies," Mr. Naharin explained on a recent afternoon between rehearsals. "So many dancers dance with just one idea; their school's idea, a strength idea, an idea of line, or form, or drama. But there's always more than just one idea that you can work with."
For most dancers, working without mirrors during the rehearsal process is like jumping into water without swimming lessons. There's nothing to hold onto, no way to know what's right. Without the continuous ability to watch one's own reflection and check one's placement, movement, rhythm or spacing, dancers invariably discover new sources of feedback.
"I've been trained in a way that something was either correct or not and I've now had to let go of these concepts of right and wrong and learn to make more of a feeling be the aim," a dancer in his third season with Cedar Lake, Jubal Battisti, said. "When you check yourself in the mirror constantly, it distracts from the sensation and emotion of what you're doing. All you have while you're working now is yourself, the images in your head, the people around you, and you're suddenly relying more on sensation and imagery in your head, rather than shape."
The approach of gaga is something Mr. Naharin has been developing for many years. While he was recovering from a back injury more than 20 years ago, he found he had to discover new and more efficient ways of moving. Over the subsequent years, he has continued to integrate input from dancers and nondancers alike. Mr. Naharin makes a point to collaborate with companies without any prior experience in more sensorial approaches to dance, and tries to help these dancers fine-tune their sense of expression.
"Many things are already in their bodies: ability, musicality, fantasy. They're just not using it because it's locked in," Mr. Naharin said. "It's hard if a company is very story oriented, or point oriented, or skinny-ballerina oriented. I try to find the right key to help them unlock something new."
In one of the early gaga classes Mr. Battisti recalled lying on the floor like overcooked spaghetti in a pot of boiling water.
"I don't know what this looked like, but it's not about what it looks like," he said, sounding slightly worried about appearances. "We were basically flopping around on the ground, but in your head you're feeling like you're spaghetti and in a pot of boiling water."
Since then, Cedar Lake dancers have come a long way. "They start to feel how the body is made up of 1,000 small places that can isolate," Mr. Naharin said. "Even if you're moving in one piece, you're moving many pieces together, not just a block. This is important to be alive in your dance."
During a recent rehearsal of an excerpt from "Black Milk" at Cedar Lake's Chelsea theater, four male dancers moved toward one another slowly, peering in over a fifth dancer lying on the floor beneath them. After a first runthrough of the excerpt, Mr. Naharin had the dancers repeat this segment again and again, gently giving them information about their attitude and intention.
"You're curious about him, that's why you bend in, don't think about how far down you have to bend because that looks stiff and hostile. You're interested, not confrontational; think less, do less, sense more," Mr. Naharin said, as he and his assistants demonstrated on the side. The dancers tried to let go of their more dramatic approach. Mr. Naharin added one more command: "And have fun."
Begins June 7 (547 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-868-4444).
By MARY STAUB June 4, 2007
Adapting to a new choreographer's style is never easy, but this season has been a particular challenge for the dancers at Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Working under the direction of guest choreographer Ohad Naharin, the artistic director of Israel's Batsheva Dance Company, the classically trained dancers have had to discover a whole new approach to movement: "gaga."
For the past three months Mr. Naharin and assistants from his company have supplemented the Cedar Lake dancers' classical training with daily workshops in gaga, Mr. Naharin's original movement approach, to prepare them for performances of Mr. Naharin's "Decadance," a piece composed of excerpts from 10 past works that begins performances June 7.
Gaga has more to do with the discovery of a certain quality, texture, and intention of movement than a specific technique, according to the choreographer. "The first thing we do is cover the mirrors and we try to get the dancers to really start sensing their bodies," Mr. Naharin explained on a recent afternoon between rehearsals. "So many dancers dance with just one idea; their school's idea, a strength idea, an idea of line, or form, or drama. But there's always more than just one idea that you can work with."
For most dancers, working without mirrors during the rehearsal process is like jumping into water without swimming lessons. There's nothing to hold onto, no way to know what's right. Without the continuous ability to watch one's own reflection and check one's placement, movement, rhythm or spacing, dancers invariably discover new sources of feedback.
"I've been trained in a way that something was either correct or not and I've now had to let go of these concepts of right and wrong and learn to make more of a feeling be the aim," a dancer in his third season with Cedar Lake, Jubal Battisti, said. "When you check yourself in the mirror constantly, it distracts from the sensation and emotion of what you're doing. All you have while you're working now is yourself, the images in your head, the people around you, and you're suddenly relying more on sensation and imagery in your head, rather than shape."
The approach of gaga is something Mr. Naharin has been developing for many years. While he was recovering from a back injury more than 20 years ago, he found he had to discover new and more efficient ways of moving. Over the subsequent years, he has continued to integrate input from dancers and nondancers alike. Mr. Naharin makes a point to collaborate with companies without any prior experience in more sensorial approaches to dance, and tries to help these dancers fine-tune their sense of expression.
"Many things are already in their bodies: ability, musicality, fantasy. They're just not using it because it's locked in," Mr. Naharin said. "It's hard if a company is very story oriented, or point oriented, or skinny-ballerina oriented. I try to find the right key to help them unlock something new."
In one of the early gaga classes Mr. Battisti recalled lying on the floor like overcooked spaghetti in a pot of boiling water.
"I don't know what this looked like, but it's not about what it looks like," he said, sounding slightly worried about appearances. "We were basically flopping around on the ground, but in your head you're feeling like you're spaghetti and in a pot of boiling water."
Since then, Cedar Lake dancers have come a long way. "They start to feel how the body is made up of 1,000 small places that can isolate," Mr. Naharin said. "Even if you're moving in one piece, you're moving many pieces together, not just a block. This is important to be alive in your dance."
During a recent rehearsal of an excerpt from "Black Milk" at Cedar Lake's Chelsea theater, four male dancers moved toward one another slowly, peering in over a fifth dancer lying on the floor beneath them. After a first runthrough of the excerpt, Mr. Naharin had the dancers repeat this segment again and again, gently giving them information about their attitude and intention.
"You're curious about him, that's why you bend in, don't think about how far down you have to bend because that looks stiff and hostile. You're interested, not confrontational; think less, do less, sense more," Mr. Naharin said, as he and his assistants demonstrated on the side. The dancers tried to let go of their more dramatic approach. Mr. Naharin added one more command: "And have fun."
Begins June 7 (547 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-868-4444).
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Ailey's Song and Dance, Citywide
New York Sun
Art Around Town
By MARY STAUB March 31, 2008
Choirs, clergymen, and congregations honored the legacy of choreographer and modern-dance artist Alvin Ailey at nearly 40 churches around the city yesterday as part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 50th anniversary celebration. Revisiting Ailey's spiritual roots, the choirs sang some of the gospels from his small-town Texas childhood that later inspired his best-known work, "Revelations."
In the packed pews of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church sat a mix of church regulars, tourists — some of whom had to wait outside due to overcrowding — and members of the Ailey board of trustees, along with New York's first lady, Michelle Paige Paterson, and artistic director of the Ailey company, Judith Jamison. Ms. Jamison, who danced with Mr. Ailey for 15 years prior to becoming artistic director, addressed the crowd. "Sometimes I ask myself, how in the world did that man get from Rogers, Texas, which you can barely find on a map, to where I stand today," Ms. Jamison said. "But let me tell you, it's no accident. The spirit of God and humanity speaks through us."
The cathedral choir sang a soulful rendition of "I've Been 'Buked" from "Revelations," as 18 young church members wearing varying tones of plain, brown dress performed a simple composition of contractions toward earth and hopeful reaches toward heaven.
In 1958, when black dancers still had limited presence onstage, the 27-year-old Ailey created his own opportunity to work, gathering a group of 13 other black dancers to perform his "Blues Suite" at the 92nd Street Y.
"At the core of his existence was that an African-American cultural experience through dance could be accessible to all," Ms. Jamison said in an interview before the church service. "Works like 'Revelations' are seen everywhere, and everyone understands because it has universal themes: trial, tribulation, turmoil, hope, happiness. Mr. Ailey was interested that everyone have a personal experience when they see the company, and that, because the dancers dance from a place from deep within, they make you feel differently and walk away from the wonderful place that is the theater just a little differently."
During her almost 20 years as artistic director, Ms. Jamison has expanded upon Ailey's efforts to reach out to all. Since Ailey's death in 1989, his organization has developed an arts-in-education program that uses his "Revelations" as a teaching tool in classrooms across the country. Ms. Jamison has also helped develop yearly Ailey summer camps for school children and a bachelor of fine arts program in dance together with Fordham University.
At the Abyssinian church, Reverend Eboni Marshall drew upon her own formative years as a student in the Ailey/Fordham University B.F.A. program in a sermon.
"Alvin Ailey's life and legacy, as embodied in these people here today, taught me how to stand up straight, how to push higher, how to go deeper," Rev. Marshall said. "This wisdom stands head and shoulders over the rest: No matter how much my abdomen has eaten, no matter how sore my hamstrings are, no matter how late I stay out, no matter what the circumstances, the show must go on."
"With Mr. Ailey it was always a prerequisite that we also teach and reach back and make children realize their creativity," Ms. Jamison said. "I really just expanded and carried on some of things he started."
Over the next 18 months, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Ailey's legacy will take on a range of forms: the artist David Michalek has created video installation screens depicting slowed-down versions of larger-than-life Ailey dancers along the ground-floor windows of the Ailey studios on Ninth Avenue; Hallmark has produced a series of six Ailey greeting cards; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., opens an Ailey archive exhibit this May; an Ailey Barbie doll is due out this fall, and in June, the Ailey company returns to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for the first time in 38 years
Earlier this year Ms. Jamison announced her retirement as artistic director. She will leave the post in 2011, and ideas of a successor are thus far still vague.
"I have a three-year plan and we'll see the end results of that plan at the end," Ms. Jamison said. "I want this company to be around another 50 years, but I can't say I'm looking for this, this, and this," she said. "Otherwise, I could sell it to you in a bottle."
Art Around Town
By MARY STAUB March 31, 2008
Choirs, clergymen, and congregations honored the legacy of choreographer and modern-dance artist Alvin Ailey at nearly 40 churches around the city yesterday as part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 50th anniversary celebration. Revisiting Ailey's spiritual roots, the choirs sang some of the gospels from his small-town Texas childhood that later inspired his best-known work, "Revelations."
In the packed pews of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church sat a mix of church regulars, tourists — some of whom had to wait outside due to overcrowding — and members of the Ailey board of trustees, along with New York's first lady, Michelle Paige Paterson, and artistic director of the Ailey company, Judith Jamison. Ms. Jamison, who danced with Mr. Ailey for 15 years prior to becoming artistic director, addressed the crowd. "Sometimes I ask myself, how in the world did that man get from Rogers, Texas, which you can barely find on a map, to where I stand today," Ms. Jamison said. "But let me tell you, it's no accident. The spirit of God and humanity speaks through us."
The cathedral choir sang a soulful rendition of "I've Been 'Buked" from "Revelations," as 18 young church members wearing varying tones of plain, brown dress performed a simple composition of contractions toward earth and hopeful reaches toward heaven.
In 1958, when black dancers still had limited presence onstage, the 27-year-old Ailey created his own opportunity to work, gathering a group of 13 other black dancers to perform his "Blues Suite" at the 92nd Street Y.
"At the core of his existence was that an African-American cultural experience through dance could be accessible to all," Ms. Jamison said in an interview before the church service. "Works like 'Revelations' are seen everywhere, and everyone understands because it has universal themes: trial, tribulation, turmoil, hope, happiness. Mr. Ailey was interested that everyone have a personal experience when they see the company, and that, because the dancers dance from a place from deep within, they make you feel differently and walk away from the wonderful place that is the theater just a little differently."
During her almost 20 years as artistic director, Ms. Jamison has expanded upon Ailey's efforts to reach out to all. Since Ailey's death in 1989, his organization has developed an arts-in-education program that uses his "Revelations" as a teaching tool in classrooms across the country. Ms. Jamison has also helped develop yearly Ailey summer camps for school children and a bachelor of fine arts program in dance together with Fordham University.
At the Abyssinian church, Reverend Eboni Marshall drew upon her own formative years as a student in the Ailey/Fordham University B.F.A. program in a sermon.
"Alvin Ailey's life and legacy, as embodied in these people here today, taught me how to stand up straight, how to push higher, how to go deeper," Rev. Marshall said. "This wisdom stands head and shoulders over the rest: No matter how much my abdomen has eaten, no matter how sore my hamstrings are, no matter how late I stay out, no matter what the circumstances, the show must go on."
"With Mr. Ailey it was always a prerequisite that we also teach and reach back and make children realize their creativity," Ms. Jamison said. "I really just expanded and carried on some of things he started."
Over the next 18 months, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Ailey's legacy will take on a range of forms: the artist David Michalek has created video installation screens depicting slowed-down versions of larger-than-life Ailey dancers along the ground-floor windows of the Ailey studios on Ninth Avenue; Hallmark has produced a series of six Ailey greeting cards; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., opens an Ailey archive exhibit this May; an Ailey Barbie doll is due out this fall, and in June, the Ailey company returns to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for the first time in 38 years
Earlier this year Ms. Jamison announced her retirement as artistic director. She will leave the post in 2011, and ideas of a successor are thus far still vague.
"I have a three-year plan and we'll see the end results of that plan at the end," Ms. Jamison said. "I want this company to be around another 50 years, but I can't say I'm looking for this, this, and this," she said. "Otherwise, I could sell it to you in a bottle."
Monday, August 21, 2006
What's for Lunch? A Global Dance Sampler
New York Sun
By MARY STAUB August 21, 2006
"In New York and all over the world, audiences tend to select an aesthetic and stay with it," the Battery Dance Company artistic director, Jonathan Hollander, said. "You'll find your ballet audience and your flamenco audience, but I don't want to encourage such parochial behavior. I want to encourage a taster's choice, so that ballet fans can suddenly be touched by an African dancer even though they thought they didn't have the knowledge to understand it."
Mr. Hollander makes his vision a reality today, as his Downtown Dance Festival begins shows at Chase Plaza for the 25th consecutive year. Starting at noon today, downtown workers, residents, tourists and dance fans can enjoy outdoor performances beginning with the most local of all companies, Mr. Hollander's own.
But Mr. Hollander has made it his mission to expand his audience's eyes. "I feel strongly about including all aesthetics of dance, and showing the public a full range of styles and techniques," Mr. Hollander said. "We worry that people do not get access to dance for economic or logistic reasons, or because they feel it's not something they'll enjoy.We want to open their minds and make dance accessible to the public."
So until Sunday, audiences can feast on a buffet of styles, ranging from authentic Chinese tribal dances to classical Northern Indian combined with other foot-stepping such as tap and flamenco. Monday's lineup travels from Argentina to New York and mixes ingredients of Austrian, Cuban, and American cultures. New Generation Dance Company bursts the boundaries of tradition with a contemporary-tango company directed by Argentinean Dardo Galletto. Rumba Tap is an Austrian tap dancer's fusion of 1930s tap moves and Afro-Cuban rhythms. And lastly, the New York-based Vissi Dance Theater combines jazz, West African, modern, and funk in an urban contemporary style.
And this year marks the first since 2002 in which the festival will run its weekday lunchtime Art in the Workplace series, which has been absent in recent years due to a lack of funding. A five-person panel, including Hollander himself and an Asian Cultural Council Fellow and dance scholar, Daisuke Muto, selected from 16 companies from over 60 video applications to participate in the performances.
The real novelty of this year's festival, however, is "Ocean of Light," a dance tribute to mark the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and to remember the victims of the Asian Tsunami. Instigated by Sanjay Doddamani, an "empanelled artist" with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, this homage resulted from the collaboration of dancers and musicians from India, London, New York, and New Orleans. The group will perform Thursday and Saturday, before moving on to New Orleans for performances later this fall.
But Mr. Hollander notes that his programming won't ignore classical ballet roots either. Peridance Ensemble will perform Igal Perry's Nocturne, and Elie Lazar will followup on Lazar Ballet NYC's debut at the festival last year. Kate Thomas, having moved from modern to contemporary ballet will present a preview of her new choreography with "Ballet Neo."
"This will be interesting for people who only think of "Swan Lake" when they think of ballet, but also for those who want to see where new choreographers are going," Mr. Hollander said.
The Downtown Dance Festival has long been a place for both the established and the newly emerging. As a result, festival audiences have ranged from pinstripe suited men craving culture over lunch, to families with children, dance lovers, workers, and more. With this year's emphasis on diversity of style, it promises to continue to do so again.
Until August 27 (various locations, for more information, call 212-219-3910).
Monday, July 10, 2006
Making 'Grendel' in Sets and Costumes
New York Sun
Lincoln Center Festival 2006
By MARY STAUB July 10, 2006
Music and song aren't the only things that make an opera. It takes costumes and set design, too. And the opera "Grendel" includes no shortage of visual effects to aid the tension between the familiar and the foreign, the good and the bad.
Costume designer Constance Hoffman and set designer George Tsypin worked closely with director Julie Taymor to develop costumes, puppets, and a massive set for the opus. "We all strongly felt that Grendel was contemporary, he had human qualities as well as beast aspects," Ms. Hoffman said. "Grendel's journey is about balancing or not balancing those two aspects of himself."
Throughout the creative process, Ms. Taymor, Mr. Tsypin, and Ms. Hoffman exchanged ideas on how the libretto, co-written by Ms. Taymor and poet J.D.McClatchy, would be converted onto stage.
"The libretto starts with the idea of jumping off a cliff, then Grendel changes his mind, but he is always drawn by the idea of releasing into death," Ms. Hoffman said. "Grendel talked a lot about a wall or cliff and is often seen looking at the world from heights as an outsider."
And so, at the center of this work stands an imposing 48-foot-long, 28-foot-tall mechanical wall that is both physical and symbolic. It rises and falls, rotates around itself and is driven by two motors, computer programs, and four live operators from within.As the sole set piece, the wall creates the epic's only scenery. With a Nordic winter's ice cracking on one side and spring's earth bursting forth on the other, the wall serves as unmistakable border line between the world of humans and the world of beasts, the world of us and the world of them.
As often in works by Ms.Taymor, who is best known for Broadway's "The Lion King," the visuals in "Grendel" tell a large part of the story. Not only the set, but also the costumes and puppetry are striking enough to be a show by themselves.
Human-scale puppets of flora and beasts are Grendel's relatives. His many voices, constantly debating one another within him, walk the stage in form of shadows, or doppelgängers, who intone upon him in different scales. The chorus, the villagers, are a monochromatic and subtle mass of people who, unlike Grendel, lack individual identity.
The main colors used in this stark story are earthy shades of gray and brown. They strongly contrast the rich reds and greens of the dragon, sung by Denyce Graves, who plays a pivotal role to Grendel. Ms. Graves, backed by three singing dragonettes, is a fantastical figure who sees forward and backward. She finally entices Grendel to accept his role of intruder and wrong-doer from the other side.
Almost all the characters in "Grendel" wear costumes made of felt fabrics that strongly resemble medieval Nordic clothing. Even delicate Queen Wealtheow, sung by Laura Claycomb, will appear in a seemingly sheer white gown with long trailing train that is made of a combination of felt and finer fabrics. Ms. Graves' dragon cape comes close to taking up the entirety of the stage.When combined with mask, tail, and fingernails that are a foot long, the costume creates a landscape all of its own. Grendel himself wears a heavy coat and old galoshes. His shadows haunt him as near identical triplets of a darker shaded gray.
Lincoln Center Festival 2006
By MARY STAUB July 10, 2006
Music and song aren't the only things that make an opera. It takes costumes and set design, too. And the opera "Grendel" includes no shortage of visual effects to aid the tension between the familiar and the foreign, the good and the bad.
Costume designer Constance Hoffman and set designer George Tsypin worked closely with director Julie Taymor to develop costumes, puppets, and a massive set for the opus. "We all strongly felt that Grendel was contemporary, he had human qualities as well as beast aspects," Ms. Hoffman said. "Grendel's journey is about balancing or not balancing those two aspects of himself."
Throughout the creative process, Ms. Taymor, Mr. Tsypin, and Ms. Hoffman exchanged ideas on how the libretto, co-written by Ms. Taymor and poet J.D.McClatchy, would be converted onto stage.
"The libretto starts with the idea of jumping off a cliff, then Grendel changes his mind, but he is always drawn by the idea of releasing into death," Ms. Hoffman said. "Grendel talked a lot about a wall or cliff and is often seen looking at the world from heights as an outsider."
And so, at the center of this work stands an imposing 48-foot-long, 28-foot-tall mechanical wall that is both physical and symbolic. It rises and falls, rotates around itself and is driven by two motors, computer programs, and four live operators from within.As the sole set piece, the wall creates the epic's only scenery. With a Nordic winter's ice cracking on one side and spring's earth bursting forth on the other, the wall serves as unmistakable border line between the world of humans and the world of beasts, the world of us and the world of them.
As often in works by Ms.Taymor, who is best known for Broadway's "The Lion King," the visuals in "Grendel" tell a large part of the story. Not only the set, but also the costumes and puppetry are striking enough to be a show by themselves.
Human-scale puppets of flora and beasts are Grendel's relatives. His many voices, constantly debating one another within him, walk the stage in form of shadows, or doppelgängers, who intone upon him in different scales. The chorus, the villagers, are a monochromatic and subtle mass of people who, unlike Grendel, lack individual identity.
The main colors used in this stark story are earthy shades of gray and brown. They strongly contrast the rich reds and greens of the dragon, sung by Denyce Graves, who plays a pivotal role to Grendel. Ms. Graves, backed by three singing dragonettes, is a fantastical figure who sees forward and backward. She finally entices Grendel to accept his role of intruder and wrong-doer from the other side.
Almost all the characters in "Grendel" wear costumes made of felt fabrics that strongly resemble medieval Nordic clothing. Even delicate Queen Wealtheow, sung by Laura Claycomb, will appear in a seemingly sheer white gown with long trailing train that is made of a combination of felt and finer fabrics. Ms. Graves' dragon cape comes close to taking up the entirety of the stage.When combined with mask, tail, and fingernails that are a foot long, the costume creates a landscape all of its own. Grendel himself wears a heavy coat and old galoshes. His shadows haunt him as near identical triplets of a darker shaded gray.
Monday, May 1, 2006
When Clothes Help to Make the Dance
New York Sun
By MARY STAUB August 21, 2006
Like most experimental choreographers, Sean Curran throws costumes together on a limited budget. But for his work with American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company at the Joyce Theater, he had fashion designer Charles Nolan on his team. And the collaboration enhanced the character of the dance more than anyone expected.
ABT played matchmaker by bringing Mr. Curran - whose downtown dance troupe, Sean Curran Company, is known for its intelligence and physicality - together with Mr. Nolan, a designer with a talent for pretty frocks and sexy suits. The two met up at a company rehearsal for Mr. Curran's new work, "Aria," set to baroque arias of love and lament by Georg Friedrich Handel. There, Mr. Nolan sat quietly at the studio's side and watched the dancers and choreographer at work for an hour.
"I always have to have a story connected," Mr. Nolan said. "When I make clothes, I think: Where is she going in this? Who is she? Why is she wearing this?"
Similarly, when he watched the dancers dance excerpts from "Aria," he saw the story behind the movement. For a postmodern, collaborative choreographer like Mr. Curran, however, narrative usually takes a backseat to character and emotion.
"We might be imitating a scene from life in dance language, but I'm certainly not telling a story," Mr. Curran said. "What Charles did in a way was give us a back story. I was responding to the idea of love, loss, regret, and longing in the music. He placed them at a ball - after the ball, when some people were leaving the party with someone else and others are alone."
The women wear formal gowns of white, each of individual style. A deep scoop neck shows off one girl's decolletage, and a low dipped back emphasizes another's back; Deep cleavage for the temptress, a more modest collar for the reserved. The men wear formal attire, each in a distinct stage of undress.
With a deeper sense of narrative, individual characters for each dancer, and formal wear as clothing, Mr. Curran started coaxing more acting out of the young dancers. The Handel arias speak of love and longing, and the young dancers - ages 16 to 20 - started to visualize that feeling during costume fittings. The company trekked to Mr. Nolan's studio on Gansevoort Street where Mr. Nolan draped, cut, and styled the costumes.
"Charles was doing his own little dance, a duet, with each of the dancers," Mr. Curran said. "The women were being draped like fashion models. You put a costume like that on and it changes the chemistry, it adds a whole layer and gives you something more to work with."
And indeed, when these young men and women step onto the stage in classic black and white, they project a celebration of themselves at a transitional moment in their young lives. It may only be prom night, but the clothes do work.
By MARY STAUB August 21, 2006
Like most experimental choreographers, Sean Curran throws costumes together on a limited budget. But for his work with American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company at the Joyce Theater, he had fashion designer Charles Nolan on his team. And the collaboration enhanced the character of the dance more than anyone expected.
ABT played matchmaker by bringing Mr. Curran - whose downtown dance troupe, Sean Curran Company, is known for its intelligence and physicality - together with Mr. Nolan, a designer with a talent for pretty frocks and sexy suits. The two met up at a company rehearsal for Mr. Curran's new work, "Aria," set to baroque arias of love and lament by Georg Friedrich Handel. There, Mr. Nolan sat quietly at the studio's side and watched the dancers and choreographer at work for an hour.
"I always have to have a story connected," Mr. Nolan said. "When I make clothes, I think: Where is she going in this? Who is she? Why is she wearing this?"
Similarly, when he watched the dancers dance excerpts from "Aria," he saw the story behind the movement. For a postmodern, collaborative choreographer like Mr. Curran, however, narrative usually takes a backseat to character and emotion.
"We might be imitating a scene from life in dance language, but I'm certainly not telling a story," Mr. Curran said. "What Charles did in a way was give us a back story. I was responding to the idea of love, loss, regret, and longing in the music. He placed them at a ball - after the ball, when some people were leaving the party with someone else and others are alone."
The women wear formal gowns of white, each of individual style. A deep scoop neck shows off one girl's decolletage, and a low dipped back emphasizes another's back; Deep cleavage for the temptress, a more modest collar for the reserved. The men wear formal attire, each in a distinct stage of undress.
With a deeper sense of narrative, individual characters for each dancer, and formal wear as clothing, Mr. Curran started coaxing more acting out of the young dancers. The Handel arias speak of love and longing, and the young dancers - ages 16 to 20 - started to visualize that feeling during costume fittings. The company trekked to Mr. Nolan's studio on Gansevoort Street where Mr. Nolan draped, cut, and styled the costumes.
"Charles was doing his own little dance, a duet, with each of the dancers," Mr. Curran said. "The women were being draped like fashion models. You put a costume like that on and it changes the chemistry, it adds a whole layer and gives you something more to work with."
And indeed, when these young men and women step onto the stage in classic black and white, they project a celebration of themselves at a transitional moment in their young lives. It may only be prom night, but the clothes do work.
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