george balanchine

Jewels: A Multifaceted Ballet

September 19, 2014 by 4dancers

Today we are thrilled to welcome Pacific Northwest Ballet‘s Jessika Anspach McEliece to the site officially as a contributing writer. She’ll be writing about a variety of topics for us, starting with this post about George Balanchine’s “Jewels”, which the company will be performing, starting September 26th in Seattle.

by Jessika Anspach McEliece

It’s Tuesday but it feels like, um, I don’t know… not Tuesday. Coming back to work after a break always gives me that jet-lag feeling, no matter what time zone I’ve been in. PNB dancers are doing pirouettes across the grey marley floor of Studio C and between thinking about getting my foot immediately to passé and keeping my standing leg engaged, my rehearsal schedule for the day runs through the ticker tape of my brain. Confusion. Then holes. Then blanks.

I turn to the blonde girl with hyper-extension for days who’s patiently waiting her turn and ask, “Emma, do we have Rubies first or is it Emeralds?”

“I’m pretty sure we have Rubies 12-1 and Emeralds 1-2 but with the principal couple…” she replies. And yet I can tell that her ticker tape is following a similar pattern by her perplexed eyes.

“Oh yeah. That’s right… But I’m pretty sure Emeralds is only a half hour. I thought we had a break from 1:30 to 4, and finished with Diamonds. Is that just demi women or corps women too?” I reply.

“It’s demi and corps men and women. I think we’re piecing together the finale. Are you sure Emeralds is only a half hour?”

“Ha. I’m not sure of anything.”

Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds – juggling these ballets can be a bit of a handful at first. Yes, Jewels is a full-length ballet. Yes, it has the same choreographer – the genius George Balanchine. All the costumes are designed by the same woman – the fabulous Karinska, and thankfully there’s not a single hair change during the performance… I think. But that’s about it when it comes to continuity.

No two stones are alike, and that is most definitely true of Jewels. Like any beautiful gem, we see the many facets of Mr. Balanchine’s choreographic prowess.

Emeralds

In Emeralds, set to the very French and very impressionistic music of Gabriel Faure, the movement is soft, yet sweeping. The curtain opens to a sea of emerald green: a principal couple dancing amid ten corps ladies who bourrée from one formation to the next, rarely coming off pointe. The effect: a floating, almost shimmering quality–like lily pads glistening on a glassy pond in one of Monet’s landscapes. [Read more…]

En Pointe! An In-Depth Look At The Pointe Shoe

March 5, 2013 by 4dancers

The National Museum of Dance has an exhibit about pointe shoes that dancers and dance-lovers will want to check out…

We reached out to Assistant Director Sarah Hall Weaver to learn more about it and are excited to share some of the details with you here…

national dance museum — Photo by Daesha Devón Harris

Tell readers a bit about your upcoming exhibition, En Pointe!

En Pointe! is an exhibit that explores the pointe shoe from many different angles – how they are made, how they are designed to suit individual feet, how they came to be what they are today, and how they are integrated into the lives of both amateur and professional dancers. We know that the public is fascinated, and even sometimes daunted by these unique shoes. For a lot of people they are the very symbol of everything they love about dance but for others they can be very intimidating if you have never experienced them on your own feet or had someone give you the opportunity to get closer. The exhibit will suit both audiences – we want young dancers to learn more about their shoes, and we want people that know nothing to learn to love them as much as we do!

pointe shoe exhibit — Photo by Daesha Devón Harris

Where did the idea for this particular exhibition come from?

The idea for this exhibit came from one of our Board of Directors members, Leslie Roy Heck. Leslie is a former soloist of the New York City Ballet and during her time with the company she was privileged to work with George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Peter Martins. Leslie now owns a dance retail store in our city of Saratoga Springs, NY called Saratoga Dance, Etc. where she and her staff fit shoes for students of all ages. She is also the founder of Bunheads Dance Accessories, a product line that was acquired by Ballet Makers Inc., the worldwide distributor of Capezio footwear and apparel. What can I say?…We couldn’t have asked for a better expert to lead this project!

pointe shoes — Pointe shoes from left to right: Merrill Ashley, Alicia Markova & Moira Shearer, Photo by Daesha Devón Harris

What was the process like of getting the items together for this exhibition?

Every exhibit is its own unique experience, but this one was pretty intense. We worked with six sponsoring pointe shoe companies [Bloch, Capezio, Freed, Gaynor Minden, Grishko, and Suffolk], over ten different dance companies, six individual principal dancers, dozens of national participants in our pointe shoe decorating contest, several fine artists, and a slew of other collaborators. There was a lot of communication and organization back and forth but the overwhelming positive responses we received assured us of how important this project was. If anything, the hardest part was making the decisions of where to draw the line. There is so much to say about these seemingly simple, little, pink objects, we could probably have filled the entire Museum. We just had to keep in mind our mission to explain the essential basics to pointe shoe newcomers, and to present some new ideas to pointe shoe pros.

Would you share some of the highlights of the exhibit?

One of my favorite sections is the interviews from five principal ballerinas from five different American companies. I think it’s really important for pre-professional dancers of all ages and levels to hear from their on-stage heroes. The advice they give can’t be said enough and it is so encouraging for young students to hear that these stars had similar struggles when they were beginning dancers. I also love the section that talks about men dancing en pointe. It’s very forward thinking in terms of strengthening and training, and it is always interesting to see on stage. My favorite thing about the exhibit as a whole though is that the shoes and accessories that are attached to the text boards are there for guests to actually touch. Just being able to feel the texture and strength of the items is a great way for people to become familiar with the strange world of ballet.

Can you share a few of the other exhibitions that you will have coming up this year?

We have a lot coming up for our 2013 season! We will be welcoming an incredible bronze sculpture and pastel exhibit from artist Andrew DeVries, and this year’s Art in the Foyer photography exhibition will be a selection from Jordan Matter’s Dancers Among Us series, which has become a national sensation. Like many other organizations all over the world, we are also joining in on the celebration of the Rite of Spring’s 100^th anniversary with a special exhibit spanning the history of Nijinsky’s original ballet and the dozens of choreographers since that have braved Stravinsky’s brilliant score. And perhaps one of our most highly anticipated projects in the last several years is the complete renovation of the Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame. The new space will honor its forty-eight amazing inductees with more video, more images, and more artifacts than ever [though there will be fifty by August as we will be inducting two HUGE dance icons in coming months]. It’s going be an exciting season, and we can’t wait to share it with you!

En Pointe! is scheduled to run from March 20, 2012 through November 24, 2013 and is sponsored by Bloch, Capezio, Freed, Gaynor Minden, Grishko, and Suffolk.

Was That Original Ballet Hatched or Snatched?

December 4, 2012 by 4dancers

by Risa Gary Kaplowitz

Snow Queen jete2 — DanceVision’s The Snow Queen. Photo by Melissa

A few weeks ago, I found myself watching a YouTube video of an “original” ballet choreographed this year. It had been posted by a small professional company on the West Coast. I don’t remember how I came upon it because the shock that hit me within the first few minutes obliterated any memory of that minor detail.

The ballet that I had found on YouTube was based on the same classic children’s story as the one on which I had based my original choreography for a DanceVision production that premiered in New Jersey six years ago. The California based company had used a contemporary vocabulary, while I had used a neo-classical one. Also, they had commissioned an original musical score, while I arranged classical pieces to create the music for my ballet.

Still, there were undeniable similarities between my treatment of the story and the version I found on YouTube. For example, I had focused on a minor character in the story, and so did the other company. The flow of my narrative differed from that of the book on which it was based, yet the other company seemingly used the same order of events as I did.

Most troubling was how similar the other company’s production looked to the one I designed for DanceVision. The YouTube video showed a digitally animated backdrop to support the storyline, a tool that was not widely used in ballet productions at the time. I used it in my production, well before the highly original animation tool helped garner acclaim for The Royal Ballet’s version of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. DanceVision’s animator and I painstakingly organized my animated backdrop. I subsequently saw projections very similar to ours in the other company’s production, to which my reaction was one of jaw dropping recognition. One scene in particular appeared to have miraculously flown into their video.

Was it merely coincidence that enabled a company on the opposite coast to produce a ballet twin-like to mine? [Read more…]

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Holiday Ballet Besides The Nutcracker

September 14, 2012 by 4dancers

by Risa Gary Kaplowitz

A few days ago, I asked my students at the first ballet class ever held at The College of New Jersey if any of them had ever seen a ballet before. A few of the females raised their hands. “Which one?” I asked. Three of them said almost in unison, “The Nutcracker.” Then one rolled her eyes and added, “of course.”

I had expected that answer. What other performing arts field has a website devoted entirely to one theatrical story such as the one titled, “Nutcracker Ballet”? The site’s 2011 listing for New Jersey shows at least forty-two productions of Nutcracker. And that doesn’t include productions in the Philadelphia area or in New York City, which are close enough for us Jersyians to easily attend.

The start of the Nut season (as it’s affectionately or not so affectionately called by the dancers who must perform it morning, noon, and night for days on end) is officially upon us. My inbox is filled with “Get Your Nutcracker Seats Now!” pleas, audition announcements, and unsolicited queries from unemployed professional ballet dancers looking to perform in a Nutcracker.

The deluge prompts me to ask a question. With American ballet company directors and boards lamenting the low status of ballet in the minds of the general public, I wonder what would happen if our ballet companies offered more options during the holiday season—the one time of year when both balletomanes and new patrons spend money to see shows. How on earth did we get ourselves trapped in a can of Nuts?

Nutcracker was first performed in Russia in 1892. Based on E. T. A. Hoffmann’s, The Nutcracker and The Mouse King, its premier was not a success. But by the second half of the twentieth century, The Nutcracker had spread from two successful American productions: Willam Christensen’s 1944 production for San Francisco Ballet and George Balanchine’s for New York City Ballet in 1954. Considered the bread and butter of nearly every ballet company, Clara’s journey to the Land of the Sweets brings in the funds to keep ballet companies and their more obscure offerings afloat.

But like real bread and butter, the ballet—of which there are hundreds of versions— is easy to digest but usually offers little substance. Indeed, most audience members leave a Nut performance satiated with enough sugary dancing to last a whole year before needing to see another ballet performance, which is usually The Nutcracker again.

Yet, there have been some interesting versions of late, which may entice their viewers to return to the theater for more ballet sooner rather than later. Septime Weber’s version for The Washington Ballet casts George Washington as the Nutcracker. Those lucky enough to have made it through snow storms to the Brooklyn Academy of Music may have seen Alexei Ratmansky’s magical version for American Ballet Theatre or Mark Morris’ telling of a different part of the original story, The Hard Nut:

[Read more…]

10 Questions With…Ikolo Griffin

September 10, 2012 by 4dancers

I met this lovely man at Dance USA when he came up to talk to me after the panel on Dance Writing–he had a pretty cool idea that he wanted to share–and now I’m pleased to be able to share it with you…

1. What is your dance background?

When I was in third grade, San Francisco Ballet’s Dance In Schools Program (led by Charles McNeal) came to my school, and following the residency I received an outreach scholarship. I started training at the San Francisco Ballet School from the age of eight until I graduated at eighteen. After ten years in the School, I became the first outreach student to get into the professional company as an apprentice in 1993. At that time SFB was becoming a world-class company, and I was very blessed to grow up watching and then performing with some of the best dancers from all over the world.

In 2001, after seven years performing professionally with the San Francisco Ballet, I moved to New York to join Dance Theatre of Harlem as a soloist. Under the guidance of Arthur Mitchell, I felt myself become more than just a dancer, but a true artist. I felt real satisfaction and fulfillment as I was promoted to a principal dancer and given the opportunity to dance leading roles in many iconic neoclassical ballets. For two weeks we performed at Lincoln Center, the heart of dance in America, and I felt I had reached a very high point in my career.

Unfortunately, after only four years dancing with DTH, the company closed its doors. I was blessed enough to join the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and landed nicely on my feet (as always!). After my experiences in San Francisco and New York, I felt confident in my abilities as a technician and as an artist. One of the highlights of my two years at the Joffrey was working with Sir Antony Dowell on the role of Oberon in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream.

My time in Chicago was short and sweet, and in 2006 San Francisco called me home again. This time, I had the fortune to dance with Smuin Ballet. Michael Smuin was one of the best artistic directors I have worked with. He had a way of bringing out the best dancing in me and giving the audience a really great show. Mr. Smuin had been the director of San Francisco Ballet when I was just a kid, and we had worked together at Dance Theatre of Harlem as well. It was great to work with him on a full time basis because I felt he appreciated me as a dancer and as person. Up until the day he died in the studio, my experience with Smuin was marked by some of the best dancing I’ve ever done.

Since I left Smuin in 2008, I’ve been freelancing around the Bay Area. I am currently working with the San Francisco Opera as a resident corps dancer. One of the best things about working with the Opera is being back on the War Memorial Opera House stage. This is the very same stage where I did my first Nutcracker as a Mother Ginger kid. It feels like home, and the opera singers are amazing too…

2. What is “Just Turns” and why did you decide to found it?

Just Turns is an interactive classical ballet workshop. The two-hour Just Turns workshop is designed to focus the student’s approach and maximize turning technique in order to increase confidence and ability in all kinds of turns. The class structure and progression are designed to break down every part of turning technique— training spot, balance, force control, and placement from the ground up. Students are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, and take notes throughout the workshop in order to realize their ideal turning method.

My inspiration for Just Turns is in helping dancers with one of the hardest and best parts of ballet technique. While I was dancing in New York, I would take class at Steps on Broadway with Willy Burmann. In his class I really started to develop a great turning style. My turns were always good, but with the Mr. Burmann’s help they became great! When I returned to San Francisco, dancers would frequently ask me for help working on their turns after class. One day I was talking with my friend Vanessa Zahorian (principal dancer with SFB who is a great turner as well), and I thought, “How great would it be to bring back the ‘turning class’ that we would take during summer sessions?” That thought brewed in my head for a while, and when I started teaching ballet two years ago, it was time for Just Turns to be born. Now, as I am moving toward the next phase of my career as a teacher, I am finding my specific niche as a turning coach. Just Turns is my way of reaching the broader dance community and using my passion and specific expertise with turns to help dancers everywhere.

3. Who can benefit from the “Just Turns” approach? [Read more…]

Emeralds

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