national museum of dance

Andrew DeVries At The National Museum Of Dance

April 18, 2013 by 4dancers

Capturing the spirit of dance can be a challenge in any art form, but sculpture is a medium where that is that particularly difficult. To convey a sense of movement while staying true to form in three dimensions is something few artists can do–much less master.

But there are always exceptions.

Andrew DeVries is one such artist, and he was selected by the National Museum of Dance to display some of his work with dancers. We asked Assistant Director Sarah Hall Weaver to share more information about this artist and his work, which we are pleased to share with you here…

What made you select Andrew’s work for the exhibit “Homage to Dance”?

I had been looking for a 3d exhibit for a while actually when Andrew and his wonderful wife, Patricia, approached us. Our museum has a 2d fine art show and a variety of other exhibitions each year but we had yet to welcome sculpture. Representing dance without being able to have live dancers on hand can sometimes be a challenge. We are constantly looking for new and diverse ways to relay the world of dance to our guests. On top of looking for a sculpture exhibit, we were also looking for the RIGHT sculpture exhibit and it came down to the fact that Andrew’s work displayed the level of advanced dance understanding that I was looking for.

Can you talk a bit about what his work is like?

Andrew’s work is an outstanding combination of master bronze work and individual aesthetic. What really speaks to me is that even though these are in fact stagnant, heavy objects, they still imply very clear movement. You instinctively understand where that dancer is coming from and where they are going. The muscles in each body are sculpted with that advanced understanding I mentioned earlier – Andrew knows how the body works, how muscles, bones, all the body systems work together to allow dance movement; and even if the viewer doesn’t arrive with their own understanding, they can learn something from these pieces. His pastels are equally revealing of his dance models. The gestures and the expressions indicate very clear emotions and physical states yet these are not overworked images. They have a light, airy quality that really complements the intensity of the bronzes.

How many pieces will be on display at the museum and how were they chosen?

There are over forty bronzes on display, some of which [if spring ever really comes around!] will be displayed outside in our entrance gardens. There are also twenty pastels on display. We approach each exhibit as its own experience and in this particular case I left it up to Andrew to select the works and layout. He and Patricia are quite the team and have got the exhibition business down to…well…an art.

Is there a piece you are particularly drawn to?

This is a tough question, I have a lot of favorites…If I had to pick one I would say Apollo. It is the first sculpture that greets you as you walk into the gallery and something about it keeps you right there for a while. I’ve watched several of our guests fall victim to it, they linger there much longer than I would normally credit a museum-goer per piece of artwork. Like I said, there are forty-one sculptures and twenty pastels – that’s a lot, but even with the excitement of seeing everything in this gallery, let alone the entire museum, this piece really seems to affect people. Myself included.

How long will his work be on display at the museum?

“Homage to Dance” will be on display through November 24^th, 2013. Museum hours and admission can be found at www.dancemuseum.org. Andrew’s studio and gallery can also be visited in Massachusetts and information can be found at his website.

We are having an opening reception for this show on June 28^th which will be a wonderful opportunity for guests to view the work for free, and to also meet Andrew in person!

“A Riotous Work” By Nijinsky

April 9, 2013 by 4dancers

The Rite of Spring is the theme behind one of the latest exhibits at the National Museum of Dance – here’s a closer look, courtesy of Sarah Hall Weaver, the Assistant Director there…

Can you talk a bit about how the exhibit “A Riotous Work” came about?

I’ll give you the short story…we actually had another exhibit planned that fell through leaving us in a bit of a bind about a year ago. The Rite of Spring has always been one of my favorite historical dance topics and I have had it in the back of my head for years as a potential exhibit concept. While sorting through our options we realized the centennial anniversary was quickly approaching and that eliminated all debate – something had to be done to celebrate this momentous occasion. The original work had such a tremendous impact on the course of dance and music history, it is something dance lovers young and old should have some awareness of.

For those who are not familiar with this ballet, can you explain its significance?

Haha…oh no…ok…short version here too…

This ballet premiered on May 29, 1913 in Paris. It was choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky [imagine the Nureyev or Baryshnikov of their time], the music was written by Igor Stravinsky [this guy created DOZENS of ballet scores, many of which you probably know and know well], and it was performed by the avant-garde ballet company the Ballet Russes.

To fully understand the significance you have to put yourself in that time – there are no TV’s, no computers, the ballet and orchestra were coveted forms of entertainment, and the audience was used to the fairy princesses and sparkling tutus that we still often associate with ballet today [remember modern dance is just igniting at this very same time]. They were also used to the music that went along with it. Stravinsky and Nijinsky created a ballet that was set in pagan Russia – a chaotic world relatively unknown to Western European audiences.

The story is of a sacrificial virgin that is offered up to ancient gods so that spring will return once again. The choreography was flat footed, turned in, and abstract; it eliminated all of the prestigious pointe work and tricks that defined ballet up to this point, and oh boy – the music! The music used pounding, repetitive, abrasive beats that were unheard of in 1913. Stravinsky abandoned charming, hum-able melody, and put all attention on crashing rhythms. The audience went bananas.

There are many first-hand accounts of that night and they all describe immediate outbursts at the first sounds of the music, people standing up from their seats and screaming at the stage and at each other, audience members slapping other people in the next row – can you imagine getting slapped at the ballet?! The audience uproar alone was unlike any other. The Rite of Spring was only performed a few more times and was then lost to history. Since then though the music has been used by dozens of choreographers and companies. It has be reapplied to modern concepts and researchers have even resurrected a close variation of Nijinsky’s original choreography – that alone is a unique aspect of this work, few if any other ballets have been dug up to this degree. In all…it changed what ballet could be, it opened the doors for completely new approaches to choreography in all forms of dance, and it kept ballet relevant to the rapidly shifting arts and social movements of the twentieth century.

Many dance organizations are celebrating Rite of Spring this year – what makes this particular exhibit stand out?

We actually reached out and spoke with a few different groups as we began planning our project – it really is exciting to be a part of a worldwide celebration, and no one organization is doing the same thing as another. We are not offering live performances like many companies and other arts organizations, this exhibit is almost designed to catch you up if you aren’t on board already. We wanted to give our audiences a good understanding of the original work and how it has survived through history. We selected a small group of other companies and choreographers to exhibit profiles on – how their works were different or similar from Nijinsky’s and each other’s. I really stand by this work as a necessity of basic dance history education and that’s how we looked at our exhibit – a resource to understand this piece from its very beginnings to the new productions that are being produced today and that are promised for tomorrow.

How did you select the items that would be on display for this exhibit?

We worked individually with each company featured in the exhibit and discussed with them what was available from their collections while we also pulled several items from our own archives. A lot of companies are using their costumes this year so unfortunately we couldn’t include many of those [in the long run we’d rather they be on stage than in our cases anyways ;-)]. Several companies also suffered great losses from Hurricane Sandy – a lot of the retired costumes that may have been contributed otherwise were destroyed or are being salvaged as we speak. That was a very sad component of our conversations but hopefully with continued support they will be able to recover their collections. I ended up including some interesting objects like a 1932 record set of the music conducted by Stravinsky himself. It is a beautiful album with a textile cover and gold lettering – in the time between 1913 and 1932 the music clearly went from being an outrage to a masterpiece!

What was your favorite part in terms of pulling this exhibit together for the museum?

I loved becoming more familiar with the later variations of the Rite of Spring – it’s so interesting to compare and contrast each choreographer’s take on this piece. It almost reveals the essence of each artist. While researching I kept finding more and more variations, all over the world, in all styles of dance, and from every decade between the original premiere and today. There is a special sensation about the music of the Rite of Spring and about its dance legacy that draws in so many of our greatest artists…there is always more to learn and more to see. The same goes for the original work – every source your find leads to another, there are a lot of accounts and a lot of opinions of why this work was so important from the start. It was easy to get swept away.

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.

Dancer Health Day

July 19, 2012 by 4dancers

by Emily Kate Long

I had the privilege last week of attending Dancer Health Day 2012, held July 9 at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event featured a panel of presenters who addressed a wide range of health issues for dancers: psychology, nutrition, foot health, injury rehab, and cross training, to name a few. The speakers present were Dr Linda Hamilton, Ph.D.; Eliza Minden, creator of Gaynor-Minden pointe shoes; Julia Erickson, co-owner/co-developer of Barre—a real food barre; Meghan Del Prete, a Pilates studio owner and Skidmore College dance faculty member; and Kim Teter, a physical therapist and former member of American Ballet Theatre. These women’s stories were spot on—they’ve been through all the struggles of a life in dance and are now focusing their talents to alleviate some of those difficulties for future generations of dancers. [Read more…]

National Museum Of Dance: Art In The Foyer 2012

May 31, 2012 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan

05_NMD_IO_2007_Collage Dance Collective_CDuggan_018 — Photo by Christopher Duggan

Last night was the opening of my year-long exhibition at the National Museum of Dance, and it was a really exciting moment in my artistic career–not just because any curation of my work is incredibly flattering, but because the photographs I chose to display all showcase a space that is very dear to me, a place I’d love to share with everyone I meet.

When the museum contacted me and expressed interest in my photographs of performances at Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside/Out, I couldn’t have been happier. The Inside/Out series features a diverse group of outdoor dance performances that are free and open to the public. These performances take place on a large outdoor stage on the festival grounds, and the backdrop offers a panoramic view of the Berkshires Hills—it’s a stunning visual.

Shooting at Inside/Out is very personal for several reasons. It’s my favorite place to shoot dance, it’s the most challenging space I shoot dance, and it’s the place that in a single image encapsulates the feeling you get when you’re on campus at Jacob’s Pillow.

It’s wonderful that my exhibition coincides with Jacob’s Pillow’s 80th anniversary season. The Pillow’s longevity as a vital presenting and educational institution in the dance world is nothing short of extraordinary, and Inside/Out is one of the Pillow’s most celebrated performance series. The dance concerts take place four nights per week during the festival season and a wide range of family-friendly styles are represented. Outdoor dance scenes have been iconic of Jacob’s Pillow since its founding by modern dancer and choreographer Ted Shawn (not surprisingly, a C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame member at the National Museum of Dance), and I’ve always hoped to pay homage to this tradition in my photographs of Inside/Out shows.

Capturing dance at an Inside/Out show is challenging, not only because the light is ever-changing, but also because I’m always looking to showcase the incredible feeling you get when you’re watching dance in that space. I knew I had to find a way to print my photos on a grand scale to get that feeling right. I wanted museum-goers to feel a little part of what it’s like to watch dance underneath huge trees, which are in turn dwarfed by a spectacular sky. In the end, I went with images that were 28×40 or larger, with the biggest photo at 50 inches tall. I hope my exhibition showcases a bit of that live-performance magic.

Some of my dance photography idols have presented work at the National Museum of Dance’s past exhibitions. Examples include Paul Kolnik, who has been shooting New York City Ballet forever, Lois Greenfield, who has photographed everyone (and everyone recognizes her images) and Rose Eichenbaum, who has made such an impact with her photographs and books, not to mention the fact that she has worked with so many important people in the dance world.

I’d love for you to visit my exhibit this year if you get a chance. Better yet, plan a weekend getaway to the Berkshires to see part of Jacob’s Pillow’s 80th anniversary season. The roster includes favorite programs and companies from past festivals–Crystal Pite’s Kidd Pivot in Dark Matters, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s latest work and Doug Elkins and Friends’ Fraulein Maria–as well as companies new to Jacob’s Pillow theaters.

While you’re there, be sure to look for the bald guy with the camera and say hi.

Contributor Christopher Duggan is the founder and principal photographer of Christopher Duggan Photography, a New York City-based wedding and dance photography studio. Duggan has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

He has created studio shots of Gallim Dance, Skybetter + Associates and Zvidance, among others, and in 2011 alone, he has photographed WestFest at Cunningham Studios, Dance From the Heart for Dancers Responding to Aids, The Gotham Dance Festival at The Joyce Theater, and assisted Nel Shelby Productions in filming Vail International Dance Festival.

Duggan often teams up with his talented wife and Pillow videographer Nel Shelby (http://nelshelby.com). A New York City-based husband and wife dance documentation team, they are equipped to document performances, create and edit marketing videos and choreography reels, and much more.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers Manhattan’s finest wedding venues, the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, and frequently travels to destination weddings. The company’s mission is straightforward and heartfelt – create timeless, memorable images of brides, grooms, their families and friends, and capture special moments of shared love, laughter and joy.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, Munaluchi Bridal, and Bride & Bloom, among other esteemed publications and popular wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s celebrated photography collection in 2010. His company has been selected for inclusion in “The Listings” in New York Weddings magazine.

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