Valentine's Day at School of American Ballets

I would normally avoid writing about classes I've observed at the School of American Ballet, but this is a place I love and the Valentine's Day open house is a wonderful event.  Both the students and the faculty are by every measure extraordinary.  This year, I observed the Adagio Classes taught by Darci Kistler and Jock Soto to the advanced men and D and C-2 girls (i.e., the top students at the school -- I use the School's terminology of 'girls' for the advanced women and 'men' for the advanced boys which I believe is an anachronism carried over from the early days of the School).

Darci and Jock have been teaching these students Balanchine's pas de deux from the Act II divertissement of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' which was first staged in 1962.

Wendy Whelan & Philip Neal in the Act II Divertissement from Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
photo probably by Kolnik for NYC Ballet

This is a pinnacle of Balanchine choreography, an idealized love duet performed as part of an entertainment at the wedding of the three dysfunctional couples reconciled at the conclusion of Act I (which contains virtually all of the action of Shakespeare's play).  It was created for Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow. Ludlow was a rather stolid performer, but a terrific partner and Verdy was a beloved French ballerina who had joined the company in 1958 at the height of her powers.  After her retirement from NYC Ballet in 1977, she went on to a distinguished career as artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet and the Boston Ballet and as a teacher.  In recent years she has been a frequent guest teacher at the School of American Ballet.

The duet that Balanchine created for Verdy and Ludlow to the Andante from Mendelssohn's  'Symphony #9 for Strings' looks deceptively simple, filled with promenades, bourrées, and low lifts.  It is clearly the predecessor to the duet Balanchine created for Verdy and Ludlow in 'Emeralds' in 1967.

Watching Soto and Kistler patiently coax an approximation of this pdd from the advanced students at SAB on Friday afternoon was fascinating.  The steadiness and strength required of the men is astonishing.  And the ability of the girls to trust their partners and allow themselves to be guided through the choreographic complexities seems to be an even bigger challenge.  There is no question that the students learn an immense amount from Darci and Jock in these classes.  The student couples compete eagerly to be the first to perform at the beginning of each class, knowing that they will get the most attention and hands-on coaching from the teachers.  Because they do receive so much attention during the first run through, the latter part of the class becomes more chaotic as each student couple struggles to have enough time and space to practice what they are learning.

The students will have a chance to see the finished product as part of the full 'Midsummer Night's Dream' to be performed by NYC Ballet during the final week of Spring season.

Tiler Peck & Tyler Angle in the Act II Divertissement from Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
photo by Kolnik for NYC Ballet