Wrap-Up to the SAB 2015-16 Winter Term

Workshop Gala Dinner at David Geffen Hall following
the performance on Tuesday evening, June 7th. 

The last day of The School of American Ballet's 2015-16 Winter Term was Friday, June 17th.  Following the successful Workshop Performances on Saturday, June 4th, and the Workshop Performance Gala Benefit on Tuesday, June 7th, the students in the advanced division were back in the SAB studios again on Wednesday, June 8th, refining what had already seemed perfect at the performances.

2016 Mae L. Wien Award winners with Kay Mazzo, Co-Chairman of the SAB faculty
were (left to right): Jon Stafford (faculty award), Ms. Mazzo, Ethan Fuller,
Emma Von Enck, and Christopher D'Ariano
Photo by Paul Kolnik for SAB

Advanced students at the end of the last class on June 17th.  Jon Stafford is at left.

Of the Capstone students (those that aged out of the School's programs this June) 18 have accepted offers of apprenticeships, second company positions and traineeships.  Look for these students (now SAB alumni) on professional ballet stages during the years ahead:

New York City Ballet apprentices:

• Eliza Blutt
• Christina Clark
• Ethan Fuller
• Jennifer Hackbarth
• Kennard Henson
• Emma Von Enck

Pacific Northwest Ballet professional division trainees:

• Christopher D'Ariano
• Hailey Dupont
• Dallas Finlay
• Marie Millard

Other companies around the U.S. and the world:

• Lillian Casscells, apprentice at Dresden Semperoper Ballett
• Lucia Connelly, apprentice at Joffrey Ballet
• Rachel Costin and Wilson Livingston, apprentices at Sarasota Ballet
• Gabriela Schiefer, member of Boston Ballet II
• Marc LaPierre, apprentice at LA Ballet
• Taylor Ayotte, trainee at Carolina Ballet
• Lucy Nevin, trainee at Washinton Ballet

In addition, four students have elected to go on to universities and colleges:

• Ana Maria Del Mar, Harvard University plus London University of the Arts
• Trevor Dines, Columbia University
• Michael Garcia, The Julliard School
• Xhosa Scott, University of Virginia

Thirty students graduate(d) from high school this spring.  Twelve of them received a total of 37 acceptances from 31 different colleges and universities.

Capstone students with Suzy Pilarre (second from left), Suki Schorer (third from right) and Kay Mazzo (far right).

Obviously, Jonathan Stafford's efforts as Professional Placement Manager (one of the three positions Jon fills at SAB and NYC Ballet) and the Student Life staff directed by Kelly Novitski have done another wonderful job this year in assisting students as they move along their paths toward professional careers or other opportunities.

Most of the remaining advanced division students will be attending summer programs at ballet companies and schools around this country and the world, before returning to SAB in September for the 2016-17 Winter Term.  And SAB will be hosting 200 students from around the world during its own 5-week Summer Session and then several more students at its 2-week summer workshop for younger dancers in southern California.

We wish them all further successes as they move forward now and anticipate learning more about their future achievements both on ballet stages and in the wider world. 

On a Sadder Note:

The SAB 2015-16 Winter Term has had some sad moments as well.

Jock Soto with Luis Fuentes and their dog Bandit in near their home in Eagles Nest, NM this June.
Photo from Laura Ortman's Hair Today on Tumblr

Jock Soto, a highly regarded member of the SAB faculty, retired at the end of 2015 to pursue his interests in the culinary world.  Jock hopes to write more cookbooks (he co-authored 'Our Meals' in 1997 with Heather Watts -- his long time partner at NYC Ballet).  He and his spouse, Luis Fuentes, also hope to open a restaurant and catering business.  Jock had been a teacher at SAB since 1996.  His Adagio (Partnering) classes were widely admired in the ballet world and produced a long line of superb male partners for New York City Ballet -- including Jared Angle, Craig Hall, Amar Ramasar, Tyler Angle, Chase Finlay and Taylor Stanley.

Violette Verdy teaching an Advanced Division class at SAB.
Photo from http://www.bigouden.tv/ obituary (probably by Rosalie O'Connor)

Violette Verdy, the School's first permanent guest teacher, died in early February 2016 after a short illness.  Her regular visits to the School were always highly anticipated by SAB's advanced students.  As one of George Balanchine's favorite ballerinas during her years with New York City Ballet (1958 thru 1977), Ms. Verdy had danced in a wide variety of the company's repertory and creating memorable roles in Mr. B's 'Liebeslieder Waltzer', 'Emeralds', 'Tschaikovsky Pas des Deux', 'La Source' and 'Sonatine' and in Jerome Robbins' 'Dances at a Gathering'.   Following her retirement from the stage, Ms. Verdy had a distinguished career as artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet and Boston Ballet and as a dance educator at Indiana University.  During her brief residencies at SAB her students were privileged to have both a link to the great ballet creators of the 20th century and an inspiring and caring teacher.

SAB 2015 Student Choreography Workshop

On Saturday, October 10th, we went to The School of American Ballet for the first showing of the 2015 Student Choreography Workshop.  This year 55 students danced in 16 works choreographed by their fellow students.  This is the first time that female choreographers (11) outnumbered male choreographers (5) -- better reflecting the make-up of the School's Advanced Division than in the past.

As in prior years, the ground rules are that the works must be five minutes or less, must use no more than five dancers, and must be created and ready for presentation in a span of less than three weeks.  Choreographers chose their own music --with assistance from Jeff Middleton, SAB's music teacher, if sought.  They select their dancers from among their peers -- dancers can appear in only one work.  I suspect that 'negotiate' may be a more accurate description of this process.  It is up to each choreographer to schedule rehearsal times, book studios, and resolve scheduling conflicts within the 15 hours of studio time they are allotted for rehearsal.

The entire process from application through presentation is overseen by Kay Mazzo, co-chairman of SAB's faculty, and Renee Rossi, the School's artistic coordinator.  

Christina Clark (right) giving pointers to Gianna Reisen and Kennard Henson.

All photos by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of Aamerican Ballet

The workshop was presented three times -- first on Saturday afternoon, October 10th, for faculty, staff, and volunteers of the School, participants' families and fellow students; the following Wednesday, October 14th, as part of 'A Fall Affair', a benefit evening for The School's younger patrons; and then on Thursday evening, October 15th, for SAB's major donors.

Every year the resulting ballets provide astonishing testament to the talents of SAB's students as both choreographers and dancers.  While every person in the audience probably had clear favorites, here are my thoughts on all 16 works.

• Christina Clark chose the first movement (Allegro moderato) of J. S. Bach's 'Violin Concerto in A Minor, BWW 1041' for the dancers Justine Flores, Gianna Reisen, Thomas Davidoff, and Kennard Henson.  She responded to the jaunty rhythms of this music with correspondingly bright, complex movements which showed off her dancers speed and clarity.

  

  Gianna Reisen in Christina Clark's piece.

Justine Flores and Kennard Henson in Christina Clark's work.

• Courtney Nitting worked with the familiar 'Winter' movement (Allegro non molto) from Antonio Vivaldi's 'Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F Minor' -- aka 'The Four Seasons'.  Courtney's dancers were herself and Marc LaPierre.  She was the only student to choreograph a piece on herself and I kept wondering how much that simplified the rehearsal process.  It was a lovely piece that responded in interesting ways to its score.

Courtney Nitting in her own piece.

Marc LaPierre in Courtney Nitting's piece.

• Paul Hindemith's 'Capriccio in A Major' from his 'Three Pieces for cello and piano' was a challenging choice of music for Taylor Ayotte.  She added to the complexity by selecting the very tall redhead, Lily Cascells, and two shorter men, Adrian Pasten and Noah Strand.  Ms. Ayotte met these challenges with a quirky, capricious work.

Lily Casscells in Taylor Ayotte's Hindemith piece.

• Christopher D'Ariano selected 'Bounce Bounce' and 'Sink' composed and played by the violinist, Hilary Hahn, and the pianist, Hauschka, on a prepared piano.  The pieces are propulsive and repetitive and Christopher's choreography for Christina Clark and Saskia de Muinck Keizer was by turns skittish and assertive.

Saskia de Muinck Keizer with Christina Clark (left) in Christopher D'Ariano piece.

• To 'Paestigium' by Stefano Ianne, Gilbert Bolden III created an intense, virtuosic piece for Larisa Nugent, Darius Black and Roman Mejia.  There was a short break in the music which Gil used for a lovely grouping of the three dancers that seemed like the perfect conclusion -- but, it was a false ending.  The audience applauded, drowning out the resumption of the music and dancing, leaving us feeling sheepish and confused.  Still the piece utilized the talents of three wonderful dancers who danced with poise and elan.

Larissa Nugent in Gilbert Bolden III's work to Stefano Ianne's 'Praistigium'.

Roman Mejia in Gilbert Bolden III's work to Stefano Ianne's 'Praistigium'.

• Isabella Carroll chose the second movement (Allegro molto) from Gabriel Faure's 'Piano Quartet #2 in G Minor' for her dancers, Taylor Ayotte, Emily Helman, Devon Malin and Trevor Dines.  The music features a fractured piano melody over a turbulent, often plucked, string background.  Ms. Carroll offered an energetic, yet nuanced, response for her dancers -- displaying their speed and stamina.

Taylor Ayotte and Trevor Dines in Isabella Carroll's Faure piece.

Taylor Ayotte and Emily Helman jete in Isabella Carroll's work to Faure.

• Adrian Pasten offered some tonal relief from the long series of intensely allegro pieces with his setting of Sergei Rachmaninov's 'Elegie in E flat Minor' for his five dancers -- Jennifer Hackbarth, Erin McAvoy, Lily Wheatley, Dallas Finley and Ethan Fuller.  The music is reflective and relatively slow, giving Adrian's dancers a chance for some lovely adagio partnering, while the skittering undercurrent offered opportunities for quirky passages as well.

Dallas Finlay and Lily Wheatley in Adrian Pasten's work.

Jennifer Hackbarth, Erin McAvoy, and Lily Wheatley in the Pasten piece.

Jennifer Hackbarth and Ethan Fuller (Erin McAvoy behind) in Adrian Pasten's Rachmaninov work.

• Lily Casscells took on the Third Movement (Allegro) from Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto #2 -- music used by Alexei Ratmansky in 2008 (for both NYC Ballet and ABT) and by Kenneth MacMillan in 1966 (initially for the Berlin Opera Ballet and later for the Royal Ballet) and therefore familiar to many of us in the audience. Although her dancers were sometimes spread too far apart across SAB's Studio #1, Lily's choreography was extremely musical.  Lily's five dancers -- Eliza Blutt, Hailey Dupont, Jonathan Alexander, Jonathan Fahoury, and Xhosa Scott -- responded to the breathless music with style and airborne virtuosity.

Hailey Dupont, Xhosa Scott, and Eliza Blutt in Lily Cascells work.

Jonathan Alexander, Eliza Blutt, Xhosa Scott, Hailey Dupont,
 and Jonathan Fahoury  spread out in the Cascells work.

Jonathan Fahoury in the Cascells work.

• Using the effervescent final movement (Allegro fugato) from Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata #5 for Cello and Piano in D Major, Katherine Deuitch created a playful romp for Isabella Carroll, Rachel Costin, and Wilson Livingston.  Katherine used the contrast between the two instruments and the passing back and forth of the fugue from piano to cello as the basis for her choreography.

Katherine Deuitch working with Isabella Carroll and Wilson Livingston on her Beethoven piece.

Rachel Costin in the Katherine Deuitch piece.

• Jonathan Alexander set selections from Arthur Honneger's 'Toccata and Variations for Piano' on his dancers: Gabriela Schiefer, Mark Cudihee, and Andres Zuniga.  The music was written when Honneger was still a music student at the Conservatoire de Paris and reflects the influence of J. S. Bach in its structure and of Honneger's teacher, Vincent d'Indy, in its harmonics.  Jonathan effectively mined the contrasting rhythms and moods of the three-section Toccata (and also I believe the rather intense Variation I) for his choreography.  He also integrated the abilities and personalities of his three dancers effectively -- especially Ms. Schiefer's musicality.

Gabriella Schiefer and Mark Cudihee in Jonathan Alexander's work.

Andres Zuniga in Jonathan Alexander's piece to Honegger's 'Toccata'.

• Gianna Reisen choreographed a duet for Emma Von Enck and Christopher D'Ariano to 'Ford's Farm' composed by Mason Bates for the violinist, Hilary Hahn.  The acerbic, folk-flavored music for violin and piano honors Henry Ford who was an amateur violinist as well as a pioneering automaker.  Gianna uses it for a clever pas de deux which Emma and Christopher danced with wit, style and elegance.

Emma Von Enck and Christopher D'Ariano in Gianna Reisen's work.

• Rachel Costin chose a propulsive piece for string quartet -- 'Caixa de Dolcos' by Chiel Meijering -- for her four dancers -- Ana Maria Delmar, Phoebe Klett, Jennifer Pauker, and Michael Garcia.  There's a breathless quality to the music that Rachel captured nicely with her four dancers.

Rachel Costin working with Phoebe Klett and Michael Garcia during rehearsals.

• 'Run' by Ludovico Einaudi begins as a contemplative piece for piano and strings with a burbling undercurrent that then builds in intensity.  Saskia de Muinck Keizer used it for a lovely pas de trois for Emily Ireland, Josephine King, and Gilbert Bolden III. 

Gilbert Bolden III and Emily Ireland rehearsing
 Saskia de Muinck Keizer's piece.

Josephine King and Gil Bolden rehearsing.

• Eliza Blutt used the third movement from Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's 'Quintet for Strings and Piano'.  Her dancers were India Bradley, Nieve Corrigan, and Nathan Compiano. After the rather anguished opening the choreography, like the music, was spikey, angular and energetic. 

India Bradley in Eliza Blutt's piece.

Nieve Corrigan and Nathan Compiano in the Eliza Blutt work.

• Emily Helman used the second movement (Scherzo - allegro) from Johannes Brahms 'Piano Quartet in C Minor' for her piece.  Katerine Deuitch and Ally Helman (Emily's sister) were her dancers.  The scherzo format uses repeating sections -- in this case ABABA (I think) -- that allowed Emily opportunites to recapitulate and expand choreographic motifs.

Emily Helman worked with Ally Helman and Katherine Deuitch.

• Nathan Compiano produced the absolute highlight of the program to the 'Sacrificial Dance' from Igor Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring'.  Nathan selected five women -- Lily-Frances Cosgrove, Gariella Domini, Kristina Hadjipetkov, Mary Thomas Mackinnon, and Marie Millard.  The work begins with the five women dancing in unison often with pointes stabbing the floor.  Gradually, Ms. Millard is isolated from the other four women, who continue to dance as a coordinated group as the music grows more insistently frenetic.  At the final chord Marie throws herself head first at the audience -- caught by the other four just in the nick of time in a vivid final image of flailing limbs.

Nathan Compiano's cast: Lily-Frances Cosgrove, Mary Thomas Mackinnon, Marie Millard, Kristina Hadjipetkov, and Gabriella Domini

Lily-Frances Cosgrove, Mary Thomas Mackinnon, Gabriella Domini, and Kristina Hadjipetkov rehearsing Nathan Compiano's piece to Stravinsky's 'Sacrificial Dance: The Rite of Spring'.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The range of music chosen by these student choreographers is amazing -- from Bach and Vivaldi in the early 18th century right up to music composed in the early 21st century -- six of the 16 pieces used music composed in the last decade.  The young choreographers ability to analyze these often complex scores and create equally complex dances for them demonstrates their inherent and acquired musicality.

With 15 of the 16 choreographers also dancing in another choreographer's work there must be lots of logistics issues to resolve -- four of the works used two other choreographers as dancers.  The two-week rehearsal period must have been especially hectic and required diplomatic and logistical skills as well as musical and dance acuity.

I always wonder how much input the student dancers have to their peers' choreography and how much the choreographers simply impose what they want on their dancers -- are the choreographers collaborators or dictators or a bit of both?   Certainly in all of the works on this program the dancers were shown to their advantage -- perhaps they are chosen by their choreographers because they display these qualities each day in class, but probably they are also given opportunities to develop them during the choreographic process.  Oh, to be a fly on the wall in those rehearsal studios where it all came together for this impressive program.

Once again, we are beholden to Nancy Norman Lassalle for endowing these annual workshops and to Cynthia and Leon Polsky for their continuing financial support.  Their generosity gives all 55 of these students rare opportunities to participate in the act of creation as dancers, choreographers, and sometimes both. 

Ever More Ballet Quibbles and Bits . . .

Seeing Triple at SAB This Summer:

With much of the School of American Ballet's fifth floor studios a construction zone this summer, it's easy to think that you're seeing triple in the maze of plastic drop cloths and the cacophony of sledge hammers and nail guns.  You're not!

Marcos, Cesar and Angel Ramirez Castellano.  Photo by Ramon Espinosa for AP

I was doing double-takes as I encountered first one dark-haired, dark-eyed young man . . . then another . . . and another coming down the hall toward the back studios about 30 paces apart.  They're Angel, Cesar and Marcos Ramirez Castellano, 15-year-old identical triplets from Cuba who are attending SAB's Summer Session.  Here's a 2013 video profiling them that was produced by the BBC when they were just 13:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePjRF9oBhrw

You can think of their attendance at the five-week Summer Session as SAB's contribution to the recent thaw in U.S.-Cuban relations. 

SAB Founders Society Picnic:

Every summer, the School of American Ballet invites the members of its Founders Society -- a group of individuals who have made provisions for SAB in their estate plans -- to a 'picnic' followed by an opportunity to observe a Summer Session class.  

The 'picnic' has usually been held in the Student Lounge adjacent to the School's studios.  This summer the picnic -- a lovely buffet lunch of sandwiches, wraps, salads, cookies and fresh fruits (I missed the brownies this year) -- was held in rooms at the back of the Rose Building cafeteria because the areas around the student lounge on the 5th floor are under construction.  During the lunch, we heard from members of the School's Development Staff --  Cheryl Kohn, Chief Development Officer; Kristen Barrett, Director of Institutional Giving; and Giulia Gabrielli, Individual Giving Membership Coordinator -- about the renovation of the 5th floor and about various aspects of this year's Summer Session (including the Ramirez Castellano triplets).

Following the luncheon, Founders Society members were given a choice of watching Susan Pillare teach a girls toe class or Jock Soto teach the Intermediate Men.  We selected Jock's class.  There were 18 students in the class varying in age, height, ethnicity and ability.

While they were still at the barre, Jock taught them a complicated series of arm movements to accompany some fairly routine steps.  Then he divided them into two teams of nine and asked each team to select one representative to demonstrate the combination, and another to 'judge' the other team's choice in a competition.  Each judge was then asked for the number of 'errors' committed by the other team's man.  Jock took the two numbers and combined them into the number of push-ups that everyone had to do.

Over the course of the hour and a quarter class, the observers get a sense of which students have both the ability and drive to continue at SAB in the Winter Term or perhaps return for another Summer Term in 2016.  I had my eye on four out of the 18 that I'd like to see back at SAB again -- two that seem to be quite young and still quite short and two that seem more mature and more developed.  I felt that the other 14 lacked either the focus or the natural ability to succeed at SAB in the future.

Three Promotions at New York City Ballet:

Anyone who's been following this blog knows that I enthusiastically favor the three promotions that New York City Ballet announced at the end of their Spring season on June 7th:  Anthony Huxley and Lauren Lovette to principal dancers and Ashly Isaacs to soloist.

Anthony Huxley blossomed this spring from his naturally introspective elegance into a more expansive dancer in roles like James in Bournonville's 'La Sylphide' and Oberon in Balanchine's 'Midsummer Night's Dream'.  He still needs to work on his partnering skills, but his technical finesse and newly assured stage presence make him a valued addition to the top of the Company's roster.

Lauren Lovette and Anthony Huxley in Balanchine's 'Raymonda Variations'.
Photo by Andrea Mohin for NY Times

Lauren Lovette is one of the Company's most sunny and vivacious ballerinas -- plus she is drop dead gorgeous.  Since joining the Company as an apprentice in 2009 Lauren has essayed a wide variety of iconic roles in the NYCB repertory and brings a special sparkle to everything she dances.  This spring she was a spritely Sylph in Peter Martins' staging of Bournonville's 'La Sylphide'.

Ashly Isaacs struggled with injuries during her transition from SAB to NYCB -- she accepted SAB's Mae L. Wien Award in a cast and on crutches at the 2009 Workshop Gala -- but has since blossomed into an extraordinary dancer -- fleet, daring and musically adventurous.  Among her recent roles have been Dewdrop in 'The Nutcracker', Hippolyta in 'Midsummer Night's Dream' and the pas de deux from Bournonville's 'Flower Festival at Genzano'.

Ashly Isaacs as Hippolyta in Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.
Photo by Andrea Mohin for the NY Times

Congratulations to all three dancers on these promotions which recognize both their achievements and their potential.

More Ballet Quibbles and Bits

SAB's Holiday Showcase by Advanced Students

Because I usually work as a volunteer at School of American Ballet on Thursday afternoons, on the Thursday before the holiday break in December I was lucky enough to be included in the audience of staff and faculty for SAB's Advanced Division students' performance of variations they had learned during the fall.  It included all of the advanced students who were physically able (injuries and flu had taken a toll) performing variations from 'Raymonda Variations', 'La Source', 'Agon', 'Stars and Stripes', 'Donizetti Variations', 'Symphonie Concertante' (all by Balanchine), 'Russian Seasons' (by Alexei Ratmansky) and probably several others that I can't recall.  These were performed by groups of three, four or five students -- or in the case of 'Symphonie Concertante' by the entire class of D girls.

These were all introduced by members of the faculty – Kay Mazzo, Suki Schorer, Susan Pillare, Arch Higgins and Jock Soto.  Ms. Pillare seemed particularly intent on pushing for a revival of ‘Symphonie Concertante’ – perhaps on the SAB workshops program.

The program concluded with two couples each performing the entire Sugarplum pas de deux from Balanchine's 'Nutcracker' -- including the solo variations.  To say that all of these performances were exceptional is an understatement -- but it will do.

SAB's Capstone Program for Advanced Students

The School of American Ballet started a program last year for advanced students who are probably in their final year at the school.  They are identified as 'Capstone' students.  While all of them probably yearn for an apprenticeship with New York City Ballet there are a limited number of opportunities there each year -- dictated by retirements, injuries, but most of all by budget constraints.

The program which was started last year prepares these students to take the next steps in their lives.  Just before the holiday break posters created in group research projects by Capstone students were posted in the main hall of the School.  They covered companies that will be auditioning dancers at the School this winter -- Los Angeles Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Washington Ballet and one or two other companies -- highlighting interesting things about their cities, their repertory, their SAB alumni, their directors (sometimes also SAB alumni), their performance schedules -- whatever these teenagers think their fellow students should know before their auditions during the winter.

These youngsters have received wonderful ballet training at SAB.  Now they're also preparing for the next step -- whether it's into coveted apprenticeships at NYC Ballet, into the wider world of dance or on to some other option.  Take a look at the impressive list of professional dance opportunities that the School's alumni have taken in the last five years here:

https://sab.org/winterterm/career_planning/recent_professional_employmentp.php 

Nutcracker Debuts:

On the NYC Ballet facebook page, they announced a record number of twelve debuts in the performance of 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker' on Sunday, December 28th:

https://www.facebook.com/nycballet/photos/a.194499540528.254487.112319735528/10155004814490529/?type=1&theater

Brian Siebert wrote about some of them in the 1/2/2015 NY Times.

The long run of 'The Nutcracker' and the large number of featured roles gives the company an opportunity to showcase promising  members of the corps -- only one of the dozen is a soloist.

Kennedy Center Honors Segment on Pat McBride: 

On December 30th, CBS aired the 2014 The Kennedy Center Honors.  One of the honorees this year was Patricia McBride, a favorite NYC Ballet ballerina who danced with the company from 1959 to 1989 -- 28 years as a principal.  Among the roles George Balanchine created roles for her are 'Jewels' (Rubies); 'Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet' (2nd movement); 'Who Cares?' (The Man I Love & Fascinatin' Rhythm); 'Harlequinade' (Columbine); 'Divertimento from Le Baiser de la Fee'; and 'Coppelia'.  Jerome Robbins memorably cast her in 'Dances at a Gathering' (girl in pink); 'In the Night'; 'Goldberg Variations'; 'The Four Seasons' (Fall); and others.  Among her partners were Edward Villella, Helgi Tomasson, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Peter Martins.

After leaving NYC Ballet, McBride and her husband, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, have become artistic directors of the Charlotte Ballet & School and the Chautauqua Institute School of Dance (summer program).  

The segment saluting McBride in the Honors program was produced by Damian Woetzel, another well-known former NYCB principal dancer, who is Artistic Director of the Vail International Dance Festival, among many other roles.

Christine Baranski introducing the Patricia McBride segment of the Kennedy Center Honors.

Christine Baranski, a star of the CBS show 'The Good Wife' introduced the biographical film on McBride with eloquence and class.  Following the film, Tiler Peck (NYCB principal) danced 'Fascinatin' Rhythm' from 'Who Cares?'; Lauren Lovette (NYCB soloist) and Jeffrey Cirio (Boston Ballet principal) danced part of the 'Rubies' pas de deux; Misty Copeland (ABT soloist) danced a variation from Balanchine's 'Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux'; Tiler Peck and Jared Angle (NYCB principals) danced a pas de deux from 'Dances at a Gathering'; and Alessandra James, Anna Gerberich, Sarah Hayes Harkins, and Pete Walker (Charlotte Ballet dancers) led off 'I Got Rhythm', the finale from 'Who Cares?' with all of the other dancers joining in for the ending.

Misty Copeland (ABT), Alessandra James (Charlotte Ballet), Jeffrey Cirio (Boston Ballet), Pete Walker (Charlotte Ballet), Anna Gerberich (Charlotte Ballet), Tiler Peck (NYCB), Sarah Hayes Harkins (Charlotte Ballet), Jared Angle (NYCB), and Lauren Lovette (NYCB) backstage at Kennedy Center Opera House.  Photo from Jeffrey Cirio

Tiler was in Broadway babe mode for 'Who Cares?' -- a little too much pizzazz for me, but probably just right for the CBS audience.  

Lauren Lovette and Jeffrey Cirio in the pas de deux from 'Rubies'.

Lauren and Jeffrey looked great together and danced with supreme assurance in the snippet from 'Rubies'.  Misty danced with confidence and style in the female variation from the Tschaikovsky pdd.  Jared and Tiler were wonderful in the Robbins snippet.  The four dancers from Charlotte looked grand in 'Who Cares?' which provided a great finale for the McBride segment.

Now, if the Kennedy Center Honors/CBS producers and editors could just have been induced to film this segment with fewer close-ups, less chopping off of feet, and without cutting away to the First Lady looking bored, it would have been a totally splendid tribute to a truly great American prima ballerina.

Among the audience 'reaction' shots we spotted Heather Watts and Damian Woetzel and Lauren Lovette's swain, Chase Finlay (NYCB principal).  And here's a glamorous shot of Ms. Lovette in the Kennedy Center lobby before or after the show.

Lauren Lovette in the lobby of the Kennedy Center in Washington for the Kennedy Center Honors.

Look for a longer post about Patricia McBride's outstanding career at New York City Ballet coming soon.

New Role at SAB for Jon Stafford  

I just learned that in addition to his post-performing career as a ballet master at NYC Ballet and a faculty member at the School of American Ballet, Jon Stafford will be advising SAB's 'capstone' students (see above) on their professional careers.  Not only is Jon a recent (and relatively young) retiree from the company and a trusted SAB teacher, but he also has wide connections with dancers and directors throughout the dance world which can help the 'capstoners' in making smart career moves.

Apprentices Going from SAB to NYC Ballet 

At least three School of American Ballet apprentices --  Jacqueline Bologna, Laine Habony and Mimi Staker -- have been given contracts with New York City Ballet following the completion of 'The Nutcracker' season on January 3rd.  And another student -- Miriam Miller -- was named an apprentice by Peter Martins just before the start of the company's Winter Season on January 20th.

SAB on 'Live from Lincoln Center'

We taped the School of American Ballet Workshop Performance shown on 'Live from Lincoln Center' on PBS on Sunday afternoon.  It seemed like a strange time to air it -- but maybe it was smart counter-programming for PBS to spotlight these graceful young athletes as an antidote to all of that football mayhem on other channels.  The broadcast was extremely well done.

We had seen two of the three Workshop performances back in June, so we had a pretty good idea of the shape of the performances.  What was truly exceptional, though, was how well they were filmed and pulled together as a coherent TV show.  Too often, dance on television is difficult to watch because the cameras insist on close-ups or tracking an individual dancer when there is a larger -- and usually better -- stage picture that is being ignored.  Here the cameras pulled back to include the entire stage (or at least the entire dancer), closing in for close-ups only when there were infrequent static moments.  Feet were not chopped off and there was also sufficient screen space around the dancers to allow them to move -- and boy can they move!

By the way, here's a link to Alistair Macaulay's review of the broadcast in last Friday's New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/arts/dance/live-from-lincoln-center-to-air-curtain-up.html?


Beyond praising this broadcast, Macaulay bemoans the lack of American companies in the high-definition broadcast of dance performances.  I would add that this in part due to the intransigence of the various unions required to stage and broadcast dance -- they have allowed the market to shift to overseas dance companies.

Balanchine's 'Serenade' at the 2014 SAB Workshop Performances.  Addie Tapp's grand jete among the corps.
Still from 'Live from Lincoln Center' broadcast.

Balanchine's 'Serenade' is really about all of the dancers -- the seventeen member corps as well as the five principals -- interacting and creating beautiful shifting patterns and perhaps telling a story or several stories or no story at all.  Suki Schorer's meticulous and vivid staging was beautifully captured on camera.  We got close enough to the student dancers to feel the adrenalin rush of their performance as well as their caring, careful execution of Mr. B's steps and never losing the beauty of his sweeping patterns.  And we got a brief snippet of Ms. Schorer preparing the students for the performance and another snippet of the leads, 16-year-old Dammiel Cruz, talking about his training and preparation.

In the excerpts from the Balanchine/Danilova 'Coppelia' we got close enough to see the solemnity and mischievous joy of 24 little girls dancing in one of Mr. B's great ballets for children.  And we could watch them interact with four lovely student ballerinas -- providing each with an animated frame of changing patterns for their solos.  Then we saw the concentration of 18 advanced students making the best case for the 'War and Discord' divertissement -- one of Mr. B's least persuasive pieces of choreography.

Finale tableau from Balanchine's 'Swan Lake' with Alston Macgill and Joshua Shutkind.
Still from PBS 'Live from Lincoln Center' broadcast.

Then in Balanchine's one-act 'Swan Lake' we saw the ballet cycle of life happening before our eyes -- Darci Kistler, who was coached in 'Swan Lake' by Alexandra Danilova for her Workshop performance in 1980, coaching Alston Macgill in 'Swan Lake' for the 2014 Workshop performances -- promising student taught by former star ballerina becomes a radiant star ballerina who becomes an inspiring teacher for the next generation of promising students.

One thing to note here is that the 'Live from Lincoln Center camerawork brought us close to the gallant partners, especially in 'Serenade' and 'Swan Lake', who allowed their ballerinas to shine.  Having watched them in Adagio Classes with Jock Soto and Darci Kistler, I've come to appreciate the special accomplishments of these self-effacing young men.  This broadcast allowed the entire viewing audience to see their strength, their poise, their determination to get beyond the mechanics of a partnership into the artistry and chemistry that make each pairing special.

The Fourth Movement of Balanchine's 'Western Symphony'.  Clara Miller wows the corps with her pointe work.
Still from PBS 'Live from Lincoln Center' broadcast.

Finally, we witnessed the exuberance of the final movement of Balanchine's 'Western Symphony'.  Susan Pilare, the wonderful SAB teacher and stager, drove her student cast hard in the months leading up to the June workshop, but then encouraged them to go on stage and have fun.  They obviously did -- and the PBS audience did, too.  It was a wonderful conclusion for a wonderful broadcast.  

Bravo, PBS 'Live from Lincoln Center'!  Bravo, SAB faculty and students!