2014 School of American Ballet Workshop Program -- It's all about the anniversaries

When I first learned of the program Peter Martins had selected for the School of American Ballet's 2014 workshops (on Saturday, May 31st at 2pm and 8pm and gala performance on Tuesday, June 3rd at 7pm) it seemed a bit of a jumble.  But the more I've looked at it the more Peter's choices make sense to me.

First, it's all Balanchine choreography, because he co-founded the School with Lincoln Kirstein in 1934 -- making 2014 the School's 80th anniversary year.

The opening work will be 'Serenade' to Tschaikovsky's 'Serenade for Strings' -- because it was the first work that Balanchine choreographed in America.  He made it in 1934 (also it's 80th anniversary) for SAB students.  According to legend Balanchine incorporated things that actually happened in the School during that first year -- creating each section for the number of students who showed up for class that day; using a student's late arrival for class and finding her place in the opening formation; incorporating a student's stumble and fall to the floor.

The opening moments of Balanchine's 'Serenade' from an earlier SAB Workshop performance, 
photo by Paul Kolnik

But 'Serenade' is far from improvised and remains one of the most cherished works of the Balanchine repertory.  It will be staged by Suki Schorer for the workshop.  Suki has staged this work many times before for SAB performances -- and also for companies around the world as a repetiteur for the Balanchine Trust.  

For anyone who wants to know what dancing in 'Serenade' feels like, I suggest that they get their hands on Jenifer Ringer's new book, 'Dancing Through It', wherein she describes just how dancing in 'Serenade' (at the Washington Ballet School, at SAB and at NYC Ballet) changed her life. 

Jenifer Ringer & Philip Neal in Balanchine's 'Serenade, photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The second work will be selections from the last act of 'Coppelia' which was co-staged by Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova in 1974 (40th anniversary) for New York City Ballet -- based on original choreography by Arthur Saint-Leon in 1870, restaged by Petipa in 1884 (130th anniversary) and by Cechetti in 1894 (120th anniversary).  The Petipa/Cechetti version is the one that Balanchine and Danilova would have known from their student days at the Maryinsky in Saint Petersburg.  Mme. Danilova had a long and distinguished stage career and was a noted interpreter of Swanilda, the heroine, in 'Coppelia'.

Alexandra Danilova coaching Helgi Tomasson & Patricia McBride in 'Coppelia',
photo by Martha Swope

The selections from 'Coppelia' are being staged by SAB several SAB faculty members -- Sheryl Ware, Katrina Killian, Lisa de Ribere, Yvonne Borree, and Jock Soto.

When Mme. Danilova began to teach at SAB in 1964 (50th anniversary), she persuaded Balanchine to present the annual workshops as a way to showcase the students' talent and hard work and give them invaluable on-stage experience. Balanchine resisted calling them 'graduation' performances because it sounded too final and too judgmental, but agreed that a public showcase at the end of the school year for a select audience would be appropriate. The first workshop was performed in 1965, making the workshops in June, 2014 the 50th workshop performances. 

Of course, Peter Martins knows that the inclusion of 24 little girls in this section will add to the demand for workshop tickets, as parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and siblings will have to be accommodated.

Balanchine's one-act 'Swan Lake' based on Ivanov's choreography of the lakeside scenes for the Maryinsky was also selected by Martins as a tribute to Mme. Danilova, who was a renowned Odette/Odile.  

Alexandra Danilova as Odile in 'Swan Lake', photo from the Bettman Archive

Balanchine created this 1-act version for Maria Tallchief (his third wife) who has been deemed America's first native-born prima ballerina.  There is a wonderful photo of Mme. Danilova coaching Darci Kistler and Cornell Crabtree for the 1980 SAB workshop. 

Cornell Crabtree and Darci Kistler being coached by Alexandra Danilova for the 1980 SAB Workshop,
photo by Carolyn George

Darci, of course, went on to a distinguished career at New York City Ballet where in 1982 she was the last dancer to be promoted to principal by Balanchine before his death in 1983.  She became a full-time member of the SAB faculty in 1994 (20th anniversary) and retired from NYCB in 2010. Darci is staging the 'Swan Lake' excerpt -- symbolically closing the circle of ballet life -- student-performer-teacher.


It will be interesting to see if they use the ice cave scenery and/or the black costumes for the corps that are the current decor for the New York City Ballet version or hark back to earlier, more traditional decor. 

The last work on the program will be the final movement (Rondo) of 'Western Symphony', the four movement work to traditional American folk music orchestrated by Hershey Kay that Balanchine created in 1954 (60th anniversary). 'Western Symphony' is Balanchine's buoyant tribute to the mythical American West of cowpokes and dance-hall girls. The finale finds the enormous cast all on stage doing fouettes as the curtain descends.  It's a favorite workshop closing ballet because it provides parts for lots of advanced students to perform a high-spirited, yet classical piece to familiar music.  

The original fourth movement cast was led by Tanaquil LeClercq and Jacques d'Amboise.  LeClercq was Balanchine's muse (and his fourth wife) from the late 1940's through the mid-1950's when this work was created.  Known both for her superb classical technique and her sly humor she was ideally cast as the strutting dance hall queen in the extravagant, black hat:  

Tanaquil LeClercq in costume for 'Western Symphony'

You can find a black & white video of the original cast performing the entire work here:
http://www.ina.fr/video/VDD11021500/western-symphony-video.html
The music in this video is extraordinarily fast, but the insouciant personalities of LeClercq and d'Amboise come through clearly in the fourth movement (Rondo).

The excerpt from 'Western Symphony' will be staged by Susan Pilarre who has staged it for several prior SAB workshop performances.

So this workshop program has a lot to do with anniversaries and tributes.  It provides challenging roles for the students, interesting contrasts in mood and style, and ends with a crowd pleasing bang!  

In order to get a jump on all of those little girls' families, go to:
https://www.sab.org/news_events/workshop_performances/tickets.php 
for tickets to the Saturday, May 31st performances, or to:
https://net.sab.org/development-/workshop-benefit-ticket-order-form--for tickets to the Gala Workshop Performance on June 3rd. You'll see the ballet stars of the next generation performing in works by the greatest choreographer of the last century.

  

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici Farewell Performance

SATURDAY EVENING, March 1, 8 PM
JANIE TAYLOR AND SÉBASTIEN MARCOVICI FAREWELL PERFORMANCE
AFTERNOON OF A FAUN: Taylor, Marcovici [Guest Conductor: Christensen]
pause
LA VALSE: Taylor, Marcovici, J. Angle, Kayali, Segin, Schumacher, Pollack, Applebaum, Arthurs, Scordato, Smith, Muller, Anderson [Guest Conductor: Christensen]

The Taylor/Marcovici farewell performance featured them in two works -- Robbins' 'Afternoon of a Faun' and Balanchine's 'La Valse' -- created by the two great choreographers for their shared muse, Tanaquil LeClercq. 

Tanaquil LeClercq with Francisco Moncion, the original cast of 'Afternoon of a Faun', photo by Melton

Janie has been a dancer of fragile, almost tenuous grace, most comfortable in the repertory's romantic roles -- the Sleepwalker in 'La Sonambula', the 'waltz girl' in 'Serenade', the ballerina in 'Scotch Symphony' come to mind.  Illness and injuries have sapped her technique, but never her uniquely ethereal stage beauty.

Sebastien has been known primarily for his roles in Balanchine's 'leotard' ballets like 'Four Temperaments', 'Stravinsky Violin Concerto', and 'Agon'.  His stage persona is astringent, angular and muscular -- and though he has been a dependable partner he has never had great on-stage rapport with his ballerinas.

Paired in performance, they are yin and yang -- vulnerability and strength; delicacy and power.  Their most successful pairing was probably in Balanchine's 'Liebeslieder Walzer'.  A performance of 'Liebeslieder' became the occasion for Sebastien's marriage proposal.
 

Sebastien Marcovici and Janie Taylor at their August, 2012 wedding, photo by Wendy Whelan

Unfortunately, their 'Faun' on Saturday evening didn't emit much of the heat and sensuality that can make this work so appealing.  You'd think as a married couple Janie and Sebastien would exude the romantic chemistry that should develop here between Robbins' two ballet students alone in a ballet studio.  Instead they seemed more comfortable emphasizing the work's balletic narcissism and downplaying it's sexual tension.  The work sagged as a result.

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici in 'La Valse', photo by Yana Paskova for NYTimes

In the weirdly sinister world of 'La Valse' Janie and Sebastien dance together in a fairly brief section in the middle of the ballet, but just as they are beginning to build an intense relationship it is cut short by 'fate'. 
  

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici in Balanchine's 'La Valse',
photo from NYC Ballet website probably by Paul Kolnik

Jared Angle, as the death figure, lures Janie with foreboding gifts (black necklace, black gloves, black frock) and then sweeps her into a dance of death. It's rather odd that the couple who first came to our attention as the leads in the 1998 SAB workshop performances of Balanchine's 'Gounod Symphony' -- Janie and Jared -- should be the couple that danced the last waltz of Janie's ballet career.  Jared made his debut in the role this week.  He is chilling and implacable. Janie is covetous and vulnerable.  Janie dies, Jared disappears, Sebastien despairs.

Sebastien Marcovici (left), Janie Taylor and the company in final moments of 'La Valse',
photo from NYC Ballet website, probably by Paul Kolnik

The white-gloved arms and hands of the soloists and corps are so important in setting the creepy mood for this work. The entire company provided a wonderful framework for the two principals' farewell.  I single out Kristin Segin & Troy Schumacher, Faye Arthurs & Andrew Scordato, and Gwyneth Muller for special praise for their work in establishing the ominous atmosphere in the early sections of this ballet.   


Between the two farewell ballets we had the new work, 'Acheron', by the British choreographer Liam Scarlett to Poulenc's 'Organ Concerto'  and Balanchine's 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet' to Gounod's ballet score from the opera 'Faust' (which I'll discuss in separate posts).


The guest conductor for these two works was Henrik Vagn Christensen.  Here he kept the players together, but offered no special insights on these iconic, well-known scores.  I would characterize his approach as generic rather than inspired.

Janie and Sebastien are off to Los Angeles where Sebastien will become the ballet master of L.A. Dance Project, Benjamin Millipied's West Coast company.  I wish them well in their new endeavors.  Their special gifts will be missed at NYC Ballet.