School of American Ballet Workshop Performances on May 31st

So, how did the School of American Ballet workshop program (described in my 4/26/2014 post) work out in the actual performances, which we saw Saturday afternoon and evening May 31st?  (I had also attended the final dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon.)

The pinnacle of both performances was Suki Schorer's staging of Balanchine's 'Serenade'.  Eschewing the SAB tradition of double casting each workshop ballet, Suki concentrated on a single beautifully rehearsed cast for all workshop performances.  The corps of 17 women changes size and shape, swirling and eddying through the ballet. In their constantly shifting patterns and interactions with the five soloists, they alternate between background and foreground, individuals breaking out for brief solo turns, setting a motif and then receding back into the group.  'Serenade' is never more gorgeous than it is in a well-rehearsed SAB workshop production.

Addie Tapp*, a tall, slim 18-year-old from Colorado, danced the 'waltz girl' to perfection.  Her role is a long dramatic arc through the ballet -- from lost neophyte to first love, from romantic rivalry to resignation, from despair to transcendence. Without any recognizable plot, Balanchine choreographed an entire biography and Ms. Tapp inhabited it with both technical authority and radiance. 

Addie Tapp with Preston Chamblee in Balanchine's 'Serenade' staged by Suki Schorer,
Photo by Paul Kolnik

Baily Jones*, a petite, blond 17-year-old from Utah, performed the 'Russian girl' with enormous power. Her spins were beautifully centered and her leaps into Dammiel Cruz's arms were fearless.

Mikayla Lambert, a statuesque, dark-haired 18-year-old beauty from Pennsylvania, was a somber 'dark angel'.  Ms. Lambert brought the role dramatic intensity and a secure technique.

Preston Chamblee, a 19-year-old from North Carolina, was Ms. Tapp's strong, confident partner in the middle 'waltz' section of the ballet.  He comes on stage in a slow diagonal as all the other women leave the 'waltz girl' alone on stage.  He taps her on the shoulder and they begin in waltz.  Mr. Chamblee's performance conveyed a great musical sensitivity, a secure technique and a rare ability to relate to his ballerina with empathy and command.

Dammiel Cruz, a 16-year-old from Queens, was the second man -- guided on stage by the 'dark angle'.  Mr. Cruz has the difficult task of partnering all three lead ballerinas plus an assortment of women from the corps.  He has enormous technical promise and is a secure partner for this varied group of women.  His beaming smiles during the curtain calls summed up his performance -- triumphing over performance jitters to deliver wonderful performances.

The apotheosis, where the 'waltz girl' is carried through a diagonal corridor of six corps women on the shoulders of three men trailed by a maternal figure, is achingly beautiful.  As one lady in the audience said to me after the curtain fell: 'it makes me cry every time I see it'. 

The second half of the program began with excerpts from Act III of 'Coppelia'.  The curtain opens on 24 little girls in pink ruffles.  They looked adorable and danced with admirable precision.

In the evening they were led in the 'Waltz of the Golden Hours' by Lyrica Blankfein* (an 18-year-old from California)  -- with diamond-hard brilliance and extraordinary musicality.

Joscelyn Dolson (a gorgeous 18-year-old red-head from Michigan) was a lovely 'Prayer' in the afternoon performance, her final arabesque steadied on cue by two of the tiniest little girls.  A beautiful finish to an exquisite performance.

Both Jennifer Pauker (afternoon) and SarahAnne Perel (evening) were energetic and musically vital as the 'Spinner' with the little girls 'spinning' around them.

'Discord and War' is one of Balanchine's lesser efforts and the horned helmets, flowing chiffon capes and spears only add to the confused effect.  Despite these reservations, Jasmine Perry** was the striking lead valkyrie in both performances, partnered by Eric Beckham (afternoon) and Taylor Carrasco (evening) and backed by a corps of 8 valkyries and 8 vikings. Ms. Perry (18, from North Carolina) remained confidant and dynamic with both partners.  Mr. Beckham (18, from South Carolina) danced with clarity, and will project even more self-confidence as he gets additional performance experience.  Mr. Carrasco (18, from New Mexico) swept through the role with strong attack and clean beats.

All seven faculty stagers --  Dena Abergel*, Yvonne Borree, Arch Higgins, Katrina Killian, Lisa deRibere, Jock Soto, and Sheryl Ware -- took bows with their respective students during the curtain calls at the end of the 'Coppelia' segment.

The excerpt from Balanchine's 1-act 'Swan Lake' was staged by Darci Kistler.  Alston Macgill (a petite 16-year-old from Georgia) and Joshua Shutkind (a tall 17-year-old from Manhattan) led both performances backed by the same corps of 20 swans.  Ms. Macgill as the Swan Queen, Odette, was at her best in the final moments, when her precise beats, stabbing bourees, and traveling pirouettes demonstrated both steely technique and stamina.

Alston Macgill rehearsing Odette in Balanchines's 'Swan Lake'  in SAB studios,
photo by Andrea Mohin for NYTimes 

Mr. Shutkind, as Prince Siegfried, was a caring partner, especially in their evening performance.  He handled Siegfried's solo variation with complete command, ending with a secure double tour to one knee.

The dance for the four 'Little Swans' was performed with great synchronicity by both the afternoon (Misses Corrigan, Delman, Ireland-Buczek, and Reisen) and evening (Misses Cosgrove, Dupont, Nugent, and Von Enck) casts who range in age from 14 to 16.  Their precision won warm ovations from both audiences.

Misses Nugent, Von Enck, Cosgrove and Dupont rehearsing the 'Dance of the Little Swans',
photo by Andrea Mohin for NYTimes

The final work was the 'Fourth Movement: Rondo' from Balanchine's 'Western Symphony' staged by Susan Pilarre. Led by Nancy Casciano, a 19-year-old beauty from Georgia, and Alec Knight**, an 18-year-old Australian, at the matinee and by Clara Miller, a glamorous 17-year-old brunette from Iowa, and Christopher Grant*, an 18-year-old from Manhattan, in the evening.  It's a hoe-down for dance hall girls and cowpokes set in Balanchine's idealized American west and it's a romp for the whole cast.

Ms. Casciano and Mr. Knight were first rate in the bravura leading roles at the matinee.  Ms. Casciano executed a series of arabesque balances while traveling a backward diagonal with elan.  Mr. Knight took the soaring leaps and fast spins with great glee and style.

In the evening, Ms. Miller and Mr. Grant brought show-biz flair to their roles.  Ms. Miller performed an impeccable series of single and double fouettes ending with a nonchalant flip of her ruffled skirt.  Mr. Grant countered with a series of flawless double tours with insouciant ease.

Clara Miller and Christopher Grant rehearsing Balanchine's  'Western Symphony' for the SAB workshop,
photo by Andrea Mohin for NYTimes

The leads were joined by three other couples (the leads from the other three missing movements) for a stylized square dance backed by a corps that had grown to 20 women and 8 men.  The entire cast of 36 ends the piece in six rows of 6 dancers whipping through flawless synchronized fouette turns as the curtain falls, leaving the audience gasping in awe and cheering with delight.

The evening program was taped for PBS Live from Lincoln Center.  I'll definitely keep readers advised on when it will air on public broadcasting stations.

An interesting New York Times article about the importance of passing down the oral traditions of ballet at SAB can be found here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/arts/dance/lessons-of-old-are-still-in-the-air-at-the-school-of-american-ballet.html

When I see all of these accomplished students perform for the workshop performances every year, I am proud to be associated with the School of American Ballet as a volunteer, a donor and a member of their Founders' Society.

* Winners of the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise (students) and for Distinguished Service (Ms. Abergel). 

** Two of the students featured in TeenVogue.com's 'Strictly Ballet' (see my 5/24 post for a link to the site).

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.