James Fayette Retirement

[pugbee]

Hmmm... I recall making similar statements about certain dancers in our company while I was still a student. Funny thing is, when I go back and watch old videos now, I watch these same dancers and often marvel at their artistry -- some beautiful nuance here or there that I unfortunately missed while standing in the wings, scoffing at their 4 pirouettes which "should have been 6 or 8."

Opinions are good.... but so is diplomacy.

[bart]

I'm with you on this, pugbee.

[GeorgeB fan]

The thing I think we all need to remember is that a great dancer doesn't have to be a great virtuoso. James Fayette was never a dancer you would see cast as Oberon or in RUBIES or STARS AND STRIPES. However to watch him lift the ballerinas in the third section of SERENADE is to watch a man totally transfixed by the ballerinas he's supporting. With him you felt as if these female humans are in fact heavenly spirits who are as weightless as air, he's overwhelm by their beauty. The same can be said in the step duet in EMERALDS. I'm certain for the ballerina that is a very difficult pas de deux, but to have Mr. Fayette there to lean support must be something the ballerina is so grateful for. And to show Mr. Fayette dance that role with Jenifer Ringer is to watch a man clearly in love with his wife!

In fact the thing James Fayette brings to his performance is that old school of male dancing. By which I mean a sense of protectiveness for his ballerinas, to present them for and foremost, to give the illusion that these women are not of this earth but beautiful sylphs to perform for our enjoyment. It isn't so important for him to be in the spotlight as it is for him to present her in the spotlight.

And because of his natural physical strength and his strong partnership, I sure the ballerinas in the company feel that with him they are able to push their technique and performances to more heights because they know that Mr. Fayette is there to protect them no matter what. This is not to say that Mr. Fayette was a partner on

the same level as the recent retired Jock Soto, Mr. Soto of course was in a class by myself, but given a rank among the company I'm sure Mr. Fayette would have rank among the top five. He brought a everyman gentlemanness to his performances that was wonderful to watch. I think I can really say this, in all the performances I have seen of James Fayette, he never disappointed me and I think that in it self is amazing! Whether it was in Elegie or Valse Melancolique sections of TSCHAIKOVSKY SUITE NO. 3, DANCES AT A GATHERING (who's going to be there to catch the girl in the final severals of jumps), the cavalier or as Bottom in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and especially in CONCERTO BAROCCO - you know in the eight and a half years I've been going to NYCB I have never seen many other male dancer perform that ballet other than Mr. Fayette! Next winter is going to be very strange seeing someone else dance a role that I regard as one of Mr. Fayette signature roles. He was wonderful in all of them.

Of course there was roles I would have personally wish to seen him perform and if given the opportunity I think he would have excel in them. Ballets like AFTERNOON OF A FAUN. With is quiet strength, calm protectiveness and large presence (the guy always did look as if he was a light-weight boxing champion),

I could have easily seen the ballerina in the role of the girl completely melt in his arms especially if danced by a small ballerina like Janie Taylor. I also would have like to have seen him try performing the second act pas de deux from A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. The role isn't that techincally difficult it seem to me and to have seen him danced it with say his wife would have been beauiful. There are moments in that pas de deux in where his natural protectiveness and gentleness would have been magical to watch.

I'm certainly going to miss James Fayette, his placement in the company was a very important one indeed and he filled that position wonderfully well!

[lampwick]

That was a wonderful tribute to Mr.Fayette. I really enjoyed the step duet in Emeralds as well with Jennifer Ringer. It was one of the few really special moments I've had as an audience member watching the ballet. I was mesmerized and affected.

I would sell my soul to go back in time and have an 18 year old body with the open heart and knowledge of art that I have now. People can truly see this in your dancing. Suzanne Farrell said that the way you dance is who you are. As a VERY FORTUNATE SAB student about to begin a career, it would be prudent to really watch, and to really think about what you're seeing on stage. You don't have to "like" every dancer. But there's a very good reason why someone like Mr.Fayette would be promoted to Principal status and there's probably something very valuable you can learn from him.

[bart]

Yes, George B Fan, that was a wonderful tribute. We tend to fixate on the bravura dancer and forget that nothing works without the true company dancer.

I especially loved your wish list of roles you'd like to have seen him perform -- and your reasons. Yes, I can certainly visualize the Afternoon of a Faun.

[GeorgeB fan]

I think you are correct lampwick. Every dancer from principal to soloist to corp fills an important position in any company they are in. Not every dancer need to be a standout virtuoso to be a valuable member of the the company. Sometimes just being a great and reliable partner to a ballerina can and should be just as important a position as dancer who can executed amazing steps.

bart I sometimes feel that Peter Martins, perhaps unintentionally, limits his dancers to roles he is sure they can perform well. That of course is the main function for any ballet master - to show his/her dancers to their best advantage. But it may limit the dancer's growth and the opportunity for them to stretch themselves in roles that would generally be viewed as roles suited for them. I mean NYCB has one of the largest rep in any ballet company, it would be great to see more dancers given roles that would challenge them, roles that at first may not be viewed as roles they would usually be associated with.

I think also the audience would enjoy it, watching a dancer they have come to view in one certain matter and then one night going to the State Theater seating down opening the program and finding the name of a dancer listed for a ballet that they never thought they would see them in. I would love to read in the program one day that the role of Apollo with be danced by Albert Evans or Philip Neal instead of always being Nikolaj Hubbe or Nilas Martins; The Agon pas da deux with be perform by Stephan Hanna and Miranda Weese instead of always Albert Evans (with Jock Soto gone, it seems that Evans so far is the only male who I know of who dances this role), Wendy Whelan or Maria Kowroski to give two examples.

Of course they will not all succeed in performing the ballet. Heck after the first performance the dancer may never dance that role or ballet again. But it would be interesting to see them try and stretch themselves. For all we know Jennie Somogyi could a beautifully lyrical in Symphony in C second movement. Benjamin Millepied could be the greatest Prodigal Son of his generation. Daniel Ulbricht could being a totally different prepective to the Melancholic section in The 4T's and so on. These may not be the best examples, but I sure you all get the idea of what I'm talking about. It may never work out, but it would be thrilling to watch!!

[KayDenmark]

Majinksy, I have to admit I never liked Fayette either. I didn't want to say so after his retirement - it seemed wrong to speak ill of the departed - but I found him grating, particularly in roles that required humour. Now that you've been bold enough to come out in the open, however, I'll back you up. Against the majority opinion, it seems.

GeorgeB fan, I agree with you as well. I'd love to see Albert Evans as Apollo, and cross my fingers I'll get the chance before HE retires. Millepied as the Prodigal also sounds like a good idea!

[PetipaFan]

I was delighted to read Majinksy's message about Fayette! Nobody is closer to the truth than a SAB student! Therefore I wrote privately to ask his opinion of who are the best and worst dancers at NYCB today...I think his 'worst' list is the same as everyone's but his best list had a couple of surprises!

With all due respect to Mr Fayette, I always smile a little when I see names ending with "ette" words ending in "ette" are always feminine in French.

[Hans]

The gender of a word or last name has nothing to do with the gender of a person.

In terms of students criticizing company members, all I have to say is that Peter Martins promoted Fayette to principal, so he must have seen something he liked, and PM is the artistic director of the company in which SAB students generally aspire to dance.

People have said this before, but there are NYCB dancers who read this board. I second pugbee's statement that:

Opinions are good.... but so is diplomacy.

[Petra]

With all due respect to Mr Fayette, I always smile a little when I see names ending with "ette" words ending in "ette" are always feminine in French.

Then I suppose General LaFayette must have been a reincarnation of Joan of Arc. :rolleyes:

[cargill]

I would just like to add my appreciation of James Fayette. He was just such a luminous partner--he could make a ballerina glow by looking at her, and he always seemed like such a grown up. He made Concerto Barocco seem alive again. And his Elegie in Tchaikovsky Suite just made me cry. Nowadays, it seems like everyone and his brother can make the audience gasp, but it takes a real artist to make them cry.

[bart]

I was delighted to read Majinksy's message about Fayette! Nobody is closer to the truth than a SAB student!  Therefore I wrote privately to ask his opinion of who are the best and worst dancers at NYCB today

Thanks, PetipaFan, it's wonderful to hear that PM's (private and personal) are being used for this kind of list-making.

There's nothing wrong with negative criticism of dancers, dances, or whatever. I have trouble, however, with using this highly visible forum to make negative statements of a kind that are rarely explained or supported with detailed analysis. I also prefer, personally, criticism that tries to find elements of the positive -- and that possibly suggests a way that things could be improved.

Thanks to all those who keep that other kind of venting and dishing -- which we ALL like to do at times -- as private as possible.

[Leigh Witchel]

As a cranky old timer, I feel like I've become something like an irritated grizzly bear on the board, only coming out of my lair to swipe with my paw when disturbed. Which stinks, but I need to echo something Alexandra said yesterday. This board was founded to discuss ballet, its ideas and tenets. There's almost nothing you can say about a dancer that someone else won't vehemently disagree with; it's too personal. When we discuss the dancers we love, we often say more about ourselves than we do about them. That doesn't mean we don't discuss dancers all the time, but please think about how you can do this in a way that moves the discussion forward, rather than mires it in "is not, is too!"

And a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt:

Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people

I don't think anyone discusses one of the three exclusively, but can we bring the balance back here to ideas?

OK, I'm shuffling back to my lair now.

[dancelyssa]

I always felt a special sort of "connection" with Fayette because his hometown school is the school where I took classes when I first started ballet, as I also live in Ridgefield. I've moved on to a pre-pro school, and that school hasn't been the same since the original director passed away, but still, it feels special to have started in the school where an NYCB principal started.