Dance Fan

Although a bit dry in parts, I found it quite fascinating. There was excellent archival footage of Bolshoi dancers and a snippet of Pavlova as "The Swan", and interesting comments from artists who survived the era. Although I usually find comparisons of present-day dancers to great dancers of the past pointless, one could not help but notice that the great Bolshoi ballerinas of the thirties, forties and fifties had a vivacity that seems absent in dancers today. They were high-voltage performers as much as dancers. Of course they had to be; one negative "review" from Stalin or Berea could mean years in prison, or the end of their careers. There was an excerpt of Olga Lepeshinskaya dancing marvelously, but you could see the hint of terror in her smile. One could also see the bodies change over the years, from short-necked, stocky, powerhouses to the sleek, long-limbed Bolshoi dancers of today. When I first saw Soviet companies perform, it was easy to tell the Bolshoi from the Kirov before they danced a step, just by the dancers' physiques. There seems to be hardly any difference between the two companies now. The program made the point that Stalin allowed the ballet to flourish because he recognized its appeal to the Soviet masses, both the educated and the uneducated. He used the ballet to advance the party line and to reward the party faithful. While the film industry in the forties certainly supported the war effort, there is no equivalent use of an art form in our history. We're all fortunate that Stalin saw value in ballet. The program made it clear he could have snuffed it out of existence with a wave of his murderous hand.

I remember Monica Mason well as a stalwart of the Royal Ballet. She had a very strong, clean, technique, outstanding in her pointe work and jumps. But what I remember most about her was her striking face - strong featured, not the least bit "ballerina-like" in the conventional sense. She really projected to the back rows.

Sorry, Alexandra. It is not my intent to get into a personal colloquy, but there seems to be a lot of misundertanding here. "Cuban" is a nationality; "black" is not. There are many reasons why dancers are not cast in certain roles. And if a black dancer performs a role poorly, the audience and the critics should not feel any constraint in registering their disappointment. But my point is that a principal dancer of Albert Evans' accomplishment, who considers himself a classicist, as Evans does, should at least have the opportunity to fail as Siegfried, or Apollo. But apparently he doesn't.

Regarding my previous post, I actually believe Lauren Anderson has had a pretty good career, no matter her race or ethnicity. But if Albert Evans were Alberto Vasquez, maybe he'd be doing Siegfried at Covent Garden along with Carlos Acosta.

Alexandra it may not matter to you, but your description of Carlos Acosta as "Cuban" rather than black is not incidental. A very large percentage of the Cuban population is black, descended from the same kidnaped Africans as black Americans. But in many fields, from baseball to ballet, black Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, etc. could get jobs that black Americans of similar skin color could not get, simply because they had a Hispanic last name. If Lauren Anderson were Laurena Acosta, would that change the perception of her as a black dancer, and wouldn't that likely have an effect on her career? I just read a story in the New York Times that stated that the great jazz composer Jelly Roll Morton was allowed to stay in the same hotel in Indiana as the members of a white band he was recording with, because they told the management he was "Cuban". The same man, the same great talent, and yet if he proclaimed his identity as a black American, he would not have gotten a room, and perhaps he would not have made that early recording. These petty distinctions that mean little to the white population have had, and continue to have, powerful effect on the lives of black people.

Does this mean that all the long-time ABT staffers who dedicated their lives to the company, but were driven out by Spisto's vulgarity, will now get their positions back?

Regarding the pool of available black talent, I have to disagree with Alexandra. I believe there are more than enough serious black ballet students to increase the ranks in the major companies. But it's a chicken and egg kind of thing - if there were more opportunities, you would see more dancers pursuing them. Because of the cost of training (and the cost of toe shoes) an inordinate number of white dancers come from wealthy families. Although the black middle-class is large and growing larger year by year, it is difficult to justify the expense of professional ballet training when the financial "pay off", in the best of situations, is not great. I have known of several outstanding black dancers who chose not to go on dancing because their families expect them to achieve economically. Add to that the limitation of segregated roles, and you have the recipe for scarcity.

Thanks again to Leigh Witchel for the historical perspective. While it's true Balanchine seemed to be apolitical (although I seem to recall Danilova describing him as somewhat right wing), and although the NY audience might have been used to Arthur Mitchell by 1958, that broadcast went all across the country. And in 1958, segregation was the law of the land in much of the U.S. Hard to believe that there was no pressure on Balanchine to change the casting for the telecast. Back to the original topic, Eric Vu An of the Paris Opera Ballet certainly had an interesting career. Although I believe he is half Vietnamese, he identified himself as black, and lamented that because of his color, he would never be given princely opportunities with the POB. Does anyone know where he is now?

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, critics most of all, but isn't there some bad blood between Robert Gottlieb and Peter Martins, going back to the days when Gottlieb was on the board of the company. (Hope this doesn't sound too much like gossip!) And could this contretemps be coloring Gottlieb's opinions regarding the company today?

Leigh - regarding the Sugar Plum Fairy's cavalier: Perhaps Balanchine did dislike this part, but, as far as I know, the version with the four partners was done only for television. I have never seen it done that way on stage. I think we've gotten away from the original subject of this thread (it has been interesting). Why is there so much resistance to black dancers in ballet, and is it because of racism, or are there other factors? In the past, one could say that not enough black dancers trained intensively, but that is not the case today. Is it just out-and-out racism, and if it is, what can be done about it?

Thanks to Leigh Witchel for the info on "Afternoon of a Faun". But as for Balanchine and racial political statements, one could say that the hiring of Arthur Mitchell was a pretty powerful statement for its time. Also I seem to recall a story that, long ago, when Balanchine's Balanchine's was broadcast, instead of the usual pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier, the ballerina was partnered by all of the male principals from the second act, which included Arthur Mitchell. (This was back when the Arabian Dance was performed by a man instead of a woman.) Because it was never performed this way on stage, there was some thought that Balanchine was making a comment on racial equality, using the powerful medium of television. Maybe someone out there knows more about this. By the way, Janet Collins and and the modern dancer Carmen de Lavallade are cousins. Certainly they are both strikingly beautiful.

Before she became a star with Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison was a member of the Harkness Ballet. There was also a Harkness dancer with the fabulous name of D'artagnan Petty. John Jones was in the company at that time as well. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Jerome Robbins originally choreographed "Afternoon of a Faun" on him, or it may have been Louis Johnson. At any rate, a pas de deux with a black man and a white woman was seen as quite a racial statement in the ballet's early days. This was just before the peak of the civil rights movement, and segregation was still the law of the land in much of the country. One of Balanchine's "lost" ballets is "The Figure in the Carpet". It featured several leading couples, among them Arthur Mitchell and Mary Hinkson. Ms. Hinkson was one of Martha Graham's principal dancers, but she was initially trained in ballet. She performed the role on pointe. Many black dancers were steered to modern dance because the chance of a ballet career was considered unlikely.

When the beloved, legendary founder-head of an artistic institution passes on, the immediate successor is almost always the fall guy. The press and the public, in their grief for the great one, tend to attack every move of the hapless new director as retrograde, inept, or disrespectful of the institution's tradition. That person is then hounded out of position, and, their need for a blood sacrifice sated, the fans are able to accept the efforts of the third person to take on the job. The classic example is New York's Public Theater: When Joe Papp died, the directorship went to the unjustly maligned Joanne Akalaitis, and from her to George C. Wolfe. The interesting thing about Martins is how he has managed to hold on to his directorship, despite unceasing, bitter criticism from some who see nothing of merit in the work he has done for nearly twenty years. These are the same people who will be poised to attack HIS successor. Whoever takes over, one can only hope and pray that it will be an actual ballet dancer, someone who has danced Balanchine, Robbins' and yes, Martins' ballets. Over the years, many choreographic darlings of the avant-garde have been proposed as the "true" heirs of Balanchine, mainly because they said they were. One can only pray that the company's board will act prudently when the time comes, and choose wisely.

NYCB probably has as higher percentage of black dancers than any other company, besides DTH. But it seems that while black male dancers in otherwise white companies are not rare, females are in short supply. I believe Aesha Ash is the only black female in NYCB. Besides Debra Austin, Cynthia Lochard, Myrna Kamara, and Andrea Long also danced with the company, but rarely have there been two black females in the ensemble at the same time, and no soloists or principals. Interesting that in opera, the reverse seems to be the rule - there are numerous black divas singing major roles all over the world, but black men in opera are almost non-existent, although there are many acclaimed as concert singers. Skin color seems to be a factor as well. It's easier for lighter-skinned dancers to blend into the ensemble, and there may well be black dancers in companies who are not identified as such by the audience. (Gary Chryst who danced with the Joffrey Ballet for many years comes to mind.) There are also probably light-skinned dancers who are "passing" for white - a friend of mine who had a good career here and abroad did this. During the twenties and thirties, many black Americans went to Russia at the behest of the Communists. One of them, a dancer named Scott, had a daughter who was a soloist with the Bolshoi, Marjorie (Yulamei) Scott. I believe she teaches at the school these days.

According to an item in the Chicago Sun-Times, Neve Campbell has been working with the Joffrey because she is developing a film with a dance angle. Think of the possibilities - "Scream" meets "Save the Last Dance"! Miss Campbell spent years studying at the National Ballet of Canada's school and I've seen her dance a little. She's quite good. By the way, Christopher Walken began his career dancing on Broadway. He's brilliant in the little-known film "Pennies from Heaven". Wouldn't he make a fabulous Rothbart, or a fabulously scary Drosselmeyer?

I don't know if Kent's shoes are worth less than the other dancers. But at least she got some use out of them. When ABT appeared in Chicago a few years ago, some of the dancers made an appearance at a department store downtown, and handed out signed, brand new, unused pointe shoes to each person in line! I found this a shocking waste of resources for a company that is constantly in fundraising mode.

One could argue that it is important to maintain the racial and ethnic stereotypes presented in classic ballets because they do indeed bear witness to prevalent attitudes when the works were created. But when those works were choreographed, ballet companies were all white. Would one expect Edward Liang to dance the Chinese Dance in NYCB's "Nutcracker", or Aesha Ash and Albert Evans to perform the Blackamoor pas de deux in "Somnambula"? Perhaps they would not mind, but it is possible that casting them in this manner might cause them and members of the audience great emotional distress. I was shocked by the performance of a black male dancer, in drag and on pointe, as the "maid" in Mark Morris' "The Hard Nut". We are not yet in such enlightened times that such casting could be considered innocuous.

The term "anorexic" is used much too freely these days. Anorexia nervosa is an exceedingly rare psychiatric condition whose victims have such a distorted body image that they see themselves as intolerably fat when they are actually skeletal. There is some evidence that an anomaly in the brain predisposes one to the problem. But just being thin or wanting to be thin does not make one "anorexic". Does anyone recall that around the time that Heidi Guenther passed away, three young men died trying to make the weight for their division on wrestling teams? There was very little coverage. Their deaths were reported as accidents, the result of risks taken to achieve a desired goal. Perhaps because they were males, no one suggested that they were anorexic. People Magazine recently ran cover stories on female actors who were intolerably thin, and then on women in film and television with "healthy" bodies. There was maybe an eight to ten pound difference between them, tops! This society tends to use issues of weight to undermine the confidence of women, whether they are fat, skinny, or in-between. There is no reason for any woman's weight to be a matter for public discussion. The critics who berate ballet dancers for being too thin are often the same ones who write viciously if a dancer puts on a few pounds. And speaking of critics, surely it is unethical to critique an art form if you don't have a great love for it at its best. I loathe the sound of boy sopranos, and would never attempt to assess a performance by the Vienna Boys Choir. Obviously Lewis Segal hates ballet, so why is he covering it for the LA Times?

Regarding the Kirov casting of Makarova in the "white" acts of "Swan Lake", and Fedicheva as the Black Swan, I don't recall this being the usual Kirov practice at that time. Makarova was very young, and she didn't start studying until she was thirteen, so her technique had a way to go. She developed in front of the audience for a great deal of her career before her defection. She was clearly destined for great things and was probably being protected by the management. There were several Kirov ballerinas at that time easily capable of dancing the dual role without assistance.

I would love to see Silja Schandorff in "Swan Lake". Maybe this won't be her only performance with NYCB. By the way, her partnership with Nilas Martins goes back a long way. There is a picture of the two of them dancing together in "Elverhill" (I think that's how you spell it), which is an old Danish play with music and ballet that doesn't "travel". I think they were about eight years old at the time!

Years ago, in Chicago, (I was a mere toddler, of course) the Kirov presented a performance of "Swan Lake" with Natalia Makarova doing Acts II and IV, and Kaleria Fedicheva doing Act III. Makarova was very new at the time, and rather frail. But she was lovely as Odette. Fedicheva was a wonderful dancer, (I believe she died a few years ago), but she and Makarova could not have been more dissimilar. She was a big girl with a broad face and prominent muscles - even her insteps had ripples. The Panovs (remember them?) wrote about her very disparagingly in their book. It seems she was a big-time manipulator. But she was a very effective performer, unlike some of the other politically-connected Soviet dancers of that era.