On Pointe

Isn't it more likely that it is the NYCB Board, and not Peter Martins, that wants a new R and J? No doubt their marketing surveys indicate that this would bring in considerable revenue from the full length ballet fans. Because everyone is familiar with the story and/or the score, Romeo looks like the most logical candidate for a box office winner. The relationship between a board and an artisitic director is crucial to the vitality of any arts enterprise. But the artistic director should always be a first among equals. The problem is that decisions that seem to make perfect sense to lay people, could have disastrous consequences in the long term for a company. And it's very distasteful - to me, anyway - when some society figure stamps her little foot, and decides that she knows more than professionals who have dedicated their lives to the art. (Or he. No sex bias intended!)

"I definitely need to lie down with a cold compress." LOL. See what happens when you open this can of worms! In the early years of Martins' leadership, some disgruntled fans were certain that Heather Watts was running the company. As for her qualifications - other than her personal relationships - for a number of years she ran a pickup company with NYCB dancers and others that toured in this country and abroad. So no doubt she does have experience and skills in the area of administration, casting, etc.

Whenever a dancer manages to snag an interview in the mainstream press, even if the dancer is a teenager right out of school, the interviewer always asks "What are you going to do when you can't dance anymore", or words to that effect. I've always felt that it was disrespectful to the performer. It takes so much hard work, and dedication, to succeed in the field. Dancers should be allowed to revel in their current success. Dance careers may be short compared to some others, but most dancers stay active as long or longer than others in artistic fields. I've yet to see an interview where a young singer or actor is asked what they are going to do when they get older. And no one asks CEOs of non-dance corporations what they are going to do with their time - and their millions - when they aren't selling widgets anymore. I say all that to say this - the job of Artistic Director of the New York City Ballet is not open. Peter Martins has not, to my knowledge, given any indication that he is considering stepping down. If you disagree with his decisions, and everything he has done as head of the company, that should all be fair game for discussion. But in my opinion, it's rude and disrespectful to talk about what's going to happen when he's gone when he's still going to work everyday.

The Rockwell article was thought-provoking, but he left out an important aspect: stardom is a lot of work for the star. No doubt there are many dancers who would like the star push, or think they would. But are they willing to expose their private lives, their hopes and dreams, in the manner that the popular culture demands from its celebrities, even in the so-called high-brow arenas of opera and ballet? Bill Murray has said that all those people who think they want to be rich and famous should try rich first, to see if that isn't enough! Of course while Nureyev managed to amass an astonishing fortune, most ballet dancers are in no danger of becoming rich. But certainly dancers in the recent past have been dogged by gossip columnists and paparazzi, without the insulating comfort of wealth. Stars do emerge, even in unlikely settings. Rockwell mentions Alicia Graf with the Ailey Company. He also writes that she seems to have engendered a lot of professional jealousy from the other dancers, who perhaps see her as an interloper from the ballet world. (And why isn't she in ABT or NYCB?) Stardom can be very lonely. And what if they don't actually live up to the hype? A few months ago, a journeyman soprano (can't remember her name) got the chance of a lifetime when after years of waiting tables, she got to go on for an indisposed star at the Met. It was a great story, and she got a big anticipatory writeup in the New York Times. But her performance was merely adequate, and seems to have done little for her career. There have certainly been ballerinas thrust into the limelight long before they were ready. I can think of at least two fine dancers who IMO never lived up to the premature prominence they were given, and seemed to suffer because of it. And if an anointed star gives a below par performance, the critics can be brutal. No doubt there are plenty of attractive, witty, and engaging dancers who could increase the audience for ballet, whether they are actually stars are not. (I'd love to see a pair of dancers on The Amazing Race. Foreign languages, airport maneuvers, tough tasks on little food and sleep - they would absolutely kill!) But today's dancers are not encouraged to think of themselves as part of entertainment. The public will make its own stars. But it has to know that individuals with star quality exist. Perhaps for the sake of company cohesion, ballet companies these days seem reluctant to exploit the natural appeal of their dancers.

Here's my second take on NYCB in Chicago. The program on the Saturday matinee was Divertimento No. 15, In the Night, and Four Temperaments. This time I was seated in the fourth row of the orchestra. Normally I dislike seeing ballet on the orchestra level, but in this theater, there are evidently no bad seats. The theater was again full, and among the well-heeled retirees were dancers from the Joffrey and other companies. During intermission, three little girls ran down to the orchestra pit to take a peek, but otherwise, there were very few children in the house. Along with the admonition to turn off our cell phones and pagers, it was announced that Ana Sophia Scheller would be dancing in place of Yvonne Borree in Divertimento No. 15. I don't know if she has done this role before Chicago, but she was marvelously self-assured. I was blown away by Sterling Hyltin. I had never seen her before and I found her very impressive - beautiful upper body as well as outstanding legs and feet, with a fierce appetite for movement and eagerness to "take stage". And there was a tall blonde girl (sorry I couldn't figure out who she was) who made me think the announcement had been incomplete: surely that was a principal dancer filling in in the ensemble as a lark! As my ballet teacher used to say, "You don't look for talent. It hits you in the eye." In my opinion, In the Night is not Robbins at his greatest, but sometimes a weak ballet gives dancers strong opportunities, and Jenifer Ringer was heart-stopping in the piece. I expected Maria Kowroski to be beautiful, and indeed she was. Rachel Rutherford has been a de facto principal dancer for some time, and I've often wondered why she hasn't yet been promoted. And the men, Tyler Angle, Charles Askegard, and Sebastien Marcovici were gallant partners. I had forgotten that the great Anthony Dowell designed the costumes! (Which, when you think about it, is very odd indeed. I don't believe he went on to a career as a designer.) In Four Temperaments, I thought that the girls in the grand battement entrance could have used more attack and push from the hips, but the other women in the ensemble were suitably sharp and aggressive. There were a number of dancers (apprentices?) in this ballet who were not listed on the roster as yet. I know that traditionally the Fourth Movement of Symphony in C is where many get there first taste of performing with the company, but I don't recall that many newbies being cast in Four Ts in the past. It was great seeing Jennie Somogyi restored to health and dancing fearlessly. I thought Teresa Reichlen was outstanding in the fourth movement. (She reminds me a bit of Nicole Kidman.) Everyone displayed the easy high legs that are a NYCB trademark, especially Albert Evans, which you don't necessarily expect from a man. One thing that struck me, from Divertimento on, was the very evident joy of the dancers, in their performance, in the music, in each other. So I disagree respectfully, but strongly, with another poster on this site. It seems to me that this is a very happy company indeed. As to style and authenticity, I do not think that it's a good idea to compare a flesh-and-blood performance of today with a videotape made nearly thirty years ago. For one thing, as a medium of preservation, videotape is just not that good. Aspect ratios can drastically change the look of choreography. And Balanchine famously would alter movement for the demands of the television camera; sometimes the changes would stay in, sometimes they wouldn't. But my main objection is that that approach discounts the individuality, the artistry, even the humanity, of the dancers. Opening night was dedicated to Maria Tallchief, and there is an exquisite picture of her in the program, from Symphony in C. Tallchief was the first ballerina I ever saw dance. I was a small child, with no knowledge of the niceties of ballet technique. But I will never forget her presence and beauty, her piercing intelligence. But also, as that photo makes clear, Tallchief was a great ballerina of her time. It would be absurd to expect Ashley Bouder, or Sofiane Sylve, or Wendy Whelan to recreate Tallchief's performances of the roles she danced. As Balanchine himself said, "Ballet belongs to a dancer who is right now in front of your face." In the past, I often flew to New York just to see the company, and I feel very privileged that this time, they flew to me! The planning and logistics involved must have been massive, and I appreciate the contributions of the five (very rich!) ladies who made this engagement happen. Hopefully it is the harbinger of regular visits from NYCB in the future.

For those who wanted to hear from us in Chicago, here goes. I've been a fan for decades, and when I lived in New York, I often went to the ballet three or four times a week. The excitement of seeing my favorite ballet company in my own backyard was almost unbearable! Although I must say, at first glance, the new Harris Theater has all the charm and ambience of an interstate bus terminal. There are no amenities in the lobby whatsoever, just a bench formed from a slab of corrugated steel, and except for wonderful huge photos of the dancers, no decoration. But the design is unique - once past the lobby, you go down to the balconies. The entire theater is underground, with the orchestra level about four stories below the street. The seats are very comfortable, and the sightlines are incredible. The Thursday matinee appeared sold out. The first ballet was Serenade, with gorgeous Jenifer Ringer, and Sarah Mearns, Ashley Bouder, and Ask La Cour making impressive debuts in their roles in Chicago. When the curtain went up on the familiar "orange grove" of young dancers, the audience burst into applause. Because the ensemble was so young, it struck me that the original spirit of the ballet was revealed. After all, Balanchine made the piece on students, and like students, you could almost see the wheels turning as the dancers moved their arms en haut and en bas, and turned out their feet into first. If it struck someone as "robotic", well, that's the choreography. As the performance got underway, the disadvantage of a theater built for music and dance became evident: while the acoustics are probably great for a singer onstage, the thump of the dancers' pointe shoes was distractingly loud and took some getting used to. I felt the ensemble's attack was slightly tentative at first, but after a few minutes, they began to immerse themselves in the music and movement. And then something wonderful happened - Ashley Bouder fell. She hit the deck with so much force, she almost somersaulted. She ended beautifully, with one foot pointed upward and her back eloquently curved forward. If Balanchine had been in the wings, he would have said "Keep it in!" She recovered immediately, and as often happens when someone takes a spill, it upped the ante for everyone. So what started out as a good performance became a terrific one. The second ballet was Concerto Barocco. My only criticism of the corps is that the little hops on pointe in fifth seemed a bit too deliberate. Otherwise they were fine, and the audience hardly registered it when one of them also went down. Maybe it's because things like that don't matter when you are witness to the greatness that is Wendy Whelan. She was absolutely transcendent. Albert Evans' partnering was superb - on the repeated lifts in the second movement, she appeared to float on her own power - and what stage presence he has! After the pause came Duo Concertante, with Yvonne Borree and Nikolaj Hubbe. I saw Peter Martins and Kay Mazzo in these roles, and others as well. It's a piece I don't feel strongly about, but I thought the performance was excellent. It's interesting that Hedy Weiss, the lead drama critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, described Borree as "tiny" and Wendy Whelan as "painfully thin". You expect comments like that from "regular"- sized people unfamiliar with the slight figures of ballerinas. But Weiss, a New York transplant herself - and a former ballet student - is a teeny little wisp of a woman! The performance ended with Symphony in C, one of my favorites. The Stafford siblings were excellent in the first movement, as were the adorable Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz in the third, and Tiler Peck and Jared Angle in the fourth. But the ballet belonged to Sofiane Sylve (wonderfully partnered by Charles Askegard) in the second movement. What a magnificently lush performance! Referring to her tiara, my companion whispered "She's the queen, so she gets the crown." Of course, all the women were wearing them, but Sylve was feeling hers. The guest conductor was named Briskin, and boy did he live up to his name! But the dancers seemed to enjoy his challenging tempi, and the finale ended with thunderous applause and cheers. I hope that the next time the company comes (soon, soon!), they bring one or two more ballets that showcase the men more. But I'm glad they didn't "dumb down" the repertory. Hell hath no fury like a Chicago audience that feels patronized by New Yorkers. One little quibble - I came prepared to load up on souvenir programs, calendars, books, t-shirts, etc., but there wasn't one single NYCB item on sale! I'm sure it's a bother to shlep that stuff, but it enhances the performance experience, and looking at it long after the company has departed keeps them in the public's mind and energizes the fan base until the next engagement