Mary J Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 I was a great fan of his when he danced with ABT and Joffrey. Anyone know how he is and if he is still teaching/directing? Link to comment
glebb Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Paul is retired but still stages "Rodeo" for companies all over the world. Link to comment
tango49 Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Yes I also enjoyed Paul Sutherland! Does anyone remember Brunhilda Ruiz as well? Were the two once married and does anyone know of her and what she is doing today? Link to comment
Doris R Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 I remember Paul Sutherland, but I never saw him perform. He used to teach at the National Cecchetti Conference in Michgan. Miss Ruiz taught there too, but I didn't remember them as being married. I knew they both danced with Joffrey, so they may have been a couple. My daughter enjoyed studing with both of them as a young student. She adored Miss Ruiz. Link to comment
glebb Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Paul and the beautiful Bruni are still married. I saw them last summer at the MET. We were all seeing what might have been Amanda McKerrow's last "Giselle" at ABT. Excellent people. Link to comment
Mary J Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 I first met Paul when he was still at ABT and married to Marie Paquet, through his early period with Joffrey when he and Ms. Ruiz were together but not yet married. Paul had the most incredible range and seemed to be a sensitive and reliable partner. I seem to recall that Bruni danced with Harkness for a season or two, as well. Thank you so much for the nice update! Link to comment
Ed McPherson Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I just had the chance to work with Paul in Minneapolis on a staging of Rodeo, it was nice to have this background. He is a gentle person, so easy and fun to work with. Brunie came out for the shows and was equally charming, wonderful stories from Harkness. Link to comment
susibee Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Paul Sutherland was part of the leadership of New Jersey Ballet, along with Carolyn Clark, George Tomal, and Eleanor D'Antuono, in the 1980's. (I'm not sure exactly when he started or left.) Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 In my time with Joffrey, which was a time of a whole lot of nice guys and gals, Paul Sutherland was always a standout in the Decent Human Being category. Could take a correction with dignity, and a compliment with humility and gratitude. Link to comment
Marga Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Paul Sutherland will be at Festival Ballet Providence starting next week, setting Rodeo on the company. It's wonderful to read such nice things about him! Link to comment
dnznqueen Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Paul coached me in Cowgirl several years ago...I ran into him at an audition last year and he remembered me!!! He invited me to stay and watch the company's Cowgirls rehearse and asked if I noticed anything different. He was always so much fun and great to work with!! Link to comment
Chat De Pas Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Paul Sutherland and Brunilda Ruiz were at the memorial service for George Tomal last night. Although I didn't have a chance to talk at length with them, they both looked well. Such kind and caring people. I studied with Paul at New Jersey Ballet School at the same time that I was taking class with Mr. Tomal. It always gave me a reason to get through my day at work, and I looked forward so much to going to class in the evenings! Two really classy gentlemen. Link to comment
Marga Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Paul Sutherland and Brunhilda Ruiz were also at Festival Ballet last weekend (and the days leading up to the performances) bringing his latest production of Rodeo to the stage. During the time he worked with the company, my daughter was so happy to be taught by him. He is a wonderful teacher, coach, and all-around swell guy! Dancing Rodeo was such a fun experience, she said she would love to dance it every day. During one week of rehearsals, Paul gave a tap class to the second cast of "Leaves are Fading" while the first cast was in rehearsal. My daughter, who has never tapped before, enjoyed it immensely and concentrated hard on her footwork. He had them repeat a sequence for a long time, and toward the end, my daughter's foot began to lag and as she struggled to regain her rhythm he remarked: "Next time come to class sober". She got such a kick out of this, and his many other "lighten the mood" comments made during rehearsals, that she phoned me that night to share it. Rodeo, danced by Festival Ballet Providence, was a hit and it was wonderful for me to see it again after more than 45 years. Thanks to Paul Sutherland that today's audiences are still treated to the pure joy of this first deMille ballet. Link to comment
dawnsonntag Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 It has been several years since this thread started, but I was just looking up some of the dancers I had known when I was a pianist for the Milwaukee Ballet back from 1983 - 1988. I was an undergraduate music major at UW Milwaukee and supported myself by playing for these classes. I loved ballet, but dance had been forbidden during my youth, so I finally started studying ballet as a college student. I had to support myself through college and realized I could earn money as a ballet pianist. I sort of faked my way into the Milwaukee Ballet by just calling and saying I was a ballet pianist although I had never actually played for a class. On my first day, I was thrown into the upper level classes with the professionals when one of the other pianists called in sick. A few years later, I was offered the position of main company pianist in 1985 but wanted to study voice, so turned it down. I loved, loved playing for Paul and Bruni. They were so positive and so kind to the pianists. It is so fascinating for me to look up these people from my past and learn what they have been doing. I played for some other small schools through 1993 - by that time I was living in Germany, had studied voice and was singing a lot and also becamse a collaborative pianist with singers and instrumentalists, sometthing I enjoyed doing more than playing for dance classes. So I did not play for ballet classes after that. But also am a composer and have of course always thoughty about composing for dance. I used to make up my own pieces all the time for the Milwaukee Ballet - and then with my involvement in the choral and vocal world sort of lost that vision. Recently, it occurred to me how working as an undergrad for the Milwaukee Ballet was a huge formative experience for me in so many ways. Because I had children so young I also went through pregnancies and having babies while I worked there. I actually brought my babies to class sometimes when I played for Paul and Bruni. And when I was hospitalized once for a kidney stone while I was pregnant, they were very concerned - just really great people. What started this recent search and voyage into the past was hearing some snarky remarks about male dancers. I have always had vivid memories of watching Ethan Stiefel when I accompanied the classes he was in, and of Paul working with him. It was so inspirational. I named my second son "Ethan" because of this. And of course Ethan Stiefel has had a big career. Fantastic to learn these things. Motivates me to start looking for connections for composing for dance. I teach now at Hiram College, am a member of the Cleveland Composers Guild. Link to comment
maps Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Mr Sutherland staged Rodeo for ABT this season: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-SLEEPING-BEAUTY-OTHELLO-and-More-Set-for-ABTs-Spring-2015-Season-at-the-Met-20141016 Link to comment
sandik Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 It has been several years since this thread started, but I was just looking up some of the dancers I had known when I was a pianist for the Milwaukee Ballet back from 1983 - 1988. I was an undergraduate music major at UW Milwaukee and supported myself by playing for these classes. I loved ballet, but dance had been forbidden during my youth, so I finally started studying ballet as a college student .... Fantastic to learn these things. Motivates me to start looking for connections for composing for dance. I teach now at Hiram College, am a member of the Cleveland Composers Guild. I have wonderful memories of several accompanists, especially when I was just starting out -- live music in the studio is such a help, to students and to teachers, and a sympathetic musician is worth his or her weight in gold. Link to comment
dawnsonntag Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Some instructors made us feel like machines - not a nice feeling - the work could be exhausting - but never Paul or Bruni. You really felt valued as a pianist and respected as a musician in their classes. Or Gerard Charles, who was at the Columbus BalletMet some years back. I went to see something there back in 2003 with friends - my friend was a seamstress for Balletmet - and when he walked out onstage at the beginning of the performance, I immediately remembered him. He and his wife had been principals at the Milwaukee Ballet when I was there and taught class as well. They were great people, too. I would run into them in the grocery store in Bay View where we lived and we would just chat. It taught me that great artists were "real" people, and that real people could be great artists - and that hard work was the key. When I complained once about not being appreciated by some instructors to my piano teacher, Armand Basile, he said to me, "Would you rather work at McDonalds?" I learned so much rep during those years - ballet and other. An amazing experience for an undergrad music major. Link to comment
Recommended Posts