Allegra Kent

[allegromezzo18]

How does Allegra Kent compare to other NYCB dancers like

Patty McBride, Suzanne Farrell, Melissa Hayden or even Darcy Kistler?

[carbro]

Sounds like you've seen the video, "Dancing for Mr. B". Yes?

The best way to understand what sets each apart is to watch the dancing of each of the ballerinas for yourself -- how she uses the music, the different aspects of her personality and how they come through the dancing. I know video is a poor medium, and we don't have enough of each to really "know" them, but I think you can get an idea of each even on that one video, "Dancing for Mr. B."

Very briefly, Kent, like Farrell and Kistler, was considered a lyrical dancer. McBride and Hayden, on the other hand, were considered allegro dancers.

Kent had a very vulnerable, other-worldly quality in many of her roles. It's what made her Sleepwalker legendary.

These are five very distinct individuals, and it's hard to compare one to the other, but maybe someone else can do a better job of answering your question than I have.

[Paul Parish]

Something in me wants to say Kent is my favorite-- her phrasing is so haunting.

the clips of her in Symphony in C are the most beatiful dancing i think I've ever seen on video. But there's so LITTLE of Kent on video --

What you've GOT to see before you make up your mind is her dancing with Jacques d'Amboise in the adage from Balanchine's Midsummer Night's Dream (Act 2). It is mysteriously beautiful beyond anything.

[richard53dog]

Sounds like you've seen the video, "Dancing for Mr. B".  Yes?

Very briefly, Kent, like Farrell and Kistler, was considered a lyrical dancer.  McBride and Hayden, on the other hand, were considered allegro dancers.

Kent had a very vulnerable, other-worldly quality in many of her roles.  It's what made her Sleepwalker legendary.

These are five very distinct individuals, and it's hard to compare one to the other, but maybe someone else can do a better job of answering your question than I have.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think carbro hit the nail on the head. To take Kent, Farrell, Kistler, McBride, and Hayden and then to toss in a few more female NYCB dancers like Verdy, Leland, etc, they all had sharply defined personalities. Allegra Kent was much more enveloped in a kind of gauze, almost making her impressionistic.

Richard

[bart]

Kent was a lovely, lovely dancer. As a youngster, I appreciated the stronger more dramatic qualities of Hayden and the precision and ranginess of Adams, referred to often in the film. It took time and some growing up on my part, but Kent taught me the attractions of a gentler, more ethereal kind of dancing and stage presence -- as though wrapped in that gauze that richard53dog mentions.

She first made an impression on me in Balanchine's Seven Deadly Sins. Kent danced the role of young Anna, sharing the stage with a much older version of herself who sang the role. The older Anna was the singer-actress Lotte Lenya.

The vulnerability, fragility, lightness and innocence of the young character were embodied in Kent the dancer -- the self-sufficiency, toughness, bitter cynicism were expressed by Lenya the survivor. The unforgettable moment for me is when Lenya, who made some kind of pronouncement, turns to Kent (the young Anna) and asks her: "Right, Anna?" Kent starts to open her mouth to respond, perhaps to disagree. Lenya puts her hand over Kent's mouth to keep her silent and answers her own question: "RIGHT, Anna."

Although it's been a long time, I can still see both performers positioned next to one another, Lenya to the left, facing the wings, Kent slightly behind her facing the audience, hair down -- hear the raspy intonation of Lenya's voice -- and remember how powerful it was when it seemed that this gentle dancer, to whom so many dreadful things had happened during the ballet, actually might speak her feelings out loud on stage.

This is probably my single favorite memory of any stage performance.

(Great Kurt Weill score, too.)

[allegromezzo18]

Sounds like you've seen the video, "Dancing for Mr. B". 

Carbro, Yes, I just watched the video tape "Dancing for Mr. B". It thought it was really interesting. I am also reading Allegra Kent's autobiography, which is also very interesting. Where can I find video's of Allegra Kent?

[perky]

The vulnerability, fragility, lightness and innocence of the young character were embodied in Kent the dancer -- the self-sufficiency, toughness, bitter cynicism were expressed by Lenya the survivor.  The unforgettable moment for me is when Lenya, who made some kind of pronouncement, turns to Kent (the young Anna) and asks her:  "Right, Anna?"  Kent starts to open her mouth to respond, perhaps to disagree.  Lenya puts her hand over Kent's mouth to keep her silent and answers her own question:  "RIGHT, Anna." 

Although it's been a long time, I can still see both performers positioned next to one another, Lenya to the left, facing the wings, Kent slightly behind her facing the audience, hair down -- hear the raspy intonation of Lenya's voice -- and remember how powerful it was when it seemed that this gentle dancer, to whom so many dreadful things had happened during the ballet, actually might speak her feelings out loud on stage. 

This is probably my single favorite memory of any stage performance.

(Great Kurt Weill score, too.)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow!!

Thanks Bart for that firsthand account of The Seven Deadly Sins!!

Like Paul I too wish more of Allegra Kent's dancing was on video.

[Jack Reed]

In Bugaku she showed such flexibility that after one performance I saw a woman near me remarked aptly, "That woman has been fileed!" But in a performance of Sonnambula, Kent sailed out on stage with such force and energy! At the same time she had all the delicate qualities others have mentioned above. That's part of what makes dancers uniquely interesting, like Farrell's combination of innocence and sensuality in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.