Lincoln Kirstein Centennial 2007

[Dale]

Thanks to Dirac for the link to the New York Sun article on events relating to Lincoln Kirstein's Centennial. I thought it would be good to put the link here as well:

http://www.nysun.com/article/47190

At one of the seminars this year, it was announced that the seminars for the spring season would be about Kirstein.

[Amy Reusch]

I wish the State Theater would commission statues of Balanchine and Kirstein

for the Promenade. That would be so appropriate.

Or maybe, at least, they could borrow & display the Noguchi bust of Kirstein the Wadsworth Atheneum has in Hartford.

[kfw]

I wish the State Theater would commission statues of Balanchine and Kirstein

for the Promenade. That would be so appropriate.

Or maybe, at least, they could borrow & display the Noguchi bust of Kirstein the Wadsworth Atheneum has in Hartford.

Didn't the library there borrow it for the 1993 celebration? Seems to me I saw it then.

[Dale]

According to one of the celebration accounts, a collection of Kirstein's art work will be displayed at State Theater.

[Dale]

The company release:

A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF LINCOLN KIRSTEIN FEATURING DANCE, ART, WRITING, AND EXHIBITION

Year of Activities Surrounding the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Lincoln Kirstein to Include Such Organizations as The Harvard Theatre Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Ballet, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, Wadsworth Atheneum, and Whitney Museum of American Art Publications to Include a Complete Kirstein Bibliograph and Collection of Program Notes from the Eakins Press

Throughout 2007 the worlds of ballet, art, publishing, and education will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lincoln Kirstein through numerous events and activities.

These will include performances, exhibitions, lectures, and seminars, as well as the publication of several books focusing on various aspects of Kirstein’s life and work. Participating organizations include The Harvard Theatre Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Ballet, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, Wadsworth Atheneum, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

The Eakins Press, which was founded by Kirstein’s close friend Leslie George Katz and published a number of Kirstein’s acclaimed books, will issue two new publications during 2007– Lincoln Kirstein: A Bibliography of Published Writings, edited by Peter Kayafas, and Lincoln Kirstein: The Program Notes, edited by Randall Bourscheidt. In addition, dance writer and historian Nancy Reynolds will edit a collection of reminiscences by friends and colleagues of Kirstein, which will be published by Ballet Society.

The wide-ranging scope of the organizations involved in honoring Kirstein is a testament to his diverse interests and lasting influence on many areas of the arts world. The Kirstein centennial activities have been coordinated by Nancy Lassalle, a longtime friend and colleague of Kirstein, a director emerita at New York City Ballet, and the secretary of the board of the School of American Ballet.

Kirstein, who was born on May 4, 1907, was a writer and impresario, as well as one of the most influential cultural figures of the 20th century. He was born in Rochester, New York, to a wealthy mercantile family, his father was chairman of Boston’s Filene’s Department store. Kirstein was educated at Harvard University, from which he graduated in 1930. While at Harvard he co-founded and edited the seminal literary magazine Horn and Hound, and also founded the Harvard Society of Contemporary Art, a forerunner of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

As a child he fell in love with ballet, and he first encountered the work of George Balanchine in Europe during the early 1930s. He was determined to bring the young Russian choreographer to America, and in 1933, with the financial help of friends from Harvard, he sponsored Balanchine’s emigration to the United States. In 1934 Kirstein and Balanchine founded the School of American Ballet, and in 1948 they formed New York City Ballet, both of which led to the flowering of classical ballet throughout America. Kirstein served as General Director of New York City Ballet from 1948

to 1989.

Kirstein also wrote and published extensively. His dance books include Dance (1935), The Classic Ballet (1952), Movement and Metaphor (1971), and Thirty Years—The New York City Ballet (1978). Other works are the novel Flesh is Heir (1932), Rhymes of a PFC (1964), and Lay This Laurel (1974), as well as monographs, essays, and books on artists such as Pavel Tchelitchew, Elie Nadelman, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Gaston Lachaise, Walker Evans, Henri Cartier-Bresson, W. Eugene Smith, George Tooker, Paul Cadmus, and Jamie Wyeth. In 1987 he published Quarry: A Collection in Lieu of Memoirs and The Poems of Lincoln Kirstein.

His eclectic interests, ambition, keen interest in high culture, and large circle of friends also stimulated creativity in many areas of the arts. The English dance critic Clement Crisp has written that Kirstein “was one of those rare talents who touch the entire artistic life of their time. Ballet, film, literature, theater, painting, sculpture, photography, all occupied his attention.”

Kirstein was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1984) and the National Medal of Arts (1985), among other honors. He died on January 5, 1996.

Kirstein Centennial Activities

New York City Ballet

New York City Ballet will celebrate Lincoln Kirstein throughout its entire 2007 Spring Season, from April 24 through June 24 at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. Highlights will include the World Premiere of Peter Martins’ full-length staging of Romeo and Juliet, which will premiere on Tuesday, May 1, and will feature dancers from NYCB and students from the School of American Ballet, the two organizations that Lincoln Kirstein co-founded with George Balanchine.

The spring season will open with a week-long tribute to Kirstein called “For Lincoln: 10 Modern Classics,” which will feature 10 acclaimed works by George Balanchine performed on six different programs from April 24 through 28. The spring season will also include a number of ballets in which Kirstein played a direct role, either by commissioning a score, or choosing a designer, or suggesting the idea.

Throughout the spring season seats in the Fourth Ring of the New York State Theater (Rows C-O) will be priced at just $15 in honor of Kirstein’s commitment to making NYCB accessible to all at affordable prices. The Company will also hold two Monday evening seminars – May 14 and 21 – focusing on various aspects of Kirstein’s life and work.

In addition, a Kirstein Centennial Exhibition, created by Edward Bigelow, who worked closely with both Kirstein and Balanchine for many years, will be on display in the New York State Theater lobbies throughout the 2007 Spring Season. For more information visit www.nycballet.com.

School of American Ballet

The School of American Ballet’s annual Workshop Performances, which provide a public introduction to many of the most talented classical ballet students in the nation, will be dedicated this year to Kirstein, who took a deep and personal interest in the progress of SAB’s advanced students throughout his life. Performances will be held at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center on Saturday, June 2 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and a benefit performance will take place on Monday, June 4 at 7 p.m.

On Thursday, June 7 at 8 p.m. SAB and NYCB will pay tribute to their shared heritage at a special New York City Ballet performance with students and company members performing together at the New York State Theater in Balanchine’s Serenade, a work that Balanchine choreographed at SAB just three months after he opened SAB with Kirstein in January 1934.

To inaugurate Kirstein’s centennial year, last month SAB unveiled the Lincoln Kirstein Wing, a redesigned and expanded studio space at SAB’s Lincoln Center headquarters designed by Elizabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Whitney Museum of American Art

The Whitney Museum of American Art observes the 100th anniversary of Kirstein’s birth with an exhibition, opening on April 25, 2007, that looks at a trio of artists from his circle. The exhibition focuses on the photographer Walker Evans, the sculptor Elie Nadelman, and the painter Pavel Tchelitchew, each of whom was important to Kirstein.

Kirstein curated the first major Evans exhibition and wrote the introduction to Evans’ book American Photographs (1938). He rescued the reputation of Elie Nadelman from relative obscurity and wrote monographs devoted to his sculpture and drawing. From Tchelitchew, whose work Kirstein collected and wrote about extensively, Kirstein commissioned a portrait of himself that is one of the painter’s greatest works. Selections from Kirstein’s writing will form the basis of the labels and wall texts. The exhibition will be curated by Elisabeth Sussman and Carter Foster, with guest curator Jerry L. Thompson.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will present an exhibition emphasizing Lincoln Kirstein’s extraordinary role in commissioning artists, designers, composers, and choreographers for classical ballet in America, which culminated in the formation of Ballet Society in 1946, and ultimately led to the creation of New York City Ballet in 1948.

The exhibition will stress Kirstein’s efforts concerning the arts in America, and will include designs from Ballet Society and items from Kirstein’s personal collections which he donated to the library and which helped form what is now the largest dance collection of any library in the world. The exhibition will open on October 29, 2007 at the library’s Vincent Astor Gallery at Lincoln Center.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the fall of 2007 The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Concerts & Lectures department will present an afternoon-long, two-part seminar focusing on Lincoln Kirstein.

Panelists for the first part of the seminar will provide insight into Kirstein’s life, and those for the second part will focus on his involvement in and influence on the arts. The date, time, and speakers for the seminar will be announced at a later date. Performing participants will include students from the School of American Ballet and members of New York City Ballet.

(Date and ticket information will be available through the Metropolitan Museum of Art Concerts & Lectures department at 212-570-3949)

Harvard Theatre Collection

The Harvard Theatre Collection and the Harvard University Art Museums will present a special lecture focusing on Kirstein’s years as an undergraduate at Harvard. Titled “Lincoln Kirstein at Harvard: A Centenary Review,” the lecture will take place at

6 p.m. on Monday, April 30, 2007 at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum auditorium at Harvard University. The speaker will be Eugene Gaddis, Archivist at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.

Publications

Lincoln Kirstein: A Bibliography of Published Writings

To be published by the Eakins Press on May 4, 2007, the centennial of Kirstein’s birth, this is a comprehensive listing of Kirstein’s huge literary output. Thoroughly annotated, indexed, and categorized, it features nearly 600 entries, selected excerpts, and a chronology of Kirstein’s life. Of the First Bibliography (published in 1978), The New York Times wrote, “this preliminary record of his writings on many subjects is an indispensable guide to his remarkably versatile career.”

Lincoln Kirstein: The Program Notes

To be published by the Eakins Press in the fall of 2007, this collection, edited by Randall Bourscheidt, will include the numerous short essays that Kirstein wrote as ballet program notes. Written not only to provide useful information, but also to beat a drum for the value of the classical idiom, the charm of this collection is derived from Kirstein’s wide-ranging knowledge and enthusiasm, making them not simply program notes but a lively complement to Kirstein’s other published work. Originally produced over many seasons, the notes will now be brought together in a single collection for the first time.

Lincoln Kirstein: Reminiscences

Dance writer and historian Nancy Reynolds is compiling a book of Kirstein reminiscences by a number of his friends and colleagues. Contributors will include not only members of the dance world but also artists, designers, writers, and photographers, as well as friends and neighbors, representing Kirstein’s enormously wide range of interests and activities. This book will be published by Ballet Society in the fall of 2007.

[Ray]

The spring season will open with a week-long tribute to Kirstein called “For Lincoln: 10 Modern Classics,” which will feature 10 acclaimed works by George Balanchine performed on six different programs from April 24 through 28. The spring season will also include a number of ballets in which Kirstein played a direct role, either by commissioning a score, or choosing a designer, or suggesting the idea.

Does anyone know what these 10 works will be?

[Dale]

They are listed on nycballet.com, in the schedule area (most are the black-and-white ballets). Of the top of my head: Apollo, Orpheus, Agon, Episodes, Symphony in C, The Four Temperaments, Pavane, Concerto Barocco, Duo Concertant, Square Dance,

Symphony in Three Movements.

[Ray]

They are listed on nycballet.com, in the schedule area (most are the black-and-white ballets). Of the top of my head: Apollo, Orpheus, Agon, Episodes, Symphony in C, The Four Temperaments, Pavane, Concerto Barocco, Duo Concertant, Square Dance,

Symphony in Three Movements.

Thanks, Dale, for looking this up. I wonder if each ballet was chosen carefully b/c of a particular relation to LK, rather than the general one of his being co-founder of NYCB. Some connections are obvious--Orpheus, Agon, 4T's--others not so much? Apollo--b/c he saw it in Europe before bringing Balanchine here? Square Dance--did he suggest using the caller? (Please correct me if I'm missing something obvious here.) I would have thought NYCB might have reconstructed a rarity from the 30s-40s that LK or his circle conceptualized. They only have the best NYCB archive in the world to draw on right next door!

[carbro]

I would have thought NYCB might have reconstructed a rarity from the 30s-40s that LK or his circle conceptualized.

Now that would have been special! Instead, it seems someone thought that a greater honor would be to give the world y...e...t... another R&J. :yawn:

[Dale]

Ray, I mearged this thread with the earlier one, when we bounced around what we would have wanted.

[Ray]

Ray, I mearged this thread with the earlier one, when we bounced around what we would have wanted.

Thanks, Dale--and by doing so, you've made it clear that Ballet Talkers have thought about this far more carefully and passionately than the folks at NYCB. (And so have the other institutions participating in the Centennial.) All that money, security, and history, and yet.......

Another idea: instead of only reprinting LK's program notes--which is a great thing--why not also commission new program notes from notable artists (of all sorts) and writers? That way we'd have the archival record, as well as honor the celebration of novelty which LK also represented.

[ViolinConcerto]

Ray, if you look at Costas' book, Balanchine, from 2004 I believe, you will have 50 or so essays -- each about a specific ballet -- by a wide range of dancers, writers and critics, including Leigh Witchel (whose name is mispelled on the back cover). I don't know how a similar publication would honor Lincoln any more than reprints of his own inimitable writings.

[Ray]

Ray, if you look at Costas' book, Balanchine, from 2004 I believe, you will have 50 or so essays -- each about a specific ballet -- by a wide range of dancers, writers and critics, including Leigh Witchel (whose name is mispelled on the back cover). I don't know how a similar publication would honor Lincoln any more than reprints of his own inimitable writings.

Well, I like to hope that there's always more to say--I mean people are still writing about Hamlet and Beethoven's 5th. And again, I think republishing LK's writings is great; my suggestion is to add more stuff--why not have an embarrassment of riches (something we're perhaps not used to in the dance world) to mark LK's rich life?

[drb]

A scholarly article by NYCB's Archivist on Mr. Kirstein, together with a slideshow of 64 documents and photos, is now being presented on NYCB's website:

http://www.nycballet.com/researchers/archi...er1_TSMenuID=29

[Helene]

I've moved the discussion of Martin Duberman's biography of Lincoln Kirstein to this thread in the "Writings on Ballet" forum.

[SingerWhoMoves]

Fanciful - How about a public, outdoor performance of the 1934 Serenade program, staged at the Warburg estate (if it's still there) in White Plains?

Too late; it's under a country club, a couple of condos, and the Town of Greenburgh 7-school campus.

I went to kindergarten in the Warburgh mansion. It was like a castle. :-) How wonderful to later find out my favorite ballet premiered there.

I then went to junior high on the same campus- not such a pretty building there!

[Majinsky]

On Thursday, June 7 at 8 p.m. SAB and NYCB will pay tribute to their shared heritage at a special New York City Ballet performance with students and company members performing together at the New York State Theater in Balanchine’s Serenade, a work that Balanchine choreographed at SAB just three months after he opened SAB with Kirstein in January 1934.

Besides this, the advance male students will also be performing Martin's Les Gentilhommes during this performance.

[drb]

The Spring SAB Newsletter that arrived (finally) in today's mail includes some memories of Lincoln. Paul Taylor's has the ring of straight and endearing truth to it, so I'll try to type it out (all typos are mine):

I am deeply indebted to Lincoln Kirstein for the generous and selfless help he gave me. He donated to my company more than once, recommended it for various engagements abroad, and occasionally advised me on professional matters. The advice was a type of mentoring that was appreciated but sometimes fell on deaf ears.

On Lincoln's recommendation, Balanchine chose me for a solo in Episodes. At the stage rehearsal, after dancing three times full-out, I lay flat on my back from exhaustion. Lincoln, great brow beetling, emerged out of the dark wings and plowed over. As usual he was wearing his old rumpled black suit with the tarnished metal buttons. An Eisenhower battle jacket would've suited him better. He was in his early fifties, quite large, big boned, with a strong beaky nose and a less-than-marvelous dentist. Highly cultured and perceptive, he tended to camouflage his sensitivity with bluster. Take a tall Diaghilev, an intellectual Frankenstein monster, a masculine Emily Dickinson, scramble them all together, and you'll get a fair approximation of Lincoln on a rampage. This wasn't just another pretty face.

He towered threateningly as I struggled to my feet. "Poor, poor," he groweled, averting his eyes in distaste. "You look poor!" "Gosh, I'm sorry Boss. Maybe I'll dance better tonight."

"It's not your dancing," he replied, "your costume looks poor."

"Oh, that. Well, no one's given me one, so I thought I'd wear these practice clothes. They're my best. I'm planning to sew up the holes later."

"You look poor, POOR!"

Cut it out, I was thinking. If you were as poor as me, rich man, you'd look poor, too. And that old suit of yours doesn't look so hot either.

Flashing a dingy smile, he softened and said, "Go up to the costume room, Geek. You'll get something without holes."

All in all, Lincoln was a much valued surrogate father to me.

Other memoires include those of Chris d'Amboise, Albert C. Bellas, and Peter Harvey.

Also, Jacques d'Amboise, Colleen Neary, Pascale van Kipnis, and Francia Russell remember Tumey.

[Leigh Witchel]

That recollection sounds like it was either excerpted, or slightly adapted from Taylor's autobiography "Private Domain." It is infinitely readable and perceptive, though if I recall correctly it's not an accurate historical record - Taylor changes things if it suits what he's driving at.

[carbro]

Heretofore unpublicized, but thanks to a friend who sent a notice.

The Metropolitan Museum has a small exhibition of some of Kirstein's art. It is at the top of the main staircase where New Acquisitions are usually displayed. Through Sept. 16.

This exhibition celebrates the centennial of Kirstein's birth and recognizes his great generosity to the Metropolitan Museum. It includes drawings by Paul Cadmus, more than a dozen Japanese woodcuts, and about a dozen small sculptures and drawings by Elie Nadelman. Of particular interest is the Augustus Saint-Gaudens cast of Diana that greeted visitors to Kirstein's townhouse near Gramercy Park.

. . .

The installation at the Metropolitan is part of a citywide celebration of the Kirstein centennial. A full listing of events is available at www.nycballet.com. Participating organizations include the Harvard Theatre Collection, New York City Ballet, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, Wadsworth Atheneum, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum, which will host a panel seminar on October 23 celebrating Lincoln Kirstein's place in the world of art.

[drb]

From a Guild mailing that arrived today, it seems that the Centennial will offically end with November 20th's opening night gala, titled The Dancers of the New York City Ballet Celebrate Lincoln Kirstein. It was surely, IMO, the company's most successful year of Balanchine (both in quantity and in quality of some performances) that I can remember in a couple of decades. But I wonder about NYCB's future after reading the following

Join us for our Opening Night Benefit, which will bring to a close the Company's celebration of Lincoln Kirstein's Centennial.

The evening will feature a new work choreographed by Peter Martins, and a special performance of a piece d'occasion created by Mr. Martins to honor Mr. Kirstein in 1993 and not seen since, as well as excerpts from ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, and Christopher Wheeldon.

(boldface type as in announcement)

From bounty to excerpts...

[drb]

My tickets for the November 20, 2007 Kirstein Centennial Finale Gala arrived today, with the following programming information:

Excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty

Sneak preview from the film adapation (created by Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi) of Jerome Robbins NY Export: Opus Jazz

Liturgy (Wheeldon)

Excerpts from Western Symphony (THE ONLY BALANCHINE)

A WORLD PREMIERE BALLET BY PETER MARTINS

The season's only performance of A Life for the Tsar (the 150-performer ballet created by Chief Martins in 1993 to honor Mr. Kirstein)

And so a year that honored Mr. Kirstein with a bountiful gift of Balanchine, concludes with a bountiful display of works by Mr. B's successor.

[dirac]

My tickets for the November 20, 2007 Kirstein Centennial Finale Gala arrived today, with the following programming information:

Excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty

Sneak preview from the film adapation (created by Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi) of Jerome Robbins NY Export: Opus Jazz

Liturgy (Wheeldon)

Excerpts from Western Symphony (THE ONLY BALANCHINE)

A WORLD PREMIERE BALLET BY PETER MARTINS

The season's only performance of A Life for the Tsar (the 150-performer ballet created by Chief Martins in 1993 to honor Mr. Kirstein)

And so a year that honored Mr. Kirstein with a bountiful gift of Balanchine, concludes with a bountiful display of works by Mr. B's successor.

Thanks for reviving this thread, drb. Sounds a bit depressing.....

[Dale]

The program is fully filled out now:

Dancing for Lincoln: A Centennial Celebration

Garland Dance (Balanchine) and "Rose Adagio" from The Sleeping Beauty (Pepita)

Film Preview Excerpt N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz (Robbins)

Liturgy (Part/Wheeldon)

Western Symphony (Excerpt) (Kay/Balanchine)

World Premiere Ballet (Glinka/Martins)

A Life for the Tsar (Glinka/Martins)