A scene from Stephen Mill's "Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project." Photo by Tony Spielberg, Courtesy Ballet Austin.
Ballet excels at defying gravity. Lightness, ethereality, wispiness, symmetry, lineal order, chivalry and blissful endings to well-worn tales bestow on ballet a reputation as an art form that embraces divine beauty and design. But themes of grief, trauma, death, war, annihilation, exploitation, abuse, oppression and genocide do not frequently skim the surface sur la pointe. Bearing weighty burdens has traditionally found a place in the realm of modern dance in works such as Martha Graham's Lamentation, or Paul Taylor's image of Armageddon in Last Look.
But beyond shimmering tutus and pristine arabesques, there are other reasons why heavy issues seldom appear on the ballet stage. Taking on a serious subject requires a serious treatment. A ballet about terrorism could easily trivialize the subject through melodrama or prettification. Classical vocabulary was born from noble demeanor in the royal courts; in the wrong hands, it can seem limited in registering the mood of a sordid subject or for expressing disturbing behavior. Add to that the industry's marketing directors and board members, tempted towards steering directors and choreographers away from challenging ballets for fear of poor ticket sales.
New York Theatre Ballet performs "Dark Elegies." Photo by Darial Sneed, Courtesy New York Theatre Ballet.
Mayara Pineiro rehearsing with Helen Pickett for the world premiere of Tilt.Photo by Arian Molina Soca, Courtesy Pennsylvania Ballet.
As I watched Helen Pickett rehearse her new work Tilt for Pennsylvania Ballet last week, there was no doubt in my mind that she's a natural leader. Hovering closely around young corps dancer Jack Thomas during a run through, she pushed him to carve more space through the air with his upper body. "Use those hands, do not stop," she said emphatically during a particularly tiring section, at once firm and encouraging. "It should feel like you're eating a meal rather than grazing." Yet earlier, Pickett had admitted to me that when she was first approached by a major company to create a ballet 12 years ago, she questioned her ability to lead. Despite growing up in a feminist household, being surrounded by strong female role models throughout her dancing and acting career, and learning the craft of choreography from William Forsythe at Ballet Frankfurt, she says, "I still gave more credence to male voices than female voices."
Her realization is one component of a bigger issue in the dance world: that for all of the droves of women and girls who flock to ballet classes and pursue performance careers, the majority of leadership positions—be it directing, curating or choreographing—are held by men. To help illuminate the topic in advance of Pickett's world premiere November 9–12 , last week Pennsylvania Ballet partnered with Philadelphia's FringeArts to present "Challenges, Chances, Changes: Gender Equity in Concert Dance," a round table discussion among six women leaders in the industry. Joining Pickett was Dance Theatre of Harlem artistic director Virginia Johnson; BalletX executive and artistic director Christine Cox; Big Dance Theater choreographer and co-director Annie-B Parson; Philadelphia Dance Projects executive director Terry Fox; and choreographer Francesca Harper, artistic director of the Francesca Harper Project.
From left: Francesca Harper, Virginia Johnson, Annie-B Parson, Helen Pickett, Brenda Dixon-Gottschild, Christine Cox and Terry Fox. Photo by Chris Kendig, Courtesy Pennsylvania Ballet.
Dorger in Royal Danish Ballet's production of Giselle (photo by Costin Radu, courtesy Royal Danish Ballet)
When Holly Dorger arrived in Copenhagen to join the Royal Danish Ballet after graduating from the School of American Ballet, she was shocked by the unfamiliar. “We brought home cat food thinking it was canned tuna," she laughs, recollecting her first weeks among new surroundings. Nine years later, the principal dancer calls Copenhagen home, crediting Denmark and artistic director Nikolaj Hübbe for her success.
European dance companies typically offer secure contracts, better salaries and a varied repertoire. Yet for American dancers, understanding a new culture, adjusting to different company dynamics and getting used to European contemporary work can be challenging. Below, dancers from four European companies weigh in on what they've learned from moving abroad.
Shelby Williams. Photo Courtesy Royal Ballet of Flanders.
When Boston Ballet announced its partnership with choreographer William Forsythe last year, it named his full-length Artifact as its first new acquisition. Created in 1984, Artifact is considered by many to be Forsythe’s greatest masterpiece, yet it has never been performed in its entirety by a U.S. company. Simultaneously abstract and theatrical (two characters—a Person in Historical Costume and a Person with Megaphone—have speaking roles), this large-scale “ballet about ballet” is reverential to the past while taking the boundaries of classical technique into the future.
Boston Ballet dancers have been working closely with Forsythe in preparation for the February 23 premiere. Artistic director Mikko Nissinen talked to me about the production, and why it’s so groundbreaking.
(Video by Ernesto Galan, Courtesy Boston Ballet)
This is the first step in Boston Ballet’s five-year partnership with Forsythe. Why begin with Artifact?
It’s his absolute masterpiece, and it’s never been done by a North American company. The work premiered 30 years ago, so Bill is very excited to show it to American audiences. It’s huge, it’s in four acts, and he’s re-choreographing the third act completely and changing the finale. We both felt it was the perfect place to start. The other great thing is that he lived away for 40 years. It’s a homecoming for a major American artist.
Several companies in the U.S. have performed the abbreviated version, Artifact Suite. What’s different about the full-length piece?
It’s mind-bending. So many people have said to me, “This ballet changed my life, it changed how I look at art.” I’ve even heard many dancers say that after dancing it, they were a different human being. I think it has that transformative power that fantastic art can have.
Forsythe with Misa Kuranaga. Photo by Liza Voll, Courtesy Boston Ballet.
Is Artifact an homage to ballet’s history?
I don’t know if I would use the word “homage”—actually, I think it might be. Bill has tremendous reverence for the art form. All the principals of classical ballet are there, he’s just taking it further with the musicality and making sure it’s alive and extended. He has this intellectual approach to it and the end result is fascinating. Some people think it’s just bang, bang, bang, but that‘s really far from the truth. [His work] has to be so sensitive and detailed for the qualities to come out of it.
Why is he re-choreographing certain sections?
I’m paraphrasing here, but he said he’s a different person than he was 30 years ago. Bill did a lot of theatrical work and for the last 20 years didn’t choreograph much ballet. But now he’s super-excited about it again and we’re so damn lucky with the timing.
So much of the Artifact’s power rests in the sheer number of dancers onstage, in unison. I imagine that this is the type of ballet where you wouldn’t be disappointed to be cast in the corps.
When I look at some of these en masse sections, the kind of detail and breath he asks for, you usually see a ballerina do that. But when you see the whole ensemble accenting and exaggerating the movement, it’s just gorgeous.
Pennsylvania Ballet in Artifact Suite. Photo by Alexander Iziliaev, Courtesy Boston Ballet.
You’ve said that Forsythe changed you as an artist when you were a dancer with San Francisco Ballet. In what way?
I was working on In the middle, somewhat elevated. One day Bill was flying from Japan to Frankfurt and had a five-hour layover at the San Francisco airport, so he came to our rehearsal. Suddenly there was Bill! I found the work fascinating—and hard—but after just one hour with him he opened it up to me in such ways that it became even more fun, and so much easier. He helped me find a different approach, and guess what? It carried over to all my other dancing.
What are your plans for the partnership going forward?
It’s sort of evolving. Next year we’re doing Pas/Parts, but it’s so spontaneous when we talk about the future. I would like to take some of these works and show them to a wider audience in the United States and beyond. We’ll do some fun new stuff as well. I’m not saying no to anything!
Boston Ballet performs Artifact February 23–March 5 at the Boston opera House.
For more news on all things ballet, don't miss a single issue.
This week, there's a whirlwind of dance in the Windy City. The annual Chicago Dancing Festival, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, opened last night at the Auditorium Theater with glittering performances by the Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Pennsylvania Ballet and Daniel Ulbricht’s Stars of American Ballet. The festival continues through Saturday, with performances held at multiple theaters and parks across the city. While all shows are free, tickets for indoor performances went on “sale” in late July—and sold out fast.
Lillian Di Piazza and James Ihde in Concerto Barocco. Photo by Alexander Iziliaev, via PA Ballet.
Francesca Hayward as Juliet. Photo by Alice Pennefather, Courtesy ROH.
But don't worry, Chicagoland ballet lovers: No tickets are required for the festival’s outdoor Dancing Under the Stars program, held at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on August 27. The evening includes the Joffrey Ballet in Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, Pennsylvania Ballet in George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in William Forsythe’s One Flat Thing. Newly minted Royal Ballet principal Francesca Hayward and soloist Marcelino Sambé will be there, too, dancing the pas de deux from Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet (a role Hayward talked about in our February/March cover story). The show also includes Chicago Dancers United, a collective of local dance companies which work in tandem with Dance for Life, to raise funds for critical health issues like HIV and AIDS. They'll be performing in a new work by Chicago-based choreographer Randy Duncan. The festival closes with Rennie Harris' Students of the Asphalt Jungle, performed by his hip hop company, Rennie Harris Pure Movement.
Stake out a spot early—the performance starts at 7:30 pm, but fixed seating at the Pavilion is first come, first serve. There is also lawn seating available. For more information, click here.
For more news on all things ballet, don’t miss a single issue.
Kathleen Breen Combes and Bo Busby in Forsythe's Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude. Photo by Gene Schiavone, Courtesy Boston Ballet.
If you ask most dancers whose work they hope to perform, William Forsythe is usually at the top of the list. (How many of us have drooled over videos of In the middle, somewhat elevated?) He’s also, simply put, a nice guy: When Pointe went behind the scenes with him at Pacific Northwest Ballet last year, he radiated positive energy throughout the rehearsal process.
Well, we’re about to see a whole lot more of Forsythe now. Last week, Boston Ballet announced that it is entering a five-year partnership with the internationally renowned choreographer, who is also a dance professor at the University of Southern California. Starting with his full-length Artifact next season, the company will add one Forsythe work to its repertoire each year, creating the richest collection of his ballets nationwide.
The news comes shortly after Forsythe confirmed that he is leaving his post as associate choreographer of the Paris Opéra Ballet—an announcement made on the heels of Benjamin Millepied’s resignation as artistic director. But according to The New York Times, Forsythe's partnership with Boston has been several years in the making and is totally unrelated.
In the article, Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen says he hopes to acquire ballets that are unfamiliar to North American audiences. As for new ballets? Forsythe alludes to the possibility in the company’s statement: “Mikko’s support of the work means that the dancers and I can deepen our wonderful relationship and I will have a new home for new ideas.”
In the meantime, Boston Ballet dancers are getting better acquainted with his extreme, improvisational style through workshops with Harvard dance professor and former Forsythe dancer Jill Johnson. We can’t wait to see the results!
For more news on all things ballet, don't miss a single issue.
Rebecca Rhodes in Balanchine's The Four Temperaments. Photo by Erik Tomasson, Courtesy SFB.
Most dancers drool over YouTube clips of William Forsythe's choreography, but few are lucky enough to work with him. Corps dancer Rebecca Rhodes had just that opportunity when Forsythe revived hisPas/Parts at San Francisco Ballet. Until now, it has only been performed by the Paris Opéra Ballet. Catch it select dates Jan. 24-Feb. 5. For Pointe's biweekly newsletter, we spoke with Rhodes about the rehearsal process.
How would you describe Pas/Parts?
It's very San Francisco Ballet. Bill really tailored each section to showcase each dancer. Yuan Yuan Tan's pas de deux, for instance, is gooey and seamless. Then the next section is Frances Chung moving super speedy and staccato. It feels like it's almost turned into a new premiere.
What's Forsythe like in the studio?
His ideas are constantly evolving and expanding, and that pushes me. As dancers, we usually know the choreography already and how we want to do it. But with Forsythe, it's different every single time. To this day, he's still changing things. I've learned to never be complacent.
The score, by Thom Willems, doesn't have too much musical structure. Is it tricky to keep track of the timing?
I think the music works well for the movement, but there are some sections where everything cuts outs and it's just noises, such as a piece of paper being crumpled. There are moments where you could get lost, but our ballet masters and mistresses have really broken it down so we can stay together.
What advice would you give those learning a new piece?
Have fun. That's something I've taken away from each rehearsal. We're always laughing, even though there's a very high level demanded of us. It's easy to get focused on technique, counts, artistry and details, but it's been a human experience with Forsythe. I feel privileged to have encountered that.
Maria Kowrowski and Amar Ramasar in Herman Schmerman, photo by Paul Kolnik
When tickets go on sale for New York City Center’s annual Fall for Dance Festival on September 14, you might want to cancel your plans for the day—getting through to the box office can take hours, and before you know it, the shows are sold out! It’s no surprise as to why—tickets are a mere $15, with five programs of deliciously eclectic dance companies from around the world to choose from.
Luckily, the festival is offering a free sneak preview on September 12 and 13 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. New York City Ballet principals Maria Kowrowski and Amar Ramasar are slated to perform Herman Schmerman, a quirky duet choreographed by William Forsythe to an electronic score by longtime collaborator Thom Willems. Also on the program is Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, performing Nacho Duato’s Gnawa; Bend in the Road, a world premiere collaboration by Damian Woetzel and Memphis jookin’ extraordinaire Lil Buck; and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in D-Man in the Waters (Part I).
While the preview performances are free, you’ll still need tickets, which will be distributed two per person at the Delacorte Theatre on the day of the show and through virtual ticketing at shakespeareinthepark.org.
