Back to Vail
Hi everyone,
I should re-introduce myself. My name is Erica Sheftman, and I’m a former dancer/current student at Harvard, back to Vail this summer for a long weekend. Last summer I was lucky enough to chronicle the events of the festival for its entire duration, and I’m thrilled to be here again for several days punctuated by International Evenings of Dance, as well as some amazing ballroom dance, milongas in the Betty Ford gardens, and rehearsals of world premieres in every style of dance.
I feel like each year the festival just grows to new heights. In some ways, there is a comforting sense of constancy: returning to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater yesterday afternoon I was attacked by an intense wave of the best kind of deja vu. There was Misa [Kuranaga, of Boston Ballet] with Herman [Cornejo, of American Ballet Theatre], happy to be back together onstage after a too-long hiatus following their first appearance as a partnership here in Vail last summer. I saw flashes of Carla Korbes’s [Pacific Northwest Ballet] peerless blonde hair every so often through the wings; strains of Piazzolla wafting from backstage with the arrival of Natalia Hills, the tango star from Buenos Aires who brought the festival down last year; the familiar chatter backstage in an unparalleled goulash of French, Russian, Spanish and English as all the internationals descended upon the theater; and best of all the aroma of the trees that I could place anywhere as belonging to Ford Park, and the backdrop of the Rockies extending upwards to the sky past the stage ceiling.
Carla's hair. In rehearsal for Damian Woetzel's The Orchard with Tyler Angle of New York City Ballet. Photo by Caitlin Kakigi.
So that was very nice, but I was also struck by the way nothing ever really repeats here. New partnerships are constantly being formed: yesterday, Carla and Cory Stearns of American Ballet Theatre danced together for the first time (watch for video of their White Swan pas de deux soon), and Misa danced with Renan Cerdeiro of Miami City Ballet (Don Quixote Grand pas de deux). The excitement of bringing together dancers in Vail who hail from different companies is the knowledge that this is something you’ll see only here, in this moment. It’s really thrilling to be present for the initial encounter, as the dancers figure out timing, sensibility…and stamina- it’s hard up on this mountain.
More firsts: Helene Bouchet and Thiago Bordin from Hamburg Ballet are here, dancing the white pas de deux from Lady of the Camellias. Trey McIntyre Project makes its return to Vail after six years. An evening of world premieres by Christopher Wheeldon, Trey McIntyre, Emery LeCrone, Charles ‘Lil’ Buck’ Riley, and Richard Siegal.
And of course, the worldwide debut of New York City Ballet Moves, the new touring company of the New York City Ballet. It will be so interesting to watch this mini-company evolve over the years, but how exciting that their first performance ever took place in Vail. NYCB Artistic Director Peter Martins came to town with his dancers, and looking through pictures that Festival photographers Erin Baiano and Caitlin Kakigi took, I thought, how cool to see Festival Director Damian Woetzel and Peter onstage as co-directors (Damian retired from New York City Ballet in 2008). Here they are, in matching VIDF 2011 t-shirts made possible by the Keith Haring Foundation.
Peter Martins and Damian Woetzel onstage at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, during a rehearsal of New York City Ballet Moves. Photo by Caitlin Kakigi.
Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle perform in Jerome Robbins's Dances at a Gathering, as part of the worldwide debut of New York City Ballet Moves. Photo by Erin Baiano.
Chase Finlay, Rebecca Krohn, Tiler Peck, Brittany Pollack and Taylor Stanley perform in Peter Martins's A Fool for You as part of the worldwide debut of New York City Ballet Moves. Photo by Erin Baiano.
Lauren Lovette and Chase Finlay perform in Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia, as part of New York City Ballet Moves's second program: 21st Century Moves. Photo by Erin Baiano.
The company’s second program featured only works choreographed in the 21st century: Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia (pictured above), Wheeldon’s haunting After the Rain pas de deux (performed by Wendy Whelan and Craig Hall….by the way Wendy could do this every day and it would still never get old; its one of the more beautiful sights I’ve ever seen, particularly when set amidst the Rockies at sunset), and Peter Martins’s Hallelujah Junction. Some more photos:
Wendy Whelan and Craig Hall perform Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain Pas de Deux, as part of New York City Ballet Moves' 21st Century Moves program. Photo by Erin Baiano.
Adrian Danchig-Waring performs the Melancholic solo from Balanchine's The Four Temperaments, with a backdrop of Balanchine rehearsing Arthur Mitchell in the same ballet, as part of UpClose: The Male Dancer. Photo by Erin Baiano.
The Half-way Point
It’s officially past the exact middle of the festival and as I’m sitting on the lawn overlooking the stage, tech crew is sanitizing the marley and setting up barres for Damian’s 10am company class onstage. Damian and Suki Schorer have been trading off teaching in the mornings; the Vail Mountain School and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater have been overflowing with starpower as Whelans trade off rehearsal space with Simkins to better accomodate their respective Ratmansky and Robbins dances.
- Carla Korbes, Daniil Simkin and Joaquin de Luz in class with Artistic Director Damian Woetzel for the 2010 Vail International Dance Festival on 8.2.10. Photo by Caitlin Kakigi.
American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Herman Cornejo arrived late last night from Madrid, directly from a performance with Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon, and was greeted with a hot dinner, chocolate and a Heineken. Today he will rehearse with Boston Ballet principal dancer Misa Kuranaga; other than a week of rehearsal at the ABT studios at 890 Broadway in NYC, they have never danced together before but have always had the one degree of separation in Herman’s sister, Boston Ballet principal dancer Erica Cornejo. They are so perfectly matched physically and stylistically and I am so excited to see them dance the Act Two Pas de Deux from Giselle as well as the Wedding Pas de Deux from Don Quixote. Yesterday, Misa was in the studios choosing between three different versions of Kitri’s solo music; that opening with the pique arabesque into the glissade and saute de chat is intense if the music is too fast but she chose to stick with it as she’s done it in the past. Daniil and Joaquin rehearsed their Robbins/Chopin duet; I think they bring out the best in each other, a very thrilling sort of competitiveness and comraderie. Daniil and Misa will also dance the Pas de Deux from Le Corsaire; they are both two of the most ridiculous virtuosos today and are also dancing together for the first time. It’s been too fun watching all the guys outdoing each other and fooling around at the back of the stage… where else can you see all of them share a stage performing works from Bournonville and Petipa to Wheeldon and MacGregor?
Yesterday I also got a chance to see the two huge world premieres slated for International Evenings of Dance. The solo choreographed for Wendy by American Ballet Theatre Resident Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky is set to a brilliant flamenco score that brings out Wendy’s earthy fluidity. I remember Ratmansky’s last ballerina piece d’occasion- a tour de force for ABT ballerina Nina Ananiashvili in her farewell season set to Khachaturian’s “Waltz Masquerade” in which she jeteed back and forth across the stage and tempted each of her former star partners at ABT. That was something I will never forget and I am so excited to see a special partnership with another brilliant ballerina come to fruition again. I also got to see Tiler, Joaquin, Robbie and Sy Sar rehearse Larry Keigwin’s Aretha Franklin ballet, now called Rock Steady. There is so much chemistry between Tiler and those three guys and its such a sassy, sexy romp; I hope it will have a long life beyond the festival because it’s hard to imagine having more fun watching a piece.
Joaquin de Luz and Tiler Peck in rehearsals for Larry Keigwin's Rock Steady at the Vail International Dance Festival on 8.2.10. Photo by Erin Baiano.
Stay tuned for video of Daniil, Misa, Wendy, Joaquin, Robbie, Sy, Tiler and Royal Ballet dancers Eric Underwood and Sarah Lamb in rehearsal.
Tuesday night was one of the most exciting nights at the Amphitheater, Dance for $20.10; every Pavillion seat was $20 and every Lawn seat was $10. One thing that I have really admired about this festival is the emphasis on education and outreach that has been instituted. Before each performance Damian speaks to the audience about each of the works to be performed. Tuesday evening featured a kaleidescopic array of dance from Balanchine’s Who Cares?, danced effervescently by Tiler and Robbie, to Black Swan Pas de Deux danced by Carla and PNB Principal Karel Cruz, to Larry Keigwin himself and partner Ashley Browne in an excerpt from Love Songs and a surprise appearance by tango stars Gabriel Misse and Natalia Hills. We were taken from New York to Buenos Aires, from Imperial Russia to contemporary US of A and provided context for each shift.
- Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild rehearsing with Artistic Director Damian Woetzel for George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, as part of the 2010 Vail International Dance Festival on 8.2.10. Photo by Caitlin Kakigi.
Speaking of geographical shifts, BeijingDance/LTDX, led by Artistic Director Willy Tsao, took the stage on Wednesday night; the company became, in 2005, China’s first professional dance company founded independently from the government and has quickly grown into a pioneer of cutting edge choreography. Artist in Residence Sang Jijia created the world premiere of Solitude in Numbers for the festival. The program note read, “You don’t need to be alone to be lonely” and Damian seized the moment to make the apt observation that this was the first visit to America for most BeijingDance/LTDX members. Liu Bin and Song Tingting’s piece October, set to Tchaikovsky’s emotional piece of the same name, was very moving, but I think the heart of the evening was All River Red, set to Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.” Having studied the 1913 premiere at the Theatre Chatelet in Paris in a Russian Avant-Garde class at school, it was really fascinating to see this music employed to suggest not historical Slavic ritual and pagan sacrifice but rather violent oppression in 20th century China, through largely parallel patterns of narrative progression and similarly primitive, earthy and primal movement. And that incredible music in that setting…you feel it in your bones in a way that maybe only the Parisians did when they rioted inside the theater in 1913.
BeijingDance/LTDX rehearses as part of Vail International Dance Festival. Photo by Caitlin Kakigi.
I’ve now been transported to the Vail Mountain School where the Argentinian imports playing in the band for Romper el Piso are rehearsing my favorite tango in the world, “Invierno Porteno” by Astor Piazzolla. I can sit here and listen to this forever…there is nothing as seductive as the bandoneon….but in two hours we will be taking Natalia and Gabriel to a radio interview at the theater, after which the first Up Close (Stars of International Evenings of Dance) will commence.And finally, a video montage of Pacific Northwest Ballet - with some surprise guests - in class and in rehearsal for Benjamin Millepied’s 3 Movements and Ulysses Dove’s Red Angels:
Until later,
Erica Sheftman
Is Dance Democratic? The Art of Teaching, Part Deux
“Is dance democratic?” A question raised near the end of the Guggenheim’s Works and Process program on Sunday night, The Art of Teaching: Participation and Perception. I am so grateful to Tony’s previous post for presenting the material so clearly and expanding on some of the inherent problems of the specificity of ballet and each line of questioning that was raised. I too, found the lecture highly stimulating.
Damian Woetzel, former NYCB star and recent appointee to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, brought up and answered the above question by maintaining that dance can be democratic in enjoyment and appreciation; it being an obvious fact that there is a technical gulf that often puts professional dance, and all highly technical art forms, on an unattainable pedestal, and therefore can restrict participation in the most literal sense. Michael Sandel, his co-conspirator onstage and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard, had a different answer. He allowed that we need not be queasy about whether dance as an art form is inherently democratic because it has (or hopefully has) resonance. And resonance, can be a two way street for performers and audience members; much like his question and answer discussion on justice which he led earlier in the evening about disparity of wealth and compensation strived to be. Much like the relationship between teacher and student in the classroom. (Now we have come full circle to our title.)
Why is the idea of resonance important to me? Why does it matter if dance or art is democratic in and of itself or just fosters democracy? How does that relate to issues of justice and equality, whether in matters of money compensation or status in our world?
There are so many answers, or maybe just more questions, but I took away this circular reasoning: in order to maintain the ideals of equality and freedoms of speech and therefore, art, that our democracy is seeking to provide and as citizens we claim to want, we have to make sure we maintain the very institution that provides it. And in order to try to maintain any sort of democracy, utopian or our current grasping-at-straws version, the participation of the whole community is really necessary. And artists of all disciplines, dancing and teaching artists included, can have an impact by creating a shared experience via their art for a community of people to participate in, either literally or by enjoyment and appreciation. Participating begets participating. I can channel this idea even more easily by thinking of the inverse: that tyrannies are allowed to exist when people lack community and shared experiences, resulting in feelings of fear and isolation that further perpetuate that negative cycle. Even seeing or experiencing art that is depressing or upsetting, is somehow still a beacon of light; if only to remind you that you are not alone, that you are surrounded by community and someone out there understands moments of darkness too.
Sandel also brought up the idea that our sense of justice in regards to compensation is just a reflection of our values as a community (what we are willing to pay for and how much) and so if we truly wanted to fight for equality in our society, it would theoretically just be a matter of righting who and what we value. Just! I know it sounds overly simplistic. But it was a really inspiring moment for me because I realized that the righting of values and therefore our reflection of those values in our society, begins in the classroom, in museums, in studios, in concert halls and opera houses. Ultimately, it is just about coming together to have a shared experience of other and each other.
As our nation, and in particular New York City, struggles with the ever widening gap between rich and poor, I found this lecture to be timely and profound. Ultimately art and teaching and the art of teaching is about learning and experience and hopefully, reciprocation between teacher and student, artist and audience. And the resonance that extends beyond that participation and/or perception is what brings us to the shared experience and sense of community; two of the greatest examples of the evening being the opening of the lecture with the audience joining together to do the opening phrase of Serenade and the closing of the lecture with the finale of Dances At a Gathering. I got chills, even as I was guest tweeting it love for the Guggenheim and for my own twitter feed.
Now more than ever, I want to go to bed at night thinking my community is not a corporation, but rather a collection of individuals (who are also not corporations!) coming together every now and then to participate in the intellectual and creative life that a healthy democracy and our treasured freedoms require.
{Pictured: Tiler Peck, NYCB dancer, Damian Woetzel and Michael Sandel. Photos by Erin Baiano. Courtesy of Guggenheim, Museum Works and Process.)
Glass Pieces
This past week, New York City Ballet presented one of Jerome Robbins’ greatest works: Glass Pieces. I find this ballet to be a conceptual masterpiece, laced with movement inspired by the thriving pulse of New York City. I remember coming to see Glass Pieces every chance I got back when I was a student at the School of American Ballet, so it is a nice thrill for me to be up there dancing this work now.
There is a moment of unreserved intensity—freshly-squeezed and illuminant—that I have the opportunity to experience in the ballet. It is a moment that lies on the border of terror and excitement. Right after the 2nd movement adagio section ends, the lights go from dim to blinding. The stage manager gives me a brash and pungent signal that she picks up from the conductor’s monitor, upon which I must burst into a full-sprint out of the front wing and circle the stage to the rhythmic music of what sounds almost like a tribal drumbeat. At that point, its as though I am able to feel the overwhelming saturation of my adrenaline, producing a high unparalleled by any other experience. The men and women of the corps then proceed to perform the third movement, where camaraderie is king and the patterns produced by the corps dancers end up steeling the show.
Glass Pieces will be performed one more time this season on Thursday night. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is well worth checking out.
Adrian and Gina
This season we began creating short pieces on individual ballets in our repertory, which incorporate performance footage from multiple perspectives (including backstage wing or fly shots) plus interviews with artists (in this case Adrian - who was just promoted to soloist, yay! - and Gina) who are intimately connected to the piece and can provide some additional insight from an insiders point of view.
The idea is for the viewer to quickly gain an aesthetic sense of the ballet through visuals and music, establish a personal connection through the artists who are speaking about the ballet, and to have an initial sense of what they can expect or look for if they see the full piece in performance.
The above example features Jerome Robbins’ ballet Glass Pieces. Glass Pieces will be performed this Sunday the 29th - the very last performance of the New York Winter Season - which also includes Hallelujah Junction, Tarentella and Stars and Stripes.
More on Glass Pieces from a few of our friends:
Oberon’s Grove
Dancing Perfectly Free
Edward Gorey’s The Lavender Leotard
Was happy to discover this recently at the New York City Ballet gift shop… I wasn’t sure if it was still in print or not (it may not be, maybe they just have a bunch).
For those who know the ballets in NYCB’s rep, it’s fun to see them in Gorey’s illustrated form… The Cage, La Valse, Symphony in 3 Movements… He captured them well - supposedly he would attend nearly every performance when NYCB was in season.. Plus I just love the ‘precious little book’ format.
A second LIFE
LIFE INTERNATIONAL cover 08-23-1965
Choreographer George Balanchine & dancer Suzanne Farrell in costume for the ballet “Don Quixote”
Photographer: Gjon Mili
Google has been working on digitizing LIFE magazine’s incredible image archive, and will be using those images to further populate their Image Search engine.
A quick search for ballet yields incredible results… Performance photos, studio photos, tour photos, backstage photos… Images I’ve never seen before, iconic people and places, a new (to me) perspective…
Dancer Tanaquil LeClercq performing “La Valse” at Gjon Mili’s studio.
Location: New York, NY, US
Date taken: 1951
Photographer: Gjon Mili
Dancer Tanaquil LeClercq performing portion of “Bouree Fantasque” at Gjon Mili’s studio.
Location: New York, NY, US
Date taken: 1951
Photographer: Gjon Mili
Multiple image of choreographer Martha Graham performing her own work,”Punch and Judy”, in Mili Studio.
Location: New York, NY, US
Date taken: 1941
Photographer: Gjon Mili
Check it out, I’m sure you’ll find things you never would have expected, on any topic you can image - and they are supposedly only 1/5th of the way through digitizing! The related images work fantastically well too. (via VSL)
Also, apparently Gjon Mili was also The Winger of the 70’s… 
Gjon Mili photographing New York City Ballet cast members backstage at performance of “Pulcinella” for the Stravinsky Festival at the New York State Theater (no caps).
Location: New York, NY, US
Date taken: 1972
Photographer: Gjon Mili
Stravinsky Festival
Gjon Mili (C) photographing George Balanchine & unident. ballerina backstage at NYC Ballet during the Stravinsky Festival at the New York State Theater (no caps).
Location: New York, NY, US
Date taken: 1972
Photographer: Gjon Mili
Thank you David H. Koch
David and Julia Koch receive a traditional vodka toast, from Lincoln Kirstein’s seats, at the Opening Night of New York City Ballet at the newly christened David H. Koch theater. Thank you to the Koch family for breathing new life into this beautiful Philip Johnson-designed house!
Shanghai Ballet Gala
Last October, I was at the Shanghai Ballet Gala, I can’t explain how beautiful it was. So many dancers from different ballet companies dancing great pas de deux. From Ballet de Santiago de Chile the guest dancers were the two Principal Stars Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza. Our artistic Director Marcia Haydée taught one Master class to the Ballet de Shanghai and it was so good. Well this travel was so nice for me, to have the opportunity to take a lot photos and also see such great city. Here I post some photos and I hope all the winger people enjoy.
Marcia Haydée Master Class
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Bernice Coppieters and Chris Roelandt dancing the master piece Romeo and Juliet by jean Christophe Maillot.
Luis Ortigoza rehersal in Shanghai Ballet studios.
Marcia Haydée and Principal Dancer from Stuttgart Ballet Sue jin Kang in rehearsal.
Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza in rehersal.
Lisa Maree Cullum and Lukas Slavicky from Bavarian State ballet.
All the Artistic Directors and guest Ballet Dancers in a press conference.
Marcia Haydée and Principal Dancer from Stuttgart Ballet Marijn Rademaker in rehearsal.
Oxana Kucheruc and Roman Mikhalev from National Opera Ballet of Bordeaux.
Sue Jin Kang and Marijn Rademaker from Stuttgart Ballet in the beautiful The Lady of the Camellias by John Neumeier.
Marcia in Master Class.
Igone de Jongh and Moises Martin from Dutch National ballet.
Petia Ilieva and Stanislav Belyaevsky from Finnish National Ballet.
Bernice Coppieters and Chris Roelandt from Les Ballets de Monte Carlo.
Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza from Ballet de Santiago de Chile.
Ashley Bouder and Daniel Ulbricht from New York City Ballet.
Sue Jin Kang and Marijn Rademaker in rehersal.
Silja Schandorff and Sebastian Kloborg from Royal Danish Ballet.
Marcia Haydée. Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza with Shanghai Ballet.
Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza in rehersal.
Sue Jin Kang and Marijn Rademaker from Stuttgart Ballet.
Igone de Jongh and Moises Martin from Dutch National Ballet.
Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza in sensual Carmen pas de deux by Marcia Haydée.
Silja Schandorff and Sebastian Kloborg from Royal Danish Ballet.
Marcia Haydée, Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza in rehearsal.
Sue Jin Kang and Marijn Rademaker from Stuttgart Ballet.
Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigoza from Ballet de Santiago de Chile.
All the guests after the Gala.
NYCB in Europe
A few months back, New York City Ballet embarked upon a 3-week tour to Copenhagen and Paris. There is plenty I could say about the whole experience, but sometimes pictures act stronger than actual words. So, for the most part, I’ll stick to that idea with this post.
DENMARK
Frederiksborg Castle, 1 hour outside of Copenhagen
in the castle gardens
A Danish Parking Lot. One of the aspects of Denmark I enjoyed most was the fact that there are more bicycles on the road than there are cars. It seems to be the primary form of transportation over there–and a much healthier and environmentally-friendly form at that.
PARIS
Dancers attempting to turn and get used to the raked floor of the Garnier Opera House
Chagall dome from the audience of the Garnier
something about this shot really appealed to me. Maybe its the symmetry of it. A dancer is trying to capture the beauty of the Garnier ceiling while lying in the center of the Opera House. Dancers rehearse on stage in the background.
shot from the roof of the Garnier
on top of Paris
a dancer rehearses
Versaille Palace (specifically, the Hall of Mirrors), through Jeff Koons
dancers love their foliage
another haunting work by Auguste Rodin
