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EVAN MCKIE |
I felt the need to briefly write here about two individuals that have significantly contributed to my life as a dancer and artist. They both inspired many in their lifetimes and even after passing this year, their gifts are left for the ballet world to discover and enjoy.
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Clauss (right) with Marcia Haydee, Egon Madsen, John Neumeier and Susanne Hanke in ‘’The Taming of the Shrew'’
HEINZ CLAUSS(1935-2008), is someone who anyone involved with German ballet is likely familiar with. He was one of the ‘greats’ and contributed monumentally to what was known as the ‘’Stuttgart Ballet Miracle'’ at a time when the South-German Opera Ballet company suddenly ignited intense international interest with John Cranko’s unique ballets and dancers. Clauss created roles that I suppose only he could have created and when I am cast to learn one of them I marvel at the signature ingredients that he, himself injected into each of his created parts. The fiercely fancy footwork of Lucentio in ‘’Taming of the Shrew'’ to the noble and unmatched subtle elegance of his solo and pas de deux to Brahms 2nd piano concerto in another of Cranko’s masterpieces, ‘’Initials RBME'’. Apart from being known as on of the world’s most exceptional ‘’Apollo’’s (Balanchine), Clauss also originated what has become one of the most desired roles for a male dancer: the title role in Cranko’s ‘’Onegin'’.
I must admit that, though I have somehow gotten an essence of Clauss through dancing the roles he left behind, I was only able to meet him a few times since coming to Stuttgart. I was fascinated when he took time to discuss a role with me in the theatre’s canteen after a show. When I asked him questions I was mesmerized by how cool, collected and casual he was about describing the particulars of the role. We ended up talking for a whole hour as if we had known eachother for years. Maybe I did know him, through the beauty of what Cranko created for him and the undeniably grace his imprint on each role reveals. As I was given the chance to dance the beautiful third movement from Cranko’s ‘’Initials RBME'’ (the initials stand for Richard Cragun, Birgit Keil, Marcia Haydee and Egon Madsen), I wondered, as many often do, why Clauss’ initial was not inserted into the title. After dancing the role however, I realised that by leaving the initial out, the role was given the opportunity to haunt the ballet in the eerily equisite way that it does. I am especially thankful for Clauss’ contributions that have been bestowed on generations ever since. I am positive that Heinz Clauss will always be present at the Stuttgart Ballet.
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YELENA VINOGRADOVA(1939-2008), was a pioneer. Not only because she and her then husband Oleg Vinogradov initially founded the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C. but because she was able to follow through with the idea of implementing purely russian orthodox classical ballet training in a country that had never seen such a large academy devoted solely to this. Mme V, as we, students called her was at the school every day and was steadfast in her belief that one would leave her school dancing their personal best. There was no other choice. To see her coming down the hall was like having a whole army’s worth of passionate energy charging towards you. She offered tremendous amounts of encouragement through huge oversized gestures and language so dramatic that translators(she rarely spoke english, only russian) often opted to soften the blow while delivering her rants to younger students or parents. A graduate of the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg and noted for her solo-work in Novosibirk, Mme V was a larger-than life fireball of a personality that inspired nothing but greatness from generations of students. She set the bar VERY high in classical ballet and sparked interest and understanding among even the youngest students about how meaningful character dance training is to get the right look, line and nuance out of any given ballet role. With her exemplary and ever evolving staff, she seemed to live for giving dancers extremely strong knowledge of fundamental ballet basics but put special importance on one ‘’adding pepper'’ to movement through learning to trust their natural and individual instincts. Madame V exersised her own instincts in a maternal way when inspiring different pupils; with me it became all about tough love and ‘’demanding more from myself and everyone around me'’ because she ‘’knew that I worked well like this'’ but people like my then-roomate Jonathan Jordan often saw and responded to a softer more compassionate side of the mostly herculean woman. She flexed her maternal muscle with most of her eager students over the years and seemed to be thrilled upon ever hearing news of her alumni breaking ground in the worlds best companies. Though it was far to little a gesture to properly honour such an awesome lady, Hyo Jung Kang and I (both affected greatly by Mme V. in our studies before joining Stuttgart Ballet) decided to dedicate our first performances of ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ together this past summer to her. Anyone who knew her is likely still mourning this remarkable soul.
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I don’t really like the idea of writing obituary-like posts on my day off but I do think it is important to let it be known if someone has had a special influence of my life. There is, of course, much more to tell about both of these people and their stories and both of them are widely written about. Here, however, I have given all that I currently can by summarizing my feelings for these two special individuals. Thank you.
