The Legacy of Ballet - Class with Gelsey Kirkland
Posted by Taylor Gordon
(I’m a little late with this post seeing as Gelsey’s guest teaching finished last week, but forgive me…things have been crazy.)
One of the best (and sometimes worst) things about the ballet world is that it is so small. Especially in American ballet history, it’s easy to trace a lineage of teachers and see where we fall in the “family tree” of ballet education. With so few professional dancers and even fewer notable teachers, ballet is one of the few art forms where we can truly learn from the legends in a personal classroom setting.
I’m writing about this because recently Gelsey Kirkland spent 3 weeks teaching open classes at Steps on Broadway. Regarded as one of ABT’s finest dancers while under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov, she has been out of the limelight until recently. This past spring she helped to restage The Sleeping Beauty for ABT and also performed the role of Carabosse in the production.
And from July 30-August 17 she taught Professional Advanced level open ballet as a substitute for her mentor, David Howard.
First of all, it is ironic that she was teaching in the place of her former teacher, a legend in his own right. But besides that I think it’s wonderful that she, and many other brilliant dancers and coaches, dedicate their post-performing careers to passing on the traditions of ballet. It’s nice that there are well-trained dance educators in regional areas to provide solid training to aspiring dancers, but there is something truly special about learning from ballet “stars,” if you will.
What struck me most in Gelsey’s class was her unbelievable, purely classical porte de bras. Every combination she demonstrated was mesmerizing because of her upper body. She spoke a lot about the focal points a dancer should use, referring to the level of the eyes going up to the balcony, straight ahead, or into the orchestra pit, and emphasized their use even during barre exercises.
Though she taught in a more strictly classical style than I am used to, she wasn’t overly pushing for the class to maintain her specifications. Her hard-to-work-with reputation preceded her, but she was nice and a very effective teacher! I found myself deliberately trying to recreate the shapes she made with her upper body, no matter how unnatural they felt to me. I guess it’s something you learn by osmosis after a while: there are some things in ballet that just can’t be taught, but hopefully after observing that “special something” for a while it will rub off and in sink in to your own technique.
I was only able to take her open class twice, but I’ve found this to be true with other “legends” with whom I’ve worked. Cynthia Gregory, another ABT prima ballerina, was beautiful in her porte de bras as well when she set the 2nd Act of her Swan Lake on us at Ballet Academy East. Nikolaj Hubbe set a section of Bournonville’s Napoli on us as well, and from him I took away a strong sense of character in the Danish style. Both of them worked with us over a year ago, but it is their unique outstanding characteristics that keep the lessons I learned from each clear in my mind. Another, more recent experience was with Christopher D’Amboise, who gave me a new understanding of how to interpret movement and “make it your own.”
What is significant about Gelsey as compared to these others is that she taught open class, meaning that basically anybody could take it (though it was advanced level). That means that even those who are no longer in a pre-professional school with guest and master teachers could still have such an important experience. I think it’s so great that so many people could benefit from her wisdom in her class over the 3 weeks, and I hope she and other respected “stars” continue to offer the wider ballet community that opportunity!
