Spring-Summer 2019 Review 4 Philadelphia – Eva Shan Chou 5 New York – Karen Greenspan 7 Los Angeles – Eva Shan Chou 9 New York – Susanna Sloat 11 Williamstown – Christine Temin 12 New York – Karen Greenspan Susanna Sloat 16 Tokyo – Vincent Le Baron 95 Rennie Harris and Ronald K. Brown 18 Jacob’s Pillow – Christine Temin Celebrate Alvin Ailey 20 Toronto – Gary Smith Robert Greskovic 22 Boston – Jeffrey Gantz 100 Chopiniana 25 London – Joseph Houseal 25 Vienna – Vincent Le Baron 109 Judson Theater 27 New York – Susanna Sloat Michael Langlois 28 Miami – Michael Langlois 114 Awakenings 29 Toronto – Gary Smith 31 Venice – Joel Lobenthal Karen Greenspan 32 London – Gerald Dowler 119 In the Court of Yogyakarta 35 Havana – Gary Smith Marian Smith 37 Washington, D.C. – Lisa Traiger 125 The Metropolitan Balanchine 39 London – John Morrone 40 Chicago – Joseph Houseal Gerald Dowler 42 Milan – Vincent Le Baron 141 An Autumn in Europe Sophie Mintz 44 Staging Petipa’s Harlequinade 146 White Light at ABT Lynn Garafola George Washington Cable 151 , 1946 56 The Dance in Place Congo Karen Greenspan Michael Langlois 161 Drive East 2018 63 A Conversation with Karen Greenspan Clement Crisp 168 A Conversation with Maya Joseph Houseal Kulkarni and Mesma Belsaré 76 A Quiet Evening, in Two Acts Francis Mason Ian Spencer Bell 171 Ben Belitt on Graham 82 Women Onstage Gary Smith Michael Langlois 175 A Conversation with Grettel Morejón 86 A Conversation with Hubert Goldschmidt Stella Abrera 177 Rodin and the Dance 207 London Reporter – Louise Levene 218 Dance in America – Jay Rogoff 220 on Disc – George Dorris Cover photo by Paul Kolnik, NYCB: Joseph Gordon in at a Gathering. 47.1-2 Spring-Summer 2019 Editor and Designer: Marvin Hoshino Managing Editor: Roberta Hellman Senior Editor: Don Daniels Associate Editors: Joel Lobenthal Larry Kaplan Ballet Review is a nonprofit Alice Helpern journal pub lished by the Dance 168 Webmaster: Research Foundation, Inc. It David S. Weiss is supported in part by funds from the National Endowment Copy Editor: Naomi Mindlin for , the New York State Council on the Arts, The Fan Photographers: Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Tom Brazil Foundation, and individuals. Costas Contributions to the Dance Associates: Research Foundation, Inc., Peter Anastos 100 Hudson St. – Apt. 6B, Robert Greskovic New York, NY 10013, are 76 George Jackson tax-deduc tible. Elizabeth Kendall Board of Directors: Paul Parish Hubert Goldschmidt, Roberta Nancy Reynolds Hellman, Marv in Hoshino, James Sutton Nancy Lassalle, Dawn Lille, Edward Willinger Michael Popkin, Theodore C. Sarah C. Woodcock Rogers, Barbara E. Schlain, David Weiss. * For the latest information on subscriptions, see our website: balletreview.com. Current 95 double issue: $35. Editorial correspondence, books for review, subscriptions, and changes of address to Ballet Review, 100 Hudson St. – Apt. 6B, New York, NY 10013. Manuscripts must be accom- panied by a self-addressed, stamped return envelope. E-mail: [email protected]. * 207 ©2019 Foun- dation, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in China. issn: 0522- 0653. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Onstage Women Stanley died twenty years ago. Just this morn- ing, I was reading the New York Times piece about Chase Johnsey, a gender-fluid cis-man, dancing a woman’s role at the English National Ballet. And a few weeks ago Ian Spencer Bell I watched Teagan Reed, an apparently cis-male dancer in red lipstick, perform in the final As I was getting dressed for the Royal Danish contemporary showing at the School at Jacob’s Ballet at Jacob’s Pillow, I won- Pillow. I called Reed, age twenty, who partic- dered what Stanley Williams, the American ipated in both the ballet and contemporary master of Bournonville technique, would programs at the Pillow, to ask him about his think of contemporary gender expression in experience as a self-defined gender-queer classical dance. I was a fourteen-year-old, dancer. Southern, gay boy at School of American Bal- “I felt comfortable at the Pillow talking to let when I first took class with Stanley – Stan- my ballet peers about gender because it was ley, not Mr. Williams – and all summer long all so new to them. Many of them still hadn’t in pale trousers and a button-down, rolled at seen male-on-male duets. At other ballet the wrists. Sure I had watched my best friend’s schools, I felt a lot of separation from the peo- father, a square-jawed, six-foot-four Dutch- ple I studied with. I can’t hold the teachers ac- man, descend a flight of stairs in a navy tux. countable; ballet since its inception was gen- I had seen a star polo player in white trousers dered. Teachers said my hands were too girly, and black boots dismount a pony. I had ob- that they need to be less expressive. My peers served my own father choosing a belt and tie didn’t understand that I was trying to achieve for supper. But of these, only Stanley was to something beyond being a dancer: I was try- teach me about men’s style and performance. ing to be myself. At some point, I realized I And by “teach,” I mean whisper. “Go there,” was going to be required to put up a façade so he’d say, or more famously, “You go out, and I I could make money in this industry. I’ve tried go in.” He might hold up an elbow or wrist, to understand how to dance masculinity in point to a toe or heel. Really he said very lit- everyday life. I had to learn to pass. In retro- tle. He didn’t have to; his exquisite classwork spect, it probably helped me a lot.” – its attention to time, sound, level, and qual- My own gender bending I couldn’t keep in ity – showed us that our charge as young Bal- the wings: platinum hair, tongue ring, soft anchine men was to finely articulate music hands and upper body. It was the 1990s and and space. for each offense I was chided: “I didn’t realize What a relief that was. This was not the was joining our class today” and “Do kicks, tricks, and claptrap I’d been told I’d have you really need another hole in your head?” to do. I didn’t want to hold up a girl or be a pi- and “I get what you’re trying to do, but tone rate in . I wanted to dance well – quick, it down.” with detail, line, and a full-bodied expres- Dressed in summer blacks like the other siveness. As for my macho classmates (“Yo, bro, New Yorkers, I found my seat in the Ted Shawn, your tours were sick.”), I may as well have the largest theater at the Pillow. The hand- been a woman, a girl. My roommate at North some ensemble of mostly principal dancers Carolina School of the Arts, where I studied in (two soloists and a corps dancer joined) burst the fall, suggested I join the modern program. forth in scarlet, leaping and clapping in the After all, didn’t I love Cunningham? But still I pas de sept from Bournonville’s Folk Tale. In- dreamed of and in the summers returned deed, the brilliant dancing made our beloved to Stanley. Berkshire feel a little poky. Bournonville So much has changed in the world since insists dancers dance with each other, not just 82 ©2019 Ian Spencer Bell in gorgeous patterns and groupings. It’s Prom- Amy Watson was bewitching as the Sylph ised-Land beauty: bountiful, playful, harmo- in . (Can we please have nious. an outdoor Sylphide(s) or Midsummer at the Pil- The company, maybe already too long in the low?) Her hands made of the panto - States, was eager to sell us their performance mime. Marcin Kupiñski, as James, was refined of it, which for the most part was charming if and understated. not occasionally labored. I couldn’t help but A pair of patrons lumbering up the aisle in- wonder if I wasn’t too close. It’s not that I saw terrupted the mime at the start of the White sweat fly; rather I saw tight, hard pliés and Swan pas de deux. Maybe it was my irrita- gripped finishes. Maybe it’s the ; tion or the dancers responding to the intru- sion, but here I missed the delicate gesture I’d seen in the previous pas de deux. Not enough was held back. (I often feel this watching dance.) Kizzy Matiakis per- formed with Andreas Kaas, a fine actor who made the most of holding up his swan. When Holly Jean Dorger and Jonathan Chmelensky entered for the Black Swan pas de deux, my seatmate, a former dancer, touched my thigh. It’s easy to admire Dorger’s energy and athle- ticism. Ida Praetorius and Kaas were technically splen- Teagan Reed and ensemble in ’s Scarlet did in the first act pas de Circles. ( Photo: Noor Eemaan, Jacob’s Pillow) deux from The Kermesse in Bournon ville seemed to favor precious end- Bruges. More thrilling than their footwork ings. Phrases stutter like they’re trying to con- and port de bras: they seemed to truly love tinue, which with this dance and company is dancing with each other. In the second act exactly what you want. pas de deux from , J’aime Crandall was I can’t recall the last time I saw dancers use at times like mist rolling over a field. She their hands so well. In Harold Lander’s Dvorák knows her skirts if not her partner, Meiram- Pas de Deux, Jón Axel Fransson, a kind of Apol- bek Nazargozhayev, well. The backless , lo in jeans, made his hands croon with every however, made me think of J. Lo. trite gesture. His devotion to the choreogra- The pas de six and from phy was moving. It’s unclear to me why he was closed the program, and once more the en- costumed in jeans and a T, and his partner, semble was marvelous. I can’t stop thinking Emma Riis-Kofoed, in a dowdy dance dress. about the finale step that abruptly shifts The music and language suggest something focus from the audience to stage left. It begs more formal. As do many audience members, questions like, Who’s watching from the I want to see the bodies of world-class danc- wings, and what do all of those eyes feel like? ers, especially these two. I couldn’t help but Amy Watson and Holly Jean Dorger, Ameri- wonder about the presentation: In a love duet, cans and alumnae of SAB, responded to my why perform to the audience at all? emails. spring-summer 2019 83 “From a young age, dancing made me feel would highly doubt people would categorize my most feminine,” Watson said. “I grew up them as feminine. Sometimes my look for class in an environment where it was ‘unladylike’ is referred to as a cross between an athlete and if you didn’t shave your legs, comb your hair, a hobo.” wear a bra, and if you showed too much skin. “Ballet can be very traditionally feminine As I have grown older, I have realized that, al- – especially when starting out – and I’ve en- though all of these social ideas about how a joyed exploring that aspect of the art form,” Dorge r said. “Ballet is a celebration of women and femininity; the lines of a womanly form are highlighted with pointe shoes, which elon- gate the leg, and tight bodices and wide tutus, which define the proportions of the hip and waist. However, there’s a rigid standard with- in to maintain a waifish sil- houette, and many of the traditional markers of womanhood – specifically shapely breasts and hips – are discouraged, however, implic- itly. As your body matures, it’s difficult try- ing to stay in peak athletic condition while maintaining a positive mental state. “I’ve grown to accept my body as a woman and feel confident in how that manifests as a performer. How the audience sees you can sometimes differ; they can become used to watching you in certain roles – seeing you por- tray specific archetypes of women – and that makes it hard to be received in opposing char- acters. Some roles, like Odette/Odile in , allow me the opportunity to explore a wide range of what it means to be a woman onstage because I inhabit dichotomous char- Royal Danish Ballet’s Amy Watson and Ulrik acters.” Birkkjaer in Swan Lake. (Photo: Kyle Froman) I wondered if these women felt differently lady should present herself are lovely, I don’t in and out of the studio and if performing at necessarily have to follow them or agree with RDB contrasted for women and men. “In Den- them. mark,” Watson said, “I do not experience a dif- “I think of myself as a human, an artist and ference. All genders are treated the same. It an athlete, trying to create movement to the sometimes feels like the States are stuck in the best of my ability. Some roles require extreme 1950s: men holding doors for women, women femininity, such as the Sylph in La Sylphide. going to college for their MRS not there MS, She is the essence of femininity in my eyes. In women waiting for men to ask them on dates. rehearsal, I will always try to physically . . . Still, now in 2018, that there is no mater- achieve what I need to, even if I am not feel- nity leave for women who work for the US ing my most feminine that day. government makes it feel like a nation that “Class is another story. Some of my friends wants the female population to stay at home and colleagues call me ‘the computer’ or ‘ma- and raise kids. In Denmark both men and chine’ because I am so focused and concen- women get maternity leave! trated. As for my fashion choices for class, I “Being a woman dancer for the Royal Dan- 84 Ballet review RDB’s Ida Praetorius and Andreas Kaas in The Kermesse in Bruges. (Photo Christopher Duggan, JP) ish Ballet,” she said, “has historically always classical ballet continue to live, grow, and cre- been a little difficult. Of course the reason be- ate beautiful art for this world,” she said. “But ing that we have produced so many incredi- in the ballet world, things tend to move a lit- ble male dancers that have had international tle on the slow side – but we shall see!” success. Another reason, of course, is that the Dorger also looked on the bright side. “It’s Bournonville school has, in my mind, the most taken a long time, but I think we’re already brilliant technique for male dancing. So some- beginning to see classical ballet adapt to broad- times, being a woman, I expect the critics to er changes in society regarding gender. We’re praise the men more solely based on history.” finally seeing more women choreographing “I’m very comfortable in my womanhood in and leading world-renowned ballet compa- and outside of the studio,” Dorger said, “and I nies, and that is a huge step toward giving like to think how I present myself in both women more options and opportunities with- spaces is largely the same. I consider myself in the field. When we have a seat at the table, a confident woman who is not afraid to seek we can have our voices heard and begin to out opportunities and make my opinions, make real changes that I hope will ultimately standards, and limitations known. I admire create a more diverse and inclusive space for women who possess those qualities, but I also female-identifying people in the studio, as understand my privilege in being able to ex- well as more true-to-life depictions of women press myself in such a manner. I hope I can be onstage.” a role model for younger dancers of all gen- Coming down the mountain on the way ders in that respect.” home, I caught myself in the rearview mirror: Finally, I wanted to know if, as societal ideas dirty blond hair, scruffy beard, black T, jeans. about gender develop, the two anticipate Twenty-six years I’ve been practicing being changes in classical ballet. Watson was cheer- me onstage and off. I gave up performing bal- ful. “I look forward to any change that makes let so I could do exactly that. spring-summer 2019 85