An Early American Sleeping Beauty from Ballet Review Summer 2015
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Summer 2015 Ball et Review An Early American Sleeping Beauty from Ballet Review Summer 2015 CoverphotographbyCostas:WendyWhelanandNikolajHübbe inBalanchine’sLaSonnambula . © 2015 Dance Research Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Brooklyn – Susanna Sloat 5 Berlin – Darrell Wilkins 7 London – Leigh Witchel 9 New York – Susanna Sloat 10 Toronto – Gary Smith 12 New York – Karen Greenspan 14 London – David Mead 15 New York – Susanna Sloat 16 San Francisco – Leigh Witchel 19 Boston – Jeffrey Gantz 21 New York – Harris Green 39 22 San Francisco – Rachel Howard 23 London – Leigh Witchel Ballet Review 43.2 24 Brooklyn – Darrell Wilkins Summer 2015 26 El Paso – Karen Greenspan Editor and Designer: 31 San Francisco – Rachel Howard Marvin Hoshino 32 Chicago – Joseph Houseal Managing Editor: Roberta Hellman Sharon Skeel 34 Early American Annals of Senior Editor: Don Daniels The Sleeping Beauty Associate Editor: 54 Christopher Caines Joel Lobenthal 39 Tharp and Tudor for a Associate Editor: New Generation Larry Kaplan Michael Langlois Webmaster: 46 A Conversation with Ohad Naharin David S. Weiss Copy Editors: Leigh Witchel Barbara Palf y* 54 Ashton Celebrated Naomi Mindlin Joel Lobenthal Photographers: Tom Brazil 62 62 A Conversation with Nora White Costas Nina Alovert Associates: 70 The Mikhailovsky Ballet Peter Anastos Robert Greskovic David Mead George Jackson 76 A Conversation with Peter Wright Elizabeth Kendall Paul Parish James Sutton Nancy Reynolds 89 Indianapolis Evening of Stars James SuZon David Vaughan Leigh Witchel Edward Willinger 70 94 La Sylphide Sarah C. Woodcock Jay Rogoff 98 A Conversation with Wendy Whelan 106 London Reporter – Clement Crisp 110 Music on Disc – George Dorris Cover photograph by Costas: Wendy Whelan 116 Check It Out and Nikolaj Hübbe in La Sonnambula . Catherine Littlefield as Aurora. (Photo: courtesy of the Ann Barzel Collection, Newberry Library) 34 ballet review Early American Annals of ing Beauty hailed it as the “first performance in America, ” an inaccurate assertion given The Sleeping Beauty Pavlova ’s prior – albeit limited – showings (as well as Mordkin ’s) ¹ In another context, Little- field qualified her claim by inserting the word Sharon Skeel “entire ” and providing additional details: “The [Philadelphia Ballet] Company has many To the list of ambiguities and debates involv - important engagements listed for the coming ing The Sleeping Beauty , I have one more to add: year, 1937, the foremost among which will whether or not Catherine Littlefield and her be the American premiere of Tchaikovsky ’s Philadelphia Ballet Company were the first to entire ballet, ‘The Sleeping Beauty. ’ . The produce a full-length version of this ballet in ballet, which is in five scenes, is an entire the United States. On February 11, 1937, at the evening ’s entertainment .” AcademyofMusic,subscriberstothePhiladel - While critics at the time commended phia Forum, a local presenting organization, Littlefield ’s achievement, some also acknowl - watchedLittlefield ’srenditioninitsfullthree- edged that Mordkin ’s Waterbury staging pre - hour splendor, which included one prologue, dated hers. For these writers, however, Mord - three acts, eight hounds, eighty-five musi - kin ’s complete production seemed in some cians , and one hundred dancers. It was orig - way incomplete: it was given “without an or - inal and credible, but was it the first, as Lit - chestra ” or as merely a “preview. ” tlefield claimed ? Indeed, Mordkin ’s Sleeping Beauty was a About two months earlier , in fact , a semi - fairy tale with plenty of fairies but with only professional group directed by Russian émi - three princes, two pianists, no tutor , and no gré Mikhail Mordkin staged what was de - rats. In other words, it may have been full- scribed as a complete Sleeping Beauty in Wa - length , but it was not full-scale, and existing terbury, Connecticut. Shortly afterward, this evidence suggests it lacked the grandeur be - group formally became the Mordkin Ballet fitting Tchaikovsky ’s score and the ballet ’s Company, the forerunner of Ballet Theatre. own history. While Mordkin danced the role Mordkin ’s work was performed just twice: of the Black Fairy (Carabosse) and Dimitri Ro - on December 19, 1936, for the Junior League of manoff and Lucia Chase were Prince Désiré Waterbury, and then again on March 20, 1937 and Princess Aurora , Mordkin ’s advanced (more than a month after Littlefield ’s pre - students assumed most of the other parts miere) for the Scarsdale branch of the New and Chase herself referred to the ensemble as York Junior League. a rehearsal group. Theoriginal1890SleepingBeauty ,whichpre - Theperformance,whichincludedthreeacts miered at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Peters- and a prologue within act 1, began at 3 p.m. in burg,withchoreographybyMariusPetipaand the Junior League ’s auditorium and was to music by Tchaikovsky, was a prologue-three- be followed by the League ’s Christmas dance . act extravaganza. Anna Pavlova, Mordkin ’s Reviews did not appear in the local newspa - formerpartner,gaveAmericanswhatwereno pers. The printed program listed no costume doubt their first glimpses of the ballet. The or scenery designers, although posed photo - repertory for her United States tour in 1910- graphs of Romanoff and Chase show his tunic 1911 included the grand pas de deux from act and her tutu and rudimentary crowns on both 3, and, six years later , at New York’s Hippo - theirheads. Onthebacksofthesephotographs drome , she presented an abbreviated version is written “The sleeping beauty (Mordkin ofthefullballet,devisedbyIvanClustine,who after Petipa M), ” which suggests that Mord - likely derived his work from Petipa ’s. kin ’s choreography reflected Petipa ’s in some The printed program for Littlefield ’s Sleep - way. Littlefield ’s, for the most part, did not. ©2015SharonSkeel 35 Despite its departure from Petipa, Little - paring for this challenge at least a decade ear - field ’s Sleeping Beauty exceeded Mordkin ’s in lier, after she returned to Philadelphia from capturing the bold spirit of the original. Pub - New York – where she danced for Ziegfeld licity for the Philadelphia Ballet ’s production and studied with Luigi Albertieri – to assist began five months in advance. A hint about its her mother with ballets for two local opera opulence surfaced in The Dancing Times : “ One companies. They found Littlefield a partner of Miss Littlefield ’s most important objects in and formed a corps using students from their Europe was to confer with designers regard - school, which had developed over the years ingthecostumesandsceneryforherproposed from classes for neighborhood children and production of Tchaikovsky ’s The Sleeping women ’s music clubs. Beauty . .” In January the company present - By the late 1920s, Littlefield had recruited ed a preview at a local school that included William Dollar, Douglas Coudy , and Thomas a pas de six, variations , and an excerpt from Cannontoteachandperform ,andwaschoreo - the grand pas de deux, the only portion of graphing ballets independent of opera. Her Petipa ’s original choreography that Littlefield marriage in 1933 to a wealthy lawyer provided retained. It had been taught to her by Lubov themeanstoactonherlongstandingambition Egorova, with whom she studied during off- to form a company, and she launched the seasons beginning in the mid-1920s. ² Philadelphia Ballet Company in October 1935. Littlefield ’s Sleeping Beauty was in one sense Among the company ’s strongest dancers her homage to Egorova, the former Mariin- were Philadelphia-born Karen Conrad and sky ballerina who had danced the role of Lilac Joan McCracken, whom Littlefield cast as the Fairy in St. Petersburg and alternated as Au - Fairy of Song and Fairy of Happiness , respec - rora in Diaghilev ’s 1921 London revival of the tively , for Sleeping Beauty ’s opening perform - ballet .Intelligentandmusical,Egorovataught ances (on February 11 for the Philadelphia Fo - in Paris for more than forty years. “You know, rum and February 12 for the general public ). Balanchine once told me that by watching her Littlefield ’s younger sister, Dorothie, as the classhegotinspired, ”GeorgeSkibinerecalled. Fairy of Hope (Lilac or Rainbow Fairy), led the During the Philadelphia Ballet ’s 1937 tour to fairy retinue, which was praised by Alberti - Europe, Littlefield arranged private lessons na Vitak in a comprehensive review in The with Egorova for a dozen or so of her prized American Dancer : “ The Six Fairies are all good company members. dancers, and each had an outstanding solo in But Littlefield ’s Sleeping Beauty was more the Prologue, with highest honors given to than just a tribute to her teacher. It was also Karen Conrad for her thrilling elevation and a demonstration that her teacher ’s Old World great style; to Joan McCracken for her airy ballet ideals of artistry, courtliness, and dis - movement and saucy beauty, and to Dorothy cipline could be embraced by New World [sic ] Littlefield for her graceful, flowing lines dancers – that Americans could produce an and beautiful poise. There were many points iconic work and do it well. With her canny oftechnicalproficiencydividedamongthesix: choice of Sleeping Beauty , Littlefield showed one had exceptional développé ; all could turn seriousness of purpose while exploiting her well, as witness they all did fouetté sur la pointe company ’s strengths: generous talent at the and circles of coupé jeté together, and all had top and sheer numbers below (augmented by good petite batterie . At times some of their cos - students