Carlisle Project
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Farrell submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Performing Arts: Arts Management Chair: _______ Naima Prevots~ Valerie B. Morris 5 Sarah Kaufman Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Date 1996 The American University Washington, DC 20016 9BX AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1381751 UMI Microform 1381751 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE CARLISLE PROJECT: AFFECTING CHANGE IN THE WORLD OF DANCE BY Jennifer M. Farrell ABSTRACT The Carlisle Project is a national center for choreographic development with the mission of fostering the professional growth of dance artists and new repertoire, particularly in the field of ballet. In its eleven years, the Project has sought to meet its goals through a program of workshops, residencies and showcases that have provided choreographers with a nurturing environment and the resources necessary to experiment with new ideas and develop their craft. Until this time, however, there has been neither a comprehensive assessment nor formal documentation of the Project’s impact on its participants or the dance world as a whole. This paper documents the Project’s evolution and examines the impact of its program. A review of internal documents, books, periodicals, and interviews with Project staff and twenty-eight alumni choreographers has concluded that the Carlisle Project effectively fulfilled its mission and significantly affected the careers of choreographers by providing them with tools for learning, a source of encouragement, a forum for information exchange and networking, and a means of gaining exposure. By enriching the careers of these artists and calling attention to the need for development opportunities in the ballet world, the Carlisle Project has had a profound, positive impact on the dance field. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................. ii Chapter 1. ORIGINS OF THE CARLISLE PROJECT ...............................................1 2. CONCEPT TO PROJECT: IMPLEMENTING THE IDEA........................ 13 3. THE FIRST YEAR OF PROGRAMMING................................................ 26 4. THE EVOLUTION OF THE ARTISTIC PROGRAM ..............................39 5. THE FINAL YEARS ...............................................................................56 6. THE ARTISTS AND THE IMPACT ....................................................... 72 7. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................101 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................112 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1 ORIGINS OF THE CARLISLE PROJECT The Carlisle Project is a national center for choreographic development. More specifically, it is a program of activities whose purpose is to stimulate and nurture choreographers, enrich the professional experience of dancers and foster the creation of new ballet repertoire. The Project provides artists with the critical resources of time, space and dancers. At the same time, it offers them a supportive environment, meaning a place where they can experiment without the pressure to produce a product, exchange ideas with peers, and receive constructive feedback and mentoring. This simple goal of promoting research and development is a mainstay in most industries, but in the arts it is more often the exception than the rule. When Barbara Weisberger1 conceived the concept for the Project in 1984, there was no other organization of its kind, and today the program remains unrivaled. While most corporations allocate a healthy percentage of their budgets for laboratories, proper equipment and well-trained scientists, 1 1 Barbara Weisberger, the Carlisle Project’s founder and artistic director, is also the founder of the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Pennsylvania Ballet Company. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 understanding that a commitment to education and experimentation today is an investment in a company’s future, the majority of dance companies do not have abundant resources to commit to development. As Dance Magazine’s Camille Hardy noted in a 1988 article, the value of the Carlisle Project is that it works with “the creative artist whose needs are largely unmet by professional companies where the priority of mounting a season leaves little time or resources for experimentation.”2 In addition to financial restraints, the philosophy and structure of the dance field provide limited opportunities for choreographers. A Village Voice piece, titled “Pressure Cooking Choreographers,” that focused on the struggles of modern dance choreographers, pointed out that “the main emphasis of the dance world-not only downtown [referring to the base of many contemporary New York choreographers], but in ballet and in university dance departments--is on training dancers, not choreographers.”3 The article went on to discuss the underlying belief in dance that dancers instantly can become choreographers 2 Camille Hardy, “Onward and Upward: The Carlisle Oasis for Creativity,"Dance Magazine, February 1988, 74. 3 Sally Sommer, “Pressure Cooking Choreographers," The Village Voice, The Dance Supplement, 19 April 1988, S2. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 with no instruction or practice. Barbara Weisberger admitted that she, like George Balanchine4 and many in the ballet world, believed that choreographers were born to choreograph. They either had the talent or they did not. Weisberger said that, when she first had the idea for the Carlisle Project, she wrote several prominent artists for their input. Renowned choreographer Antony Tudor’s response, she recalled, was indicative of the attitudes in ballet companies. In his opinion, choreographers need not be nurtured but rather should be thrown in the water to either sink or swim.5 While Weisberger still maintains that geniuses are born, not created, she came to realize that there was a need to help their talents surface. Weisberger remembered Carlisle Project’s first music director, Juli Nunlist6, telling her that even for a genius there is craft. Nunlist further enlightened Weisberger by explaining 4 George Balanchine was considered by many to be the grandfather of American Ballet. He was the founder and long-time artistic director of the New York City Ballet. 5 Barbara Weisberger, interview by author, Telephone, 12 October 1995. 6 According to a brief biographical sketch printed on the Carlisle Project’s 1986 Factsheet, “Juli Nunlist, noted composer and teacher, is well-know to ballet companies across the nation. She has served as Director of Music at the NERB and NARB Craft of Choreography Conferences and her songs and piano, choral, chamber and orchestral music have been performed nationally. Mrs. Nunlist has advanced degrees in composition from the Manhattan School of Music, and her published works