Celebrate and Encourage Diversity

So I’ve made an observation over the years. It’s a familiar picture: I’m at Joe Schmo studio, class is over, I walk through the lobby to leave, and notice a hoard of preschoolers bouncing off the walls, getting ready for class...and they are all Caucasian. Not a single Latina, African American, or Asian. 

What’s up with that? 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with one ethnicity in itself. However, the last time I checked, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex was a highly diverse and industrialized community. Education, engineering, and technology industries abound, staffing people from every continent. These people have children. Children have hobbies. A lot of children like to dance. So where is the rest of the world when I leave ballet class?

I know this trend is a drop in the cultural bucket, and the question I pose is meant to be broad. Let’s just say, it will be a beautiful day to step into a lobby and see more future Paloma Herreras and Michaela DePrinces in the ballerina gene pool. 

Michaela DePrince, photo courtesy TeenVogue

Yuan Yuan Tan, photo courtesy Dance.net

Paloma Herrera, photo courtesy BallerinaGallery.com

New York 2013

I made a pilgrimage over Spring Break. The baseball fan headed to Yankee Stadium. The actor’s ticket to the Oscars. The photographer’s lunch date with Annie Leibovitz. I paid reverence to the holy grail of dance education: The School of American Ballet.

Photo of Balanchine teaching class displayed in the hallway/
photo taken with permission

I point to a photo of George Balanchine. “Ballet exists in America because of that man.”  It is the most concise, significant snippet of dance history I relay to friends, family, or whomever I happen to be talking to at the moment. We can split hairs as to the earliest influences and origins, but no other man revolutionized the art form like Balanchine. Having instituted SAB in the 1930s, he rewrote the script on classical technique, and established a company that would challenge artistic and societal convention for decades to come. 

Having met the respected Suki Schorer a couple of months prior in Dallas, I was invited to take a tour of the school on my next trip to New York. Located in the creative mecca that is Lincoln Center, I made my way to the Samuel B. and David Rose Building. As soon as the elevator doors parted, I could hear Tchaikovsky being played on the piano. The melody seemed to dance, if you will, down the hallway and into the lobby. Darci Kistler breezed by me only a few moments later. Of course, being that I was on their home turf, any such sightings are normal, even ignored. It was surreal. Not as surreal, however, as having Schorer be my personal tour guide. In all honesty, I don’t think she was actually expecting me to show up and her assistant was out. Nonetheless, this peon is forever grateful to such a gracious host.

Review: Coppelia

photo by Brian Guilliaux, 2012

Chamberlain Performing Arts entertained audiences this weekend with the charming tale of Coppelia, a life-size doll mistaken for a human. Staged by Phillip Broomhead, the choreography, humor, and overall energy made for an uplifting production. Mischic Liberatore, Ballet Mistress at CPA, performed the feature role of Swanhilda, the mischievious town girl who tries to garner the attention of the doll and win her man back. I've been to various company productions over the years, and Liberatore is by far the best Swanhilda I've seen. Surrounded in a context of dolls, romance, and general whimsy, it's easy to make Swanhilda overly cutesy. Her pantomime is tricky. A tight grasp of the music keeps gestures from looking sloppy and ill-timed. A balanced portrayal of the emotional spectrum prevents overacting. For instance, a plastered smile looks fake, even obnoxious. But a genuine smile from the heart can capture an audience in suspended disbelief, making it willing to follow the character wherever she goes. Liberatore nailed these facets of character development and is testimony to her seasoned background. Ditto for husband Val Liberatore, who played the wacky and slightly boozy dollmaker Dr. Coppelius. A fantastic ensemble of male dancers, including local guest artists Travis Morrison and Albert Drake, owned the stage with their powerful dynamic. Swanhilda's girlfriends, CPA senior dancers, were an enthusiastic complement to their ringleader and brought cohesion to their adventures. Every young girl watching could find a hero in Swanhilda, and let their imagination run wild.   

-February 10, 2013

Master Workshop

Suki Schorer, published with permission         photo by Bethany Adams

I’m not easily intimidated. But when I met Suki Schorer, I might as well have been talking to Robert De Niro. This weekend Schorer, protege of the late George Balanchine and faculty member at the School of American Ballet, taught a master workshop for Chamberlain Performing Arts, loyally preaching her mentor’s ideals to a new generation. “Mr. Balanchine used to say, ‘You can be stingy with money. But you should never be stingy with your plie.’”

Balanchine with young Schorer   photo by Zoe Dominic

With rapt attention I followed her as she whizzed through the studio making corrections at every turn; slapping legs, contorting heads, a potter molding its subject to the Balanchine aesthetic. Where she’s diminutive in size, she projects ten-fold in stage presence and apparently has the ability to render a journalist speechless. A dynamic teacher and gracious woman, her gift to these young dancers and myself, will never be forgotten. Marjorie Thompson of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Lynn Short of Ballet Austin were also guest teachers, bringing their expertise and sage humor to create a well-rounded training. Teaching advanced pointe, Thompson’s scrutinizing eye cleaned up the lines of some of the more experienced dancers, while benevolent Short helped beginning pointe students find their footing. An ensemble of talented educators, Schorer, Short, and Thompson’s contributions to the dance community in North Texas deserve a round of applause.

-December 16, 2012 

Chamberlain Performing Arts' Nutcracker

Chamberlain Performing Arts presented "The Nutcracker" to a packed house at Eisemann Center this weekend. Gracing the stage at the Sunday matinee were New York City Ballet Principals Wendy Whelan and Tyler Angle featuring a dedicated cast of CPA students. 

Senior McKenna Karnes put in the most sweat equity, taking on the coveted roles of Snow Queen and Dewdrop. As Snow Queen, she carried herself with a maturity beyond her years, her smile warm and inviting. While dancers don’t like to be pegged, I think her body responds beautifully to adagio work. Though her confident execution of the dizzying allegro of Dewdrop left me in awe. 

Louisa Liles, with those legs that start at her neck, was a pleasant surprise this year. Normally a jovial personality, I actually prefer the serious Louisa that slithered across the stage as Arabian. Her extension was put to good use and the darker persona gave her an edge; a side of her I’d never seen before. 

Generally speaking, the Spanish ladies had great energy. Victoria Brickert and Francisca Chou were also very charming in Chinese.

Along with a dynamic cast of male guest dancers in Russian, and other colorful excerpts from the unparalleled Whelan and Angle, the beloved winter classic made for an inspiring afternoon. 

-November 27, 2012