June 2024 – Mostly Dance

During dinner with Ernesta and Andra in Paris, I asked them for suggestions to help me watch that evening’s performance of Pina Bausch’s Sweet Mambo. Years ago, I had seen the Pina Bausch company at Brooklyn Academy of Music, and while I had found the piece interesting and some of the movement exciting to watch, overall I was puzzled by it. I welcomed some guidance on how to view the night’s performance.

They suggested I view it as a series of vignettes where the performer is sharing a moment of importance to him/her/them. The piece premiered in 2008, and six of the original cast members would be among the nine current performers. It was also pointed out to me that the six original cast members had been working with Pina for a number of years. Some quick math and I realized I would be seeing mature performers, some possibly in their 50’s or 60’s. They also had helped in the creation of the piece by improvising, with Pina drawing the choreography from their improvisations.

Having some of this background information was very helpful. When Ernesta picked up our tickets for the evening, we were all very pleased to be third row center. As I sank into the chair, I felt an excitement that I had often had in New York City when going to a dance event or Broadway show. With great seats (I wouldn’t have to shift around to see), and knowing that I would be seeing accomplished performers, I was ready!

The piece opened with an elegant performer, Naomi Brito, holding a Tibetan singing bowl and gently circling the rim with a mallet, making a rich singing song that called us to attention. As someone who likes to meditate and responds well to such sounds, it immediately brought my full concentration to the stage and the moment. When Naomi began to move, I was in awe of her beautiful lines and the way she filled the stage with grace and strength at the same time. Watching the power of her movement sent chills down my body! While Naomi was not a member of the original cast, Andra shared that she very much captured the quality of the dancer who had created the part.

As the piece progressed, I was impressed with how technically strong the six original cast members were. Their years of seasoned performing captured the audience and immediately brought us into the vignette they were dancing. Sometimes the women spoke and sang, and while it was in French and I do not have any experience speaking French, it didn’t matter as their intent and focus were so strong I stayed intrigued with the action.

The first half introduced the characters; the mood was light, teasing and playful between the men and women, with the women clearly having the upper hand. Toward the end of the first half the feeling changed. One of the original cast members, Julie Shanahan, threw herself over and over to be caught by two men, while lightning was projected onto the white fabric background! It was intense and powerful and a good example of the strength of the diagonal line. It was followed by another dancer, Julie Anne Stanzak, being led by different men in a repeated circle.

Following the intermission, the second half showed a darker side of each of the women characters, and in this section each of the men had a solo. For me the piece was a powerful statement of relationships, with the women ultimately being in charge – truly a feminist piece.

The set and lighting were elegant and simple. Fabric was used in different ways. Film and images were often projected on back panels, which were also used for entrances and exits. At one point, a cloud-like, billowing fabric served as a backdrop and then also provided a poignant moment for Naomi to dance inside it, creating an eerie solo. At another time, panels were flown in at different places on the stage and used in different ways. Among the most striking such use was when the three men were behind the panels, and the three women sat on them like couches and were rocked.

As I walked back to my hotel room, I felt very grateful to have had the opportunity to see a powerful concert performed by a very gifted company. Thank you Ernesta for making it possible, and Andra for your insight, and bravo to Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.

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Sometimes when I check Facebook each day, I scold myself for wasting time as I look at pictures, read posts and even post myself. Occasionally I discover something important, and that is what happened about 10 days before I was to leave for Paris on April 29. Ernesta Corvino posted that she and her sister were in Paris with the Pina Bausch Dance Company. Ernesta was there teaching company classes and warming the company up before performances. I was filled with wonderful Corvino memories and thought how special it would be to connect with Ernesta and Andra and maybe, just maybe they could help me get a ticket to see the Pina Bausch Company, as its online tickets were sold out.

I messengered and we agreed to be in touch once I was in Paris. Ernesta thought it might be possible to get me a ticket, and we could certainly meet up. Before I get to the specifics of our evening together, I want to share some history of my relationship with the Corvinos and some background about Alfredo Corvino, his daughters and Pina Bausch.

Alfredo Corvino (1916 – 2005) was my favorite ballet teacher at Juilliard. As a “modern dancer,” I found his classes challenging, and I always felt a wisdom from him as he taught us how to align our bodies. Elizabeth McPherson, a dancer who performed with both Ernesta’s company and mine, wrote a beautiful article that expressed Mr. Corvino’s important role and that of his daughters in training dancers. I quote from the article, which appeared in Attitude Magazine in Fall 2009:

He started class in the same way each day: “First position, finger tips to the shoulders.” We would stand feeling our centers, and the music would begin. . .

Hearing Mr. Corvino’s corrections and directions through the voices of his daughters, I began to understand even more clearly what Mr. Corvino was teaching. As I came to understand it, the Corvino approach was about simplicity, using gravity as a helper, finding the most economical ways muscularly to perform certain movements. It was also about building a body through the use of a system of exercises Mr. Corvino had developed. . . .

Mr. Corvino was a fundamental force in the global world of dance for more than sixty years. His tradition lives on through the grand legacy of his students.

Here’s a link to the article. On the same website page are several other excellent articles that explain Corvino’s approach to teaching.

In McPherson’s same article she summarizes the key events in Corvino’s life:

Alfredo Corvino was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on February 2, 1916. He studied ballet there, eventually joining the Uruguay National Ballet. He later danced with The Jooss Ballet, The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet of which he became ballet master. He taught at The Juilliard School for more than forty years and at The Metropolitan Opera Ballet School for almost twenty. Corvino also traveled the world teaching, in his later years as ballet master for Pina Bausch/Tanztheatre Wuppertal.

To learn more about Mr. Corvino’s life I strongly encourage you to go to a beautiful tribute that Ernesta put together for his induction into The National Museum of Dance Hall of Fame in 2018. I loved watching it, learning so many new things about a teacher that I so strongly respected. Here’s a link to watch the 53-minute film.

During the years 1976 – 2004 when I directed the Avodah Dance Ensemble in New York City, many of the company dancers were Juilliard graduates who had studied with either Alfredo (who taught at Juilliard until 1994) or his daughter Andra (who taught after he retired). Some also studied with him at The Dance Circle. The Dance Circle was known for providing excellent training in a kind, safe, sane environment.

In 1981 when Ernesta formed her own company, we shared some dancers. In the summer of 1976, I attended some classes at The Dance Circle and posted an audition notice for my company’s very first New York performance. One of the dancers responding to the notice was Lynn Elliot. Lynn joined the company and was an important part of the early history of the Avodah Dance Ensemble. When Ernesta formed her company, Lynn danced with her. Later, Elizabeth McPherson played an important role in both of our companies. Dina McDermott also performed with both of our companies, although not at the same time and only briefly for Ernesta’s company.

I have always had a deep respect for the Corvinos and was thrilled to be able to link up with Ernesta and Andra in Paris. Before describing our evening together I want to convey the history between the Corvinos and Pina Bausch. Alfredo first met Pina when he was teaching in Germany for Kurt Jooss in the late 1950’s. Pina had been dancing with Jooss since she was 14, and perhaps Corvino encouraged her to come to NYC.

In 1958 or 1959 Pina became a special student at Juilliard where she studied with Anthony Tudor, Alfredo Corvino, Jose Limon, and Martha Graham. During the next two years she worked with choreographers such as Paul Sanasardo and Paul Taylor. According to an article that Wendy Perron wrote, she feels that Pina’s time at Juilliard and in New York City from 1959 – 1961 “contributed more to her development than most Bausch scholars have acknowledged.” In particular, Perron points out that Pina was exposed to a ‘wide diversity of styles, ethnicities and music genres that populated New York at the time.” Here’s a link to Wendy Perron’s article to learn more about Pina’s time in New York. For Pina’s full biography visit her page on the company’s website.

When Mr. Corvino retired from Juilliard in 1994, Pina asked him to become the Ballet Master for her company, Tanztheater Wuppertal, and he continued in this role until he passed in August of 2005.

Ernesta took over his role in 2007 and now she was in Paris teaching morning classes for the company and leading the warmup before performances. Andra, Ernesta and I met for an early dinner so Ernesta would be free to teach the evening’s warmup. What a joy and delight it was for me to catch up with these two beautiful women. Ernie and I had last seen each other when she was teaching at Perry-Mansfield, maybe 13 or 14 years ago, and Andra and I had only met on occasion when I attended a Juilliard concert with my good friend Linda Kent, again well over 15 years ago. Nevertheless, our connection felt strong as we caught up on recent happenings in each other’s lives and commented on the current dance scene.

Our waiter kindly took our picture. From left: me, Ernesta and Andra.

In the next blog I will write about the outstanding performance of “Sweet Mambo.”

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Month: June 2024

Thoughts After Seeing Sweet Mambo: An Informal Review

The Corvino Family, Pina Bausch and a Special Evening