Category: Current Dance Events

Thoughts After Seeing Sweet Mambo: An Informal Review

JoAnne Tucker / / Current Dance Events, Personal Life

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.

Photo of the program cover

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The Corvino Family, Pina Bausch and a Special Evening

JoAnne Tucker / / Current Dance Events, Dance Education, Dance History, Personal Life

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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Thoughts after Streaming a Memorial for Dance Critic Jack Anderson

JoAnne Tucker / / Avodah's Early History, Current Dance Events, Dance History

Whenever The Avodah Dance Ensemble held a performance in New York City, we sent out a press release to the dance critics.  We were always hopeful that one of the three critics from The New York Times – Anna Kisselgoff, Jennifer Dunning, or Jack Anderson – would cover our event.  While we were not always covered, we often were, several times by Jennifer Dunning and once by Jack Anderson.

In early January I received an email inviting me to a memorial service for Jack Anderson. He had died in October at the age of 88. I am not sure what list I was on that resulted in my receiving the invitation, but I was fascinated by some of the information in the notice, particularly that he was a poet besides being a dance historian and critic. On January 27th at 4 in the afternoon I streamed the memorial held at St. Peter’s Church, Lexington Avenue, New York City.  His poetry was read by different people throughout the service. Among the speakers was Anna Kisselgoff, who in a feisty voice shared what he didn’t like and that he had often been asked to go on the staff of The New York Times but preferred to freelance.  Three dance pieces were woven into the service: a solo from Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies performed by a soloist from the New York Dance Theatre; a piece by Baroque Dance; and a lyrical trio of liturgical dances by Dance @ Saint Peter’s.

After the memorial I wanted to learn more about Jack Anderson, so I turned to the obituary in The New York Times which opens with, “He brought an all-embracing enthusiasm to about 4,000 articles for The New York Times on modern dance, tap, ballet and practically every other genre.”  His first article was written in 1978, and his last published piece was an obituary of Anna Halprin in 2021.  Here’s the link to the New York Times obituary if you want to know more about Jack Anderson.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/arts/dance/jack-anderson-dead.html

Next, I found myself going through my digital files to find the review he had written about the Avodah Dance Ensemble.  He reviewed a concert we gave at Hebrew Union College on May 31, 1997, which included pieces inspired by two poets: Primo Levi and Yehuda Amichai. Now that I know Anderson was a poet, I understand why he might have been assigned our concert to review. While it was a short review, it was a solid one, beginning with acknowledging the space we were performing in:

“The sanctuary of the Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion, a high, wide hall with walls of light wood that help make it look radiant, is used for concerts as well as for religious services.  It was a fine setting for Avodah.”

A few other passages I liked and was able to use in publicity:

“Ms. Tucker choreographed clear patterns that could be adapted to performance spaces of many kinds.”

“ ‘Shema’ effectively contrasted relentless pacing, representing concentration camp regimentation with  outbursts, symbolizing the prisoners’ turbulent personal feelings.”

I was glad to get the coverage, although I wish he had commented on the dancers, as they gave an excellent performance.

In December of 2023 I had read a reference to the fact that there were no longer any full-time dance critics on the staff of major newspapers.  In fact, in 2015 an article appeared in The Atlantic entitled “The Death of the American Dance Critic.” At that time there were two full-time critics: Alastair Macaulay at The New York Times and Sarah Kaufman at The Washington Post. Neither of them is now on staff at either paper; now all reviewing is being done by freelance writers.

As I continued to explore options for reading dance reviews, I came across a Facebook page named “Dance Critics Association.”  It has 647 members with regular posts.  There used to be an active Dance Critics Association that was founded in 1973, but the last time it showed any life was around 2007-2008.  Perhaps the FB page is now their only outlet.  The good news is that it is very active, filled with lots of daily posts.

When I was director of The Avodah Dance Ensemble, getting good press and publicity was important for us.  To be able to have a good quote to use in a press release or on our website was important to build our audience and to get bookings. I am glad I could honor Jack Anderson by streaming his memorial and by writing this blog.  I want to honor and express gratitude for all the dance critics and writers who continue to review performances and write about dance.

Screenshot of scrapbook page.  Fun to see our review was directly under another review of the New York City Ballet by Jennifer Dunning.  Much easier to read the review by clipping on this link:

 

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Keeping Up With What is Happening in the Dance World

JoAnne Tucker / / Current Dance Events, Personal Life

It’s been nearly 20 years since I retired as director/choreographer of The Avodah Dance Ensemble and left New York City to begin a new chapter of my life.  I still very much want to know what is happening in the dance world.  At first, I made regular trips back to New York City, attending concerts and meeting with my dance friends.  Gradually the trips became less and less frequent, and since living in Costa Rica for four years, I have only made one trip back.  Even though I paint and write, my true passion is still dance and it is important for me to keep up with what is happening in the dance world.  For this blog I want to share with you a few ways I have been doing this, and welcome you to suggest other ways.

COVID proved to be helpful because various companies offered events online. Now there are less of those, although Jacob’s Pillow continues to have some.

A daily email I get Monday through Friday has been extremely helpful, and I want to highly recommend it.  It’s called The Dance Edit, and it announces “the news moving the dance world.” It is a publication of DanceMedia.com which includes Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, Pointe and other monthly magazines. They have weekly newsletters along with The Dance Edit (which they call a petit daily newsletter).  I love The Dance Edit because in just a sentence it describes a news item in the world of dance, along with a link where you can read more about it.

Here’s a sample of some items that intrigued me:

Choreographer Christopher Gattelli taught Timothée Chalamet to tap for Wonka, and says Chalamet “worked his butt off.” (Dance Spirit)

The National Ballet of Ukraine is embarking on a 10-city Canadian tour, raising money to bring aid to Ukrainian families, and giving the dancers a chance to show their country’s resilience. (Pointe)

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour dancer Kevin “Konkrete” Davis Jr. shares how he got the gig, his favorite part of the show, and more. (KQED)

Remembering Maurice Hines’ wide-reaching legacy as a song-and-dance man. Hines died last week at the age of 80. (The New York Times)

Misty Copeland hasn’t performed onstage in three years—and though she plans to return eventually, she’s looking towards the next chapter of her career. (BBC)

Sarah Kaufman, the Washington Post dance critic who was laid off in 2022, leaving just one full-time critic job in the U.S., on why dance criticism is important. (Maryland Theatre Guide)

 Dance Data Project’s 2023 U.S. Dance Festivals Report reveals that 50% of the works presented at dance festivals this year were choreographed by women. (Dance Data Project)

As you can see, there is huge diversity in the type of articles that The Dance Edit shares.  There are always one or two pieces from its sister publications Dance Magazine and Dance Teacher.  I am pleasantly surprised at the variety of sources that have published articles about dance, and The Dance Edit’s one-liners often motivate me to click on the link to learn more.

The Dance Edit and Facebook posts by friends are my main resources for keeping up with dance news.  I look forward to hearing suggestions from you.

Below is the screenshot of The Dance Edit home page.

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Ballet Nacional de Cuba: Costa Rica, April 23, 2023

JoAnne Tucker / / Costa Rica, Current Dance Events, Personal Life

I never would have imagined that I would get to see the Ballet Nacional de Cuba here in Costa Rica, but I did, and what a delight, for several reasons.  First, going to theatre and ballet is what I miss most in my life here.  When I saw a sign advertising the Ballet Nacional de Cuba for two performances here, I knew that I wanted to go. Second, there were some unexpected surprises in the repertory and third, it was a fun evening, providing a chance to experience a different side of life in Costa Rica.

Checking online, I was able to find that the repertory the company would be doing here was a mix of classical — which they are well known for — and some new pieces which looked intriguing.  There was even a YouTube video of one of the new pieces, and after watching it I knew for sure I wanted to get tickets.  I asked a friend who I thought might be interested, and sure enough she was and even offered to drive.  Since I knew I would be having a guest at my house on the date of the performance, I also asked if she wanted to go.  She did, and so I went online and bought three tickets in what we would call the mezzanine.  The tickets were appropriately priced but the service charge for buying them online was outrageous.  Alas, there was no other way to buy them, and you are not told about the service charge until after you have paid and see the separate amount on your credit card.

We did a bit of research on possible parking lots and decided we also wanted to have something to eat before attending the 5 PM performance.  With the help of Google Maps we made it into the area and were immediately impressed by the stature of the theater – and this wasn’t even the National Theatre.  The Melico Salazar Theatre is built in the European Baroque style.  Originally called the Raventos Theater, the building was completed in 1928. Various restorations were done over the years, and in the mid-1980’s the government bought the theatre.  By law it became a “cultural institution especializada” of the Costa Rican State.  In 1986 it was renamed to honor the famous Costa Rican tenor Manuel “Melico” Salazar.

We drove around the area, but no parking lots were open, even though some had indicated they would be open for theatre performances.  So we pulled up in front of the theatre to ask where to park.  There were several cones blocking the direct entrance but a gentleman, clearly part of the theater staff, moved the cones.  When we asked where to park, he said that for 5,000 colones (around $9), right where we were.  We were thrilled and my friend Cynthia, who had driven and who speaks perfect Spanish, had a fun conversation with Hugo.  And to make things even easier for us, the theatre has a lovely Café Raventos with a menu that worked perfectly.

Following a wonderfully relaxing late lunch, we entered the theater.  I felt my usual excitement at attending dance and theater events.  The theater definitely had a feeling of grandeur, and we found our seats.  As the theater filled, it became clear that even though we were in the 4th row of the mezzanine the slope wasn’t steep enough for us to have a clear view.  Luckily there were empty seats behind us and even one on the aisle in front. So we each were able to get a good view of the entire stage.

The first half of the program was my favorite.  It opened with The Shape of Red, a recent addition to the repertory, by choreographer Ely Regina Hernandez.  While I found an interview online where she talks about the piece, I was unable to find her bio. There were no printed programs.  With a QR code I was able to download the program, but it contained no bios, and dancers who perform main roles in pieces are not named.  The choreography incorporated a lot of modern dance moves typical of choreography in the mid-20th century, and then suddenly there was a pointe solo added in.  That was a bit surprising, but as a whole the piece’s theatrical portrayal of the color red was very satisfying, including the ending where the lead character grabs hanging fabric and is lifted into the air. If you are interested in watching the piece, it is available on YouTube, and here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxGkxIfHH2A&t=745s

My overall favorite piece was La Muerte de un Cisne, (The Dying Swan).  Choreographed by Michel Descombey (1930-2011), it opened with the roaring sound of wind blowing, and what a surprise for me to see that the Dying Swan was a male dancer in bare feet.  This was clearly going to be a different version than the original one created by Michael Fokine for Anna Pavlova in 1905.  Descombey’s choreography worked with some very interesting and original dance phrases and it was beautifully performed!  Alas there was no information about Descombey on the Ballet Nacional de Cuba’s website nor do I have any information about the dancer.  The audience loved the work, and the performer received lots of bravos. From some research online I learned that Descombey was a French ballet dancer, choreographer and director.  Most of his career was in France but the last part of his career was in Mexico. There is a video of La Muerte de un Cisne on YouTube.  Here is the link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RphILIjOL0

The dancer in Ballet Nacional de Cuba caught the fragile quality much better than the performer in the link.

The other piece that that I really liked in the first half was Tres Preludes by Ben Stevenson.  A trio, it was beautifully danced by two men and a woman.  It had a simple quality to it, cleanly and playfully performed.

The rest of the program was what I had expected to see — well-trained dancers performing classical material, some of it credited to Alicia Alonso’s variation, such as the duet from Swan Lake.

The company is much loved in Cuba and the final curtain call showed that they are used to much adoration.  The Costa Rican audience was generous with its applause, but I got the feeling that the company is used to more.

It was a very special evening and a real treat to see a fine company here. I hope there will be other opportunities!

We were allowed to take photos, as long as we didn’t use a flash.  I enjoyed photographing the final curtain calls; here is the male dancer of the Dying Swan taking his solo bow.

Photo taken by JoAnne

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First Visit to Jacob’s Pillow in 1956 and Virtual Visit 2023

JoAnne Tucker / / Current Dance Events, Dance History, Personal Life

Some memories stay vividly with you even after 67 years. The memory of my first visit to Jacob’s Pillow in 1956 is such a memory.

I was attending Belgian Village Camp located in Cummington, MA.  While I was only thirteen, a close friend of my Mom’s knew of my strong interest in teaching dance.   She had a good friend who ran the camp and contacted her, sharing my interest.  I was given a scholarship with the understanding that I would teach the younger kids dance.  I was thrilled.

It was a wonderful summer and I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the young girls creative movement, much as I had learned from my teacher Genevieve Jones. And the highlight was when a group of us was taken to Jacob’s Pillow for an afternoon performance.

In a rustic theatre, the performance began with Ted Shawn introducing himself to us and telling us about Jacob’s Pillow.  I don’t remember his exact words, but my thirteen-year-old self knew he was a very important person and spoke to us in a very dignified manner.

Later I would learn just how important a figure he was in the creation of American modern dance.  A New York Times article written by Clive Barnes shortly after his death gives good insight into his role:

THE death of Ted Shawn shortly after his 80th birthday brings to an end a whole era in American dance. Shawn, together with his wife, the late Ruth St. Denis, was largely responsible for the creation of American modern‐dance.

It was in 1915 that Shawn and his wife started the original Denishawn School in Los Angeles, and from this school emerged the first generation of American modern dancers, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. These were the new pioneers of American modern‐dance, and Shawn was their spiritual father.   https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/16/archives/ted-shawn-18911972.html

The current Jacob’s Pillow website points out that in 1930 Shawn purchased a “rundown farm in the Berkshires known as Jacob’s Pillow … and that laid the groundwork for both his revolutionary company of men dancers and America’s oldest dance festival.”

On YouTube you can watch a piece of his company of men performing

When our camp visited the Pillow, Shawn said the performance that day would let us see three different kinds of dance: modern, ethnic and ballet. I do not remember the modern or ethnic dance performances at all, but having the opportunity to see Alicia Markova dance “The Dying Swan” was breathtaking.

Markova was 46 when I saw her perform, and the emotion and delicacy that she exhibited, especially in her arms, stood out.  She had begun performing when she was just 14, discovered by Diaghilev.  After her time with the Ballet Russes she moved to London and danced with the Sadler Wells Ballet Company and was noted for her partnership with Anton Dolin.  On YouTube you can find excerpts of her dancing The Dying Swan and also Giselle with Anton Dolin as her partner.

Link to The Dying Swan

Link to Giselle 

The summer at Belgian Village opened my eyes to new possibilities ahead and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to begin exploring my teaching abilities and to visit Jacob’s Pillow.

                   Age 13 at Belgian Village Camp

Now living in Costa Rica, I don’t get many opportunities to see dance, so I am very glad that Jacob’s Pillow is now making so much available online.  Some videos and films are free and that includes the short films that are a part of Inside the Pillow Lab and some longer films that are part of Pillow Talk.  It is a great resource both for gaining a historical perspective and for knowing what is happening now.  For example, one film of historical note in Pillow Talk is “Ann Hutchinson Guest: A Century +”:

Celebrating the life of dance notation pioneer Ann Hutchinson Guest (1918-2022), her legacy and deep Pillow roots are explored by friends, family, and fans including Norton  Owen, Michael Richter, Tina Curran, and Melanie Dana, with many video clips of Guest herself.  (1:00:37)

The Pillow Lab videos are short interviews with choreographers, about the work they created while at Jacob’s Pillow.  While they are talking, we see dancers moving with phrases from the developing piece.  The videos are short and informative with a diverse group of choreographers.

There is also a pay-for-events section where one can select films of past performances at Jacob’s Pillow.   Currently streaming now and available for a fee of $15 is the Limon Dance Company which is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary.  It was added on January 9th and will be available until February 19th.  Once you pay you may watch the performance as many times as you like.   Also available are pre- and post-show talks related to the performance, and these are free.

So even if you can’t make an in-person trip to the Pillow, you have lots of options to watch, many for free and some costing $15.

If you have studied at Jacob’s Pillow, performed there or attended a memorable performance, I invite you to add a comment — or better yet, to contact me to do a guest post about your experience.

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Options for Streaming the Nutcracker Ballet – December 2022

JoAnne Tucker / / Arts in Education, Current Dance Events, Dance History

For as long as I can remember, Nutcracker performances and the holiday season have gone together. Many dancers have early memories of being in a Nutcracker.  From major ballet companies to small regional companies, energies have gone into creating Nutcracker performances to delight local audiences and to help support the company financially, as shows are usually well attended.  Even some modern companies have ventured into their own interpretations.  Donald Byrd created the Harlem Nutcracker back in 1996 but unfortunately by 2001 it had financially bankrupted his company.  He is now recreating the work in Seattle, with more financial care, and this year he has offered the Harlem Nutcracker Teaser to be followed by a full production next year.  Mark Morris created The Hard Nut which is set to Tchaikovsky’s 1982 score.  It takes inspiration from the “comic artist Charles Burns, whose art is personal and deeply instilled with archetypal concepts of guilt, childhood, adolescent sexuality, and poignant nostalgic portrayals of post-war America” (Wikipedia). The Hard Nut was performed this year at the Detroit Opera House.

For this blog I am going to share three different Nutcrackers which you can stream online.  New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker created by George Balanchine is available to watch on Hulu.  Disney Plus has a brand-new Hip-Hop Nutcracker which has some surprise cameo performances.  Netflix has Debbie Allen’s Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker which is a documentary about her school and shows the process from audition to performance of her Nutcracker which involves many students and even some teachers.

On Hulu, The New York City Ballet production is the classical Nutcracker we usually think about.  It had its original premiere in 1954 created by George Balanchine to the music of Peter Tchaikovsky.  Like the original Nutcracker ballet created in 1892 by Marius Petipa, it is in two acts.  The libretto was adapted from Hoffmann’s 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.  The version on Hulu was filmed in 1993 adapted by Peter Martins with narration by Kelvin Klein.

The New York City Ballet website informs us that the production involves all “90 dancers in the company, 62 musicians, 40 stagehands and more than 125 children in two alternating casts from the School of American Ballet.”

The stage elements are amazing with a Christmas tree that grows from 12 feet to 41 feet and a bed that floats through the sky.  While it is filmed beautifully, I sometimes was frustrated by the close-ups when I really wanted to have a full view of the stage.  The dancing is outstanding with Darci Kistler as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her partner Damian Woetzel as Cavalier.  Kyra Nichols is beautiful as Dewdrop.  The children from the school are well trained and fun to watch as party guests, soldiers, angels, and mice.  I was surprised that the young boy playing  Drosselmeier’s nephew was Macaulay Culkin, best known for Home Alone.  And sure, enough Culkin did indeed study at the School of American Ballet.

On Netflix is an original documentary  produced by Shondraland titled Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.  It focuses on Debbie Allen, who had an outstanding award-winning career on television, in theaters and the movies as a dancer, singer and actress.  In 2001 she formed the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA).  In 2008 she created Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. The documentary was created in 2020. While the documentary opens with Debbie Allen coaching young children to the music of Tchaikovsky, the ballet also incorporates a variety of other music and styles.  200 children from the ages of 4 and older participate in the ballet. We never see The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker from beginning to end; instead we are given a backstage look at how it is put together from the children’s auditions to rehearsals to backstage before the performance.  Excerpts from the performance are included.

Woven into the documentary is Debbie Allen’s biography.  Teachers at the DADA are interviewed, as well as several students.  A few students are followed in more detail sharing their dreams and frustrations of having a career in dance.  Debbie Allen’s coaching of the dancers is very interesting as she treats them as professionals and expects them to behavior appropriately.  At one point she insists they stop talking or get fired!!

Savion Glover is guest choreographer, and we see several excerpts where tap dancing is featured. This production is filled with high energy and lots of imagination. The young dancers are well rehearsed and many of the dancers have participated in the ballet over several years (as do dancers from the School of American Ballet in the NYC Ballet’s Nutcracker).  They give 8 performances each year with a total of 11,520 seats and ticket sales of $450,000.  This is a major fundraiser for DADA, which provides classes for students whether they can pay or not.

Hip Hop Nutcracker is a new video on Disney Plus and it is lots of fun to watch.  It is described as a newly imagined and reinvented Nutcracker.  Basically the plot is that Maria Clara’s parents are not getting along and she takes them on various adventures to get them back together.

The first fun thing I noticed was how cleverly they use the Tchaikovsky music.  We hear a theme and soon it blends into a hip hop sound or music.  At one point Maria Clara does a playful hip hopish solo to some of the actual score and amazingly it fits very well.  The program opens with a narrator rapping and he comes back in a few other places.  The group choreography is lively, well executed and just plain fun to watch.

There are two unique cameo appearances.  The first is Tiler Peck coming to life as a Toy Doll.  It has traditional ballet steps with some added twists.  In a November 29, 2022 interview Tiler speaks about when she first saw The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center and decided she wanted to perform on that stage, to her joy in dancing various roles in The Nutcracker with the New York City Ballet and finally how she enjoyed being a part of the Hip Hop Nutcracker.  She is hoping that it will bring a different audience to The Nutcracker. https://news.yahoo.com/ballet-dancer-tiler-peck-dishes-212929808.html

The second cameo, somewhat briefer so it is easy to miss, is Mikhail Baryshnikov.  He joins the character Drosselmeyer as both come down brownstone steps.  A scene title calls him the Spirit of Snow.  Alas it is much too short.  The first time I watched it…. I did a double take saying, “Wow that looks like Baryshnikov” and of course when I looked at the cast credits, sure enough it was!

I hope you take some time to watch at least one of these Nutcrackers.  All three are different and each is special in its own way.  And maybe some of you have memories of being in The Nutcracker.  Elizabeth McPherson,(a regular reader, Avodah Dance Ensemble member for 7 years, and now Dr. McPherson, Director of Dance at Montclair State University, and author of several dance history books) shared this picture of her getting ready backstage for Atlanta’s Nutcracker when she was about ten years old. Her teacher, Janet Clough, is fixing her hair.  Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing a Nutcracker memory with us.  Do any other readers have pictures or memories they would like to share of being in or seeing a Nutcracker performance?

Elizabeth McPherson getting ready for the Atlanta Nutcracker
with her teacher, Janet Clough, fixing her hair.

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Dance History Resources

JoAnne Tucker / / Current Dance Events, Dance History, Personal Life

On October 26th, I Zoomed an interesting dance history presentation by Wendy Perron at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, part of the New York City Library System.  This was the third part of Perron ‘s series “The Dance Historian Is In,” and it focused on Pina Bausch’s years at Juilliard, 1959-60 and 1960-61, when she worked with Paul Sanasardo and Paul Taylor.  Perron included pictures and focused a lot on Pina’s work with Anthony Tudor when she was at Juilliard.  Perron pointed out that these two years had a strong influence on Pina’s work, more than most critics mention.

It was during this time that Pina got to know Alfredo Corvino, and when he retired from Juilliard, Pina asked him to be the ballet master for her company.  He held that position until his death, and then his daughters continued working with the company.

One of the most interesting things I learned during the hour-and-a-half  Zoom program was that Juilliard has photos and scrapbooks online that are available for anyone to look at or use for research.  I went to the site, and the opening page clearly states the purpose of the website:

Welcome to the Juilliard Archives

Discover Juilliard’s rich history, from the school’s opening in 1905 to present, by exploring a selection of materials from our digital collections. Please see our Featured Collections at the link above.

I had fun looking at the Dance Scrapbooks which go from 1951/52 to 1990/91. Of course I was most curious about the years that I was there.  What a delight and surprise to see all the different pieces that I performed in workshops from Louis Horst’s Modern Form Composition Class.  A few I remember but some I had totally forgotten about.  It was also a trip down memory lane to see what other classmates had done and performed in the same workshops.

Screenshots from the Juilliard Scrapbook 1961-62, (Klineman is my maiden name.)

Finding the Juilliard archives online made me wonder what other resources there are for dance history enthusiasts!  Here are a few that I found:

Wendy Perron’s website  is filled with lots of things she has written about dance, with an archive that is worth exploring.  She also lists her upcoming events and some that have already happened and are still viewable online.

I was surprised to see what was available at The Library of Congress website.  Their digital collections  have “dance materials which represent genres including worldwide traditional dances, European and American social dance practices, ballet and modern dance, and more!  Digitized items include choreographic notes, photographs, musical scores, moving images, sound recordings, rare books, and artwork.”  Among the collections online are:

  • Martha Graham’s work between 1918 and 1949. Objects include concert programs, clippings, press announcements reviews, libretti, scripts, and photographs.
  • Selections from the Katherine Dunham Collection
  • Digitalized items from Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev
  • 200 collection items from Bronislava Nijinska

And of course, the best place for on-site research is the New York City Library for the Performing Arts, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division.  I have spent some time at the library researching and learning about various dance figures.  I have also enjoyed watching various videotapes.  I highly recommend a trip there for fun or if you are seriously researching something in dance.  There is both a phone number and email address online so that one can inquire what the library might have in the area of one’s research before making a trip.

There are also lots of specialized collections at various universities or local libraries where individuals have donated their scrapbooks, photographs etc.  For example, when I moved to Costa Rica, I decided to donate all the material of the Avodah Dance Ensemble (up to when I retired as founding director) to the American Jewish Archives, located in Cincinnati and connected to Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Avodah regularly performed at HUC-JIR in New York City,

Just for fun I Googled a few names to see if there were collections at different places.  One of my favorite writers and teachers of improvisational movement is Barbara Mettler.  She donated some of her collection to Hampshire College, and this is easily available online. Here’s a link to the collection: https://www.hampshire.edu/library/archives-and-special-collections/other-archival-resources-and-full-text-documents/barbara-2.

Hanya Holm’s papers are at Stanford University, and there is information about them at the Online Archive of California.  It doesn’t look like any actual material is available online, rather a list of the different boxes.

Most other dancers I Googled left their collections to the NY Performing Arts Library.

If you know of a collection that might interest Mostly Dance blog readers, please leave a comment sharing the name of the collection and any contact details to find out more information.  I will review and maybe do another blog sharing the information I receive.

Let me close by thanking Wendy Perron for her excellent presentation, letting me know about the Juilliard online Archives and piquing my interest to see what else might be available.

Celebrating Two Recent Dance Virtual Events

JoAnne Tucker / / Current Dance Events, Dance History

While we are all so eager to be at live events, I am so grateful to have been able to participate in two virtual Zoom gatherings from my home in Costa Rica. Without this option I would not have been able to be a part of either of them.  On Monday night, November 22nd, The Martha Hill Dance Fund’s Celebration honoring two dancers started with a film and panel discussion via Vimeo, followed by a social gathering via Zoom. On Saturday afternoon, November 20th, The Sacred Dance Guild had a panel discussion on Dance as Healing, and I was pleased to be one of the five panelists.  It is exciting to see how well events can now be organized and technically handled online.

Let me begin by sharing the first event, “A Panel Discussion on Healing,” which is part of a larger series called “Is This Sacred Dance?”  Back in the late 80’s and into the 90’s I was a member of the Sacred Dance Guild and occasionally led workshops at their conferences.  As Artistic Director of the Avodah Dance Ensemble I was often invited to represent a Jewish perspective, as the majority of the members were Christian.  I was really surprised to be contacted by the current President, Wendy Morrell, this past spring. She was reaching out to explore the possibility of my participating in one of their quarterly events featuring a panel. My name had come up at an organizational meeting, and they were able to find me via a Google search and my postings on this blog.  Wendy and I had a lively conversation and it was very interesting to hear how the organization was addressing the question “What is Sacred Dance?”  After hearing about my recent work with domestic violence survivors and my work in prisons she thought I would be an excellent fit for the fall panel on healing.

There would be five panelists and each of us would be given five minutes to introduce ourselves and the kind of work we did.  Then the moderator would ask three questions before opening it to any questions that had been submitted via “chat.”  I enjoyed preparing and refreshing my presenting skills.  Zoom is easy because you can have notes or read what you have prepared, with the camera still seeing your face and not what you are reading unless you do a screen share.  We were also asked to have a closing movement gesture.

When the day arrived I was prepared and ready to go.  And of course, the electricity went off 10 minutes before the program was to begin.  Losing electricity happens often in Costa Rica.  As my house is closest to the guard house in our community, I have a small generator to keep my internet and the guard house internet working during a blackout.  Wow, was I glad to have that!  So I let the moderator know that I didn’t think it would be a problem and she decided that I should go first just in case it was.  And so I presented mainly about my work in prisons and in making films with domestic violence survivors.

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing each of the other four presenters, and I liked the variety of approaches that were shared.  Each of the presenters has a unique background, and presentations were well organized.  I strongly recommend going to this link to learn about the presenters: Alexia Jones, Priya Lakhi, Ilene Serlin and Carla Walter.  https://sacreddanceguild.org/event-details/?event=651

Screenshot of the publicity for the program

The recording of the event has now been posted along with two earlier panels.  Here’s a link to YouTube if you want to watch the program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zlJsV44uHo&list=PL-1ZesdI7wMeVx_P2Gae9zGTOlYGVP78M&index=3

On Monday night, the Martha Hill Dance Fund honored Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Heidi Latsky.  The presentation on Vimeo began with film clips that I think are from the documentary made about Martha Hill.  What a wonderful way to open the evening, seeing Miss Hill and other dancers reminding us of the roots of modern dance!.  (I just discovered that Miss Hill: Making Dance Matter is available to rent or buy at iTunes and I look forward to getting it very soon.) Next were two short films summarizing each of the honorees.

I was particularly thrilled that Jawole was being honored.  I knew Jawole from the time she was a graduate student at Florida State University in Tallahassee in the late 1970’s when I was living there and often attending dance classes at FSU.  I have a very vivid memory of seeing an early piece of hers in an evening concert of student works and thinking, “Wow… that woman has something important to say.”  It stood out and stayed in my memory to this very day. Perhaps that piece for women provided a beginning for what has become one of her most well-known pieces, Shelter.  Shelter officially premiered in 1988 and is set for 6 women. It was first performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1992 and then revised in 2017.   The Ailey website describes it as “a passionate statement about the physical and emotional deprivation of homeless people . . .  the compelling message that the poverty of individuals will inevitably lead to the destitution of all humanity.”  It has been performed by both an all-female and all-male cast.

The other honoree was Heidi Latsky.  I was not familiar with her work at all and look forward to knowing more about her.  What was very fascinating was the video section showing her work with bilateral amputee Lisa Bufano.  She began doing this work in 2006 and refers to this time as an intensive period of creation.  To learn more about Heidi and Jawole I suggest going to the Martha Hill Dance Fund site that tells about the evening and gives full bios:  https://www.marthahilldance.org/martha-hill-virtual-celebration-2021

Danni Gee led an excellent discussion with Heidi and Jawole.   Then, in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the Jose Limon Dance Company, the Vimeo portion ended with a section from There is A Time, choreographed by Jose Limon in 1956.

Following the formal presentation, many of the 80 attendees from the Vimeo section stayed to visit with each other via Zoom.  There were four breakout rooms, and once one figured out the technology it was possible to move from room to room.  It was great fun to see faces that I haven’t seen for years and say a quick hello!  The main topic of conversation was about what live dance events people had attended.  The occasion was a delightful event in the true spirit of The Martha Hill Dance Fund, which was founded to honor, perpetuate and reward Martha Hill’s commitment to dance education and performance internationally.

Screen shot of invitation to the event.

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Compassion: Learning and Remembering

JoAnne Tucker / / Current Dance Events, Movement Workshops, Personal Life

In my last blog I mentioned how well the Prime Minister of New Zealand had handled the pandemic.  Jimmy Levinson, friend/reader, sent me a picture of a woman hugging another and said he had just added the picture to his wall of heroes. I have to admit I didn’t know who the woman in the picture was, even though her name was printed underneath. When I said so, Jimmy wrote back that it was the Prime Minister of New Zealand.  Oh… I thought to myself,  that is what you get for not watching the news.  Here is someone managing a country very well and you don’t even know her name.  So I immediately googled Jacinda Ardern and began learning about her. And wow, if I had a wall of heroes she certainly would be there.

I learned that she is just 39 years old.  Uri Friedman wrote in The Atlantic, April 2020:

Her leadership style is one of empathy in a crisis…. Her messages are clear, consistent, and somehow simultaneously sobering and soothing.

During a session conducted in late March, just as New Zealand prepared to go on lockdown, she appeared in a well-worn sweatshirt at her home (she had just put her toddler daughter to bed, she explained) to offer guidance “as we all prepare to hunker down.”

She introduced helpful concepts, such as thinking of “the people [who] will be in your life consistently over this period of time” as your “bubble.”

On June 9th when she learned the country was free of COVID she is quoted as saying “I did a little dance.”

Picture of Jacinda Ardern — part of Jimmy’s Hereos’ Wall

I love that my friend has a wall of heroes, but that should not come as a surprise to me because Jimmy is a very unique and special person.  Growing up in Pittsburgh, he was my next door neighbor. Through the years we have kept in touch.  F. James Levinson, as he is known professionally, has had an outstanding career in Public Health and Nutrition projects throughout the world. Here’s a link to his bio as part of the Board of Directors of his son Noah’s organization, Calcutta Kids. Noah has won awards for his work with Calcutta Kids which is an organization “committed to empowering the poorest children and expecting mothers in the underserved slums in and around Kolkata, India.”  I strongly encourage you to check out their website and even consider donating to Calcutta Kids. 

I asked Jimmy to send me a photo of his Wall of Heroes and got 6 photos showing a diverse group of individuals, some I recognized and some I didn’t. The idea of a wall of heroes is quite wonderful and I am thinking how I might create that here in Costa Rica.  It will not be quite as elegant as my friend’s, where each picture is carefully framed, but I am lucky to have a printer and can print out photos and maybe mount them on another piece of paper, and with my watercolors paint a frame.  The first two will be Jacinda Ardern, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and I will call it my SHeroes’ Wall.  I look forward to thinking about other additions and while I will be focusing on women I will certainly include some men too.   If you were to create your wall who would be on it?  Certainly the quality of empathy and compassion from a leader will be an essential qualification.

As I think about compassion and empathy and caring about people, I remember how I ended many workshops that I led.  It was very important to me that we left caring about each other and wishing each other well as we continued on our journeys.  So we ended with blessings in movement.  If it was a large group that hadn’t worked together for very long,  we would pass blessings around in a circle.  One person (usually myself or a member of the faculty,  for the purpose of modeling the instructions) would turn to the person to their right and, thinking a warm thought, would express that, through movement, to the person beside them (without touching).  Perhaps they would circle their neighbor’s face or place one hand near the person’s heart and the other on their own heart.  Or maybe they would encircle the person and then  starting at the person’s head, gently move their circled arms down to the person’s feet.  That person would then create their own movement blessing for the person next to them.

If it was a small group that had worked together for several days, each person would go individually into the center of the circle and then the other participants, one by one, would go in to offer that person a movement blessing.   No matter which format we did, we ended by blessing ourselves.

With the very challenging world we are living in, we need every tool we can find to help us.  May we bless each other and bless ourselves.  And let us create our own wall of heroes or sheroes so we are reminded of how many caring and compassionate leaders there are, and have been, on our planet.  

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