Balanchiniana
George Balanchine - A Life's Journey in Ballet
The Harvard Theatre Collection's Exhibition and Symposium
Nathan Marsh Pusey Library, Lamont Library's Forum Room and Lowell Hall
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Wednesday and Thursday, April 14 and 15, 2004
by
George Jackson
copyright 2004 by George Jackson
published 19 April 2004
If
some people still think ballet unworthy of scholarly interest while others
fear that academic research will suffocate the art, Harvard's two days
devoted to choreographer George Balanchine must have put such doubts to
rest. What one saw and heard had concrete substance, broad significance
and humanity. Especially welcome was the humanity, conveyed as personal
warmth and a willingness to listen and learn by all concerned—curators,
speakers and members of the audience.
The exhibit, which can be seen through May 28 on the ground floor of the
Pusey Library, opened Wednesday afternoon with an informative reception.
Circulating through the invited audience in order to chat about items
were Fredric Woodbridge Wilson, head of the Harvard Theatre Collection
and principal organizer of these Balanchine events, and Iris M. Fanger,
dance critic and Wilson's co-curator for the exhibit. The photos, sketches,
notations, communications and assorted artifacts on display were a selection
from Harvard's Balanchine-relevant holdings and loans. Just a few examples
may suffice to suggest the scope. From Balanchine's Russian life was a
vivid brown-black-blue-yellow 1924 design by Alexander Golovin for a monster
costume worn by Balanchine (then still known as Balanchivadze) in Fyodor
Lopukov's Firebird at the Maryinsky. Shot in western Europe was
a 1926 Man Ray photo that shows two bookend ballerinas, each with what
seems like just a single skinny leg; the illusion is created by the modernist
black/white costuming and make-up worn by dancers Felia Dubrovska and
Lubov Tchernicheva in the Diaghilev Ballet Russe's production of Balanchine's
Jack in the Box. From the 1940 Hollywood movie I Was an Adventuress,
a still of Vera Zorina presented her as a glamorous Balanchine Swan Queen
costumed in black. The poster design by Edward McKnight Kauffer for the
Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus's 1942 Ballet of
the Elephants by Balanchine was mostly black-tan-blue-yellow and
of gentle impact. Lighting in George Platt Lynes' 1948 camera study of
Balanchine's Orpheus turned two nude danseurs, Francisco Moncion
and Nicholas Magallanes, into sculptural figures. A pencil and crayon
portrait by Vincent H. Olmstead showed Balanchine, eyes bulging, as
Don Quixote in 1965. Costas' 1975 photo of Balanchine's Tzigane
caught Suzanne Farrell's gipsy girl in a mood swing.
Balanchine as author was represented by scenarios he wrote. Some of these
he left unused, at least in their detailed versions. Yet from their plots
he distilled themes that linger—such as the gemstone motifs in his
Palais de Crystal (the first version of Symphony in C) and
similar ones in the Jewels triptych. Prominent in the exhibit was Serge
Lifar, Balanchine's principal danseur during the Diaghilev period and
his first choreography student. According to Fanger, there is a fascinating
Lifar letter to Balanchine in the Harvard collection which wasn't included
in the exhibit. It was written late in both men's lives. Balanchine had
wanted his New York City Ballet to present Lifar's Icare. However,
when Lifar arrived from Paris, Balanchine was ill and unable to meet him.
Lifar thought he was being snubbed and wrote the epistle in anger. He
wanted to terminate all further relations—but only after recounting
all the things he had done for Balanchine, including convincing Diaghilev
to give Balanchine chances. Also in the archives but not on display there
is said to be evidence that Lincoln Kirstein, who recruited Balanchine
for America, initially wanted to enlist Lifar instead, but was turned
down.
The symposium, in the intimate Forum Room, began Thursday morning after
a long and conversational breakfast session. Wilson served as moderator.
Tim Scholl, of Oberlin College and the University of Helsinki, spoke about
some of the sources for Balanchine's choreography, particularly the Georgian
folk dancing that he first saw in his father's restaurant. Scholl used
videos to illustrate similar step sequences and formations that occur
in certain Georgian dances and in Balanchine's Serenade. Of course,
the material was transformed by Balanchine into imagery reminiscent of
French romantic ballet. Charles M. Joseph, a Skidmore College dean and
musicologist, examined the close personal relationship and collaboration
between composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer George Balanchine,
stressing that both men were practitioners not theorists at heart—playing
the piano in order to compose or choreograph. Stravinsky danced as a young
man and knew about dancing; Balanchine spent time and effort throughout
his life doing music exercises, making piano reductions of orchestral
scores and composing. At the keyboard, Joseph analyzed music written by
Stravinsky and by Balanchine, showing that their inside knowledge told
them when to forge forward and when to step back. Toni Bentley, dancer
and dance writer, presented her idea about the pre-eminence of woman in
Balanchine's life and ballets. Along the way, she mentioned that on one
occasion he gave names to three of the critic figures in his Davidsbündlertänze:
Arlene (Croce), Clive (Barnes) and Tobi (Tobias). Balanchine enjoyed not
repressing his sense of humor.
The afternoon session began with Wilson's history of the Harvard Theatre
Collection and its major dance holdings. Dance photographer and mathematics
teacher Costas spoke about Balanchine's good manners, great generosity,
inquisitiveness about the world and moral sense. Using slides and diagrams,
he illustrated Balanchine's choreographic concern with three dimensional
space and geometry. Lastly, Costas mentioned his respect for his dancers'
individuality and his feeling for beauty. Julia Randel, a Harvard graduate
student, examined the interaction of music, drama and choreography in
the Balanchine opus, and theater historian Mary C. Henderson considered
Balanchine's 18 Broadway shows and the collaborations they involved—
including the tap finale for Slaughter on 10th Avenue which he
left mostly to the male star of the show, Ray Bolger.
The evening session focused on Suzanne Farrell —Balanchine ballerina
emerita, stager, teacher, and company director. Co-sponsored by Harvard's
Office of Arts, this conclusion to the Balanchine days on campus was held
in large Lowell Hall and attracted a big audience. Farrell, in conversation
with dance critic Joan Acocella, stressed a new dimension to her now familiar
view (alert musicality, very fast and very slow pacing, precision, etc.
) of dancing Balanchine's choreography: moving through space. With the
assistance of student Katie Daines and pianist David Polan, Farrell showed
how much more interesting a variation becomes when the dancer doesn't
do it in one spot. That, and the drama of off-center balance, was also
shown in historic footage of Farrell herself dancing in Balanchine's Don
Quixote—which the Suzanne Farrell Ballet is reviving in collaboration
with the National Ballet of Canada.
Time for public questions and answers at the end of the three Thursday
sessions, like the time allowed for private conversations during the Wednesday
reception and Thursday morning breakfast, expanded the range of topics
broached by the speakers.
Photo: George Balanchine portrait (ca. 1955). Photographer: Tanaquil Le Clercq. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
Originally
published:
www.danceviewtimes.com
Volume 2, Number 13
February 9, 2004
©
2004 George
Jackson
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