Western Ballet Newsletter

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From the Artistic Director

Rehearsal Photo

Jeremy Kovitch and Alison Share rehearsing for "Danzón!" Photo by Tom Rehor.

During the school year of 2009/2010, Western Ballet had many artistic and educational milestones. For Bay Area National Dance Week in April, we hosted a diverse performance by local dance groups, free to the public. For our Spring Gala in May, we featured Act II of "Swan Lake" along with excerpts from Act III. Our new Children's Recital we held for the second year in a row. In July, we showcased classical ballet with a Latin style in a professional production called "Danzón!" In August, we began a very important project, auditioning young children from underprivileged families for the Nina Novak Ballet Scholarships. These events required extensive coordination between our excellent faculty and staff, hard work by our outstanding students, and the will and helping hands of many dedicated volunteers.

Children's Recital 2010

Photos of the Children's Recital 2010 by Simon Gerraty.

These achievements of 2009/2010 have allowed Western Ballet to establish itself further as a high-caliber institution of classical ballet. Our free event during Bay Area National Dance Week enabled the public to witness the intersection of classical ballet with other kinds of dance, exposing our students and supporters to artists at sister institutions. For our Spring Gala, one of the most challenging pieces of the classical repertoire, Act II of "Swan Lake," required great discipline from our youth students, who learned not only to work together closely and to stand in poses for long times, but to maintain stylistic harmony through an entire performance. These challenges will recur next spring with "Don Quixote." The Children's Recital highlighted our younger students from Pre-Ballet 1 to Level 4, who represent the future of our institution and therefore greatly hold my attention as Artistic Director. By establishing an academic foundation that anchors all the levels of training at Western Ballet, I and our faculty are striving for a common goal: a very fine, uniform ballet school. Here children will thrive with a caring faculty that guides them during many crucial years of learning. We will continue to evolve the institution in order to enhance this educational experience.

Children's Recital 2010

On July 23, 2010, our production "Danzón!" elevated Western Ballet to another artistic domain. A professional cast of 13 dancers, who included artists courtesy of Ballet San Jose, Company C and Diablo Ballet, beautifully interpreted the works of choreographers and composers from Latin America, inaugurating a unique and solid style for Western Ballet. Our electrifying performance has initiated the planning of more professional productions in the spring and summer of 2011, which will enhance the reputation of Western Ballet as a performing company and will provide opportunities for our most advanced students (those in Level 8) to dance side by side with professionals. If you witnessed "Danzón!" and have an interest in supporting our professional productions of 2011, I would appreciate an opportunity to discuss with you our plans. We are planning two performances in the spring and two more in the summer, events which will integrate closely our ballet school and our summer intensive program with Western Ballet Company.

Children's Recital 2010

Our first audition for the Nina Novak Ballet Scholarships for underprivileged children occurred on August 28, 2010. Out of 26 children who attended, 15 of them received scholarships and have begun Western Ballet's Youth Program this fall. These need-based scholarships for young girls and boys, who display traits promising for ballet, we have based on national programs in countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina and Cuba. Those famous programs have targeted children from all sectors of society and have produced many of the world's current stars of ballet, including Jose Carreño (Cuba) and Carlos Molina (Colombia). Our next audition for the Nina Novak Scholarships will occur on January 8, 2011. Help us to spread the word! We hope to introduce ballet to children here from all socioeconomic backgrounds and uncover highly talented individuals who might have otherwise missed their calling for this lifetime.

Alexi Zubiría, Artistic Director

Faculty Spotlight

Interview of Grant Spencer

Photo of Grant Spencer

Photo by Susan Vogel

Western Ballet: How did you become involved with teaching?

Grant Spencer: I first started teaching when I was 16, after I went to a two-week Craft choreography conference in Iowa. I worked with an amazing teacher there - Thom Clower. I loved his teaching style and combinations so much that when I returned to California, I wanted to experiment with choreography. At the same time, I also had to teach. So I went to a small ballet school and asked if I could teach some classes to learn how to be a teacher.

WB: What classes do you teach here at Western Ballet?

GS: I teach Monday and Thursday morning adult class.

WB: Describe a typical day of teaching.

GS: On Monday mornings I prepare my adult class. It usually takes me two hours to prepare an hour and a half class. I’ll start by listening to the music to come up with ideas. I consider things that I know my students need to be working on or have been working on. I try to follow a through-line and focus on a certain movement such as ballone or rond de jambes for each class. After class, I write down the class I actually gave in a notebook. [Grant shows me a spiral-bound notebook with dates and many neatly written class combinations.]

WB: How many of those notebooks do you have?

GS: I probably have another five of them. I’ve been teaching full-time since May, but I’ve been teaching part-time since I was 16.

GS: Once I have written down the class in my notebook, I can use that class again later and modify it to suit the dancers I’m working with. I can make it more or less complicated by adding or removing beats, take it on or off relevé, or add or remove a port de bras.

WB: What were some of the major influences on your teaching style?

GS: When I’m thinking of a combination, it’s often with the thought of “Would this be something that Thom would give?” I also think about my placement when doing the combination. When I was 18 at BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, my instructors incorporated Feldenkrais, Alexander technique and Pilates into their ballet class. This made me really aware of my placement. So when I come up with a combination, I not only think about whether Thom would give that combination, but what my other instructors would think about my placement; they are the two major influences.

WB: What are some of the challenges of teaching?

GS: The biggest challenge is trying to make everybody in the room happy including myself (laughs).

WB: How can you tell whether they’re happy?

GS: I read body language. Sometimes I can see the success because I see people wanting to do a combination again. I’m not always successful though. Sometimes I see failure by seeing slumped shoulders and people not wanting to make eye contact with me after the combination is over.

WB: What makes a good class?

GS: Teaching a through-line. I don’t like classes that don’t mean anything. I want every combination that I’m giving to have a purpose. By that, I mean that there needs to be something in this combination that makes me work on something. Perhaps my arms are bad, or my knees weren’t straight and this combination pointed it out to me. Maybe this combination is basic enough that if my épaulement wasn’t correct, I could fix it.

WB: Could you tell me about your background - how you got involved with ballet, with teaching and a brief description of your professional experience?

GS: I started ballet at the age of 11. Before that I was involved in gymnastics. I had a friend on the gymnastics team who was playing Fritz in the Nutcracker. I wanted to play Fritz and, to do that, I needed to take ballet. So I signed up for ballet at the Dancer’s Workshop in Yuma.

WB: When did you start taking class seriously?

GS: I was 13 when I started dancing with Yuma Ballet Academy, which has a reputation for turning out professional dancers. I had a great experience with them.

WB: When did you first start dancing professionally?

GS: At 18 I got a trainee contract at BalletMet in Columbus Ohio, but before that I had to go to their six-week Summer Intensive first. When I went to the program, it was too much for me; it was very, very intense, and I knew I wouldn’t survive it. So, I called my ballet teachers in a panic and asked if they knew of anyone looking for apprentices or trainees. It turns out Ron Cunningham in Sacramento had an open position. I called Ron on his home phone and asked if he needed a dancer. He asked me to send in a video, I did, and I got a Corps Contract just from the video!

WB: Where have you danced?

GS: Sacramento Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and Company C Contemporary Ballet.

Photo of Grant Spencer

WB: What was it like learning to dance en pointe for Trocks?

GS: It was trial and error - self taught. I had just three days of dancing en pointe before dancing my first performance en pointe. You’re not required to take class en pointe at Trocks - there was no pointe class since the day was long in the theatre. I was in three pointe ballets a night, so I wouldn’t be able to dance en pointe for the performance if I had worn pointe shoes for class. We would get corrections from the ballet mistress after the performance and slowly apply those corrections.

WB: What roles did you dance?

GS: In Trocks, I did all the corps stuff. I was often Four Little Swans and a Big Swan. I did Lucille Grahn and Carlotta Grisi in Pas de Quatre. I was the boy in the pas de deux of Spring Waters, Stars & Stripes, and Tarantella. I was the lead in Ecole de Ballet.

WB: How long were you with Trocks?

GS: Four years, and we were never taught the ballets. We had to learn them by watching. It was really hard when you were in the corps and you had to learn a soloist role. You had to find a way to watch the soloist role you would be dancing.

WB: How does your varied background help in your teaching?

GS: I genuinely believe in the things I’m saying, because I have actually experienced what I’m talking about. I have danced full-length ballets, Balanchine ballets, Bournonville repertoire, Russian repertoire. I’ve danced as a boy and as a girl; I’ve partnered and been partnered; I’ve danced with pointe shoes on and flat. I’ve been the girl being pulled off her leg. I have experienced everything I teach.

WB: What are some of your favorite ballets to perform?

GS: Serenade would be one. It’s just beautiful. The boys don’t do anything in Serenade (laughs). But it’s so beautiful. It’s kind of fun being a boy in Serenade because you can watch the girls be beautiful.

WB: What do you think of Balanchine and how he works with music?

GS: I think Balanchine is one of the best choreographers to work with music and he also is considerate of every note and of silence. He knows how to make dancers stand on stage when there’s no music and still feel like music is happening. He knows when the music needs to be heard.

WB: Where do you get your musical inspiration for class?

GS: I love Judy Rice and Paul Lewis. They are my favorite collection. I also use Josu Gallastegui.

WB: Where do you find these?

GS: I usually stay up for hours and search the internet.

WB: What do you do when you’re not teaching?

GS: I design and sew tutus.

WB: How long does it take to sew a tutu?

GS: It takes thirty hours or more. I also sew men’s tunics.

WB: How did you get involved with sewing and designing tutus?

GS: I started sewing at age 12. After I got involved in ballet, there was a need for the fledgling Ballet Yuma to make costumes, and the parents and dancers had to participate. I learned how to make costumes at that time. When I was dancing Swan Lake at Contra Costa Ballet, I had to make my Von Rothbart costume. Right after that, I was asked to make costumes for a local winter dance production. I then had a friend ask to make her a Sugar Plum tutu. Within weeks my former ballet teacher asked me to make a Snow Queen tutu. So, although I’m retired as a professional dancer, I still feel very connected to ballet by my teaching and by designing and sewing tutus.

To see Grant’s designs, you can to go www.gtlsdesigns.com

Student Spotlight

Interview of Yvonne Cheng

Photo of Yvonne Cheng

Photo by Ann Albano

Yvonne Cheng has been a long time student and volunteer for Western Ballet. She chatted with me after a morning class to talk about how she got interested in ballet, what taking class abroad is like and her volunteer work for Western Ballet.

Western Ballet: How long have you studied at Western Ballet?

Yvonne Cheng: I first started studying ballet when Alessandra di Pietro was the director. So it must be over 15 years ago.

WB: What made you want to study ballet?

YC: I went to a ballet performance with a friend and was admiring the dancers, when my friend suggested I study ballet myself. I thought it would be good exercise, but I was also surprised to find that I loved it! I decided it didn’t matter how much I could do as an adult, that what was important was to be in class with other people who shared my love for ballet. It’s very hard, but at the same time it’s relaxing because ballet allows you to release your stress, forget about your work, and just be there for an hour and a half.

WB: I know you’ve traveled quite a bit. Did you take class when you traveled?

YC: Whenever I travel I always try to find places I can take a class. I went to Steps on Broadway in New York. It was a great school. I’ve been to class at Boston Ballet. Abroad I found studios in Barcelona, Paris and Buenos Aires.

WB: What was the experience like in New York?

YC: In New York, Gelsey Kirkland was teaching. What a treat! I followed the barre okay, but the center was way over my head. It was just wonderful though to watch the beautiful dancers and to watch Gelsey Kirkland dancing. She still looks wonderful. When she demonstrates her upper body and arms are just beautiful.

WB: What was class like in Paris and Barcelona?

YC: In Barcelona and Paris, the challenge was the language. But the nice part about ballet is that the language is universal, so you can follow the class no matter what part of the world you’re in. In Paris, I took class from a principal dancer from the Paris Opera. I would say the class level was comparable to the classes I take here at Western. He was a good teacher and was also quite a character, yelling at everybody during class. Luckily I don’t understand a word of French. After class, though, he was just as sweet as he could be, hugging and kissing and offering chocolates to students.

WB: Sounds very French. What was it like in Buenos Aires?

YC: I tried the Julio Bocca School in Buenos Aires and the classes there were at a professional level. Even in the intermediate/advanced class, everyone looked like Paloma Herrera. It was pretty intimidating.

WB: How were the studios in these schools?

YC: In Paris the school was in a beautiful 19th century building, but the studio floor was awful! It had an old wooden floor and was really sticky, which made it hard to dance. In Barcelona the studio was really small. In Argentina there was a good floor. But again, the studio was so small and packed with people that it was really difficult to move around. We’re spoiled here. The only studio I’ve danced in that was comparable to ours was at Boston Ballet, because it was a totally new facility.

WB: You’ve done a lot of volunteer work for Western Ballet. Can you tell me about that?

YC: I was on the board many years ago and I was also the volunteer coordinator and backstage manager during some of the performances. I got involved because I wanted to know how a production was made. I’ve also taken a lot of pictures for performances and designed posters for many years. Photography and poster design are hobbies of mine.

WB: What are the challenges of taking photographs of performances?

YC: It’s really fun to take pictures of dancers, but there are a lot of things to think about. One thing is that you’ve got to catch the dancer at the right moment. For example, if you’re photographing a dancer in arabesque, you have to take the photo when the arabesque is at the height of the line. It’s not going to look good if you take the shot while the leg is on its way up. When I was taking pictures years ago, the cameras were manual, so I would have just one opportunity to get the shot I wanted. To prepare, I would watch the performance several times prior to taking the photographs, so I would know the moment I wanted to capture. Now with digital cameras you can shoot 6–8 frames/second and, at that speed, you’re bound to catch some wonderful moments. Another challenge is that the lighting changes all the time and dancers are constantly moving – they don’t pose for you during a performance.

Photo of Yvonne Cheng

Photo by Yvonne Cheng (1995)

WB: Do you have plans to continue studying ballet?

YC: Definitely. Florence is my inspiration. I want to be like Florence and take classes as long as I can put my legs on the barre.

Yvonne was a biologist for 20 years working in a pharmaceutical company and then a software engineer working for Adobe for 10 years. Now retired, she devotes her time as a docent in the Cantor Arts Center and SFMOMA. Art, music and ballet are her hobbies.

Some of Yvonne’s poster designs, which include posters for the Nutcracker 2007/2008 and Spring Gala 2008/2009, are posted on Western Ballet’s website.

Ballet Poetry

By Whitney Hagsteom

BABY BALLERINAS

I must move, I long to dance.

It's like breathing, part of my body, an arm or leg.

My baby ballerinas move with me, all pink, like rosebuds.

Bubble gum princesses.

Bright eyes, tiny feet, they blend in the mirror before me.

They will find the comfort in the repetition, the discipline.

The way that the music is one with the body.

The bend of a graceful neck or pointed toe.

One day they will breathe the dance, feel the fire.

The longing for expression.

Until then, we move as one.

Me and my baby ballerinas.

UNISON IN LAVENDER

Waiting in the dark,

Hearts pounding,

Anticipating.

The music begins,

We enter,

Stepping across the stage as one,

Steady arms intertwine.

Together we are

Lightly leaping leopards.

Moving with the music.

The slapping of our pointe shoes

On the Marley stage in time

With the musical crescendo,

Like surfers riding a wave.

Crisscross the stage

With a knifelike precision,

We dance.

We know that soon

The music will cease,

The curtain will close

But for now we are

Unison in lavender.

TO DANCE

I must move,

It's a fire, bursting to get out,

To touch everything around me.

I long to dance.

The comfort in the repetition,

The discipline.

I think of the words "character" and "integrity,"

All parts of a moving puzzle

With the same goal,

Longing to dance.

Cleansing my soul,

Pouring it out in a graceful neck.

Bending, curving, and arching,

Pointing, springing cat like motion.

Moving images of color,

Blending in the mirror before me.

Nerves relax, melting,

Like a fresh meringue cookie

In my mouth.

I must, I will dance, always,

It's like breathing to me,

Or part of my body, like an arm or leg.

We are one,

Longing to dance.

A History of The Nutcracker

Performed First in 1892 in Saint Petersburg, Russia

1818: Marius Petipa, choreographer, is born in France.

1840: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composer, is born in Russia.

1844: Alexandre Dumas, père, revises a story by E. T. A. Hoffman called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

1890: Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky, Director of the Imperial Theatres in Russia, plans to produce a new ballet, using the same choreographer and composer of his recent success The Sleeping Beauty.

Early 1892: Tchaikovsky begins to compose music for The Nutcracker, finishing during the summer and judging the work "infinitely poorer" than the music of The Sleeping Beauty.

March 1892: Tchaikovsky premieres his composition in an eight-part, concert-only version of the ballet. Receiving at least six encores, he publishes the score prior to the premiere of the ballet.

September 1892: Rehearsals for The Nutcracker begin. Choreographer Lev Ivanov replaces Petipa, after Petipa becomes ill.

18 December 1892: The world premiere of The Nutcracker occurs at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with choreography by Petipa/Ivanov, music by Tchaikovsky and decor by Botcharov. Sugar Plum Fairy: Antonietta Dell'Era. Prince: Paul Gerdt.

December 1892: The Nutcracker receives mixed reviews!

1919: The Bolshoi Ballet performs The Nutcracker in Moscow.

1934: The first production of The Nutcracker outside of Russia occurs at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, England. Sugar Plum Fairy: Alicia Markova. Prince: Harold Turner.

1940: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo performs a shortened version of The Nutcracker in the United States, presenting choreography by Alexandra Fedorova after Petipa and sets by Alexandre Benois.

February 1954: New York City Ballet performs a full-length version of The Nutcracker at the New York City Center, presenting choreography by George Balanchine, decor by Horace Armistead and costumes by Barbara Karinska. This production inspires many others worldwide. Sugar Plum Fairy: Maria Tallchief. Prince: Nicholas Magallanes.

2007: As new Artistic Director of Western Ballet, Alexi Zubiría stages his first production of The Nutcracker with choreography by Yanis Pikieris after Petipa.

3-5 December 2010: Western Ballet will perform The Nutcracker on Friday, December 3 (7:00 PM), Saturday, December 4 (1:00 PM and 7:00 PM) and Sunday, December 5 (1:00 PM and 6:30 PM). Join us for the performances and meet our casts at a free reception after both matinées!

nutcracker

914 N. Rengstorff Ave., Unit A, Mountain View, CA 94043 Phone: (650) 968-4455 Email: info@westernballet.org

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