I like ballet. There, I said it, I do. I didn't hate it before, but, when the wife started taking me to the Joffrey Ballet ten or so years ago, it's not something I would have gone out of my way to see.
I do have some history with it, as my mother took my brother and me to see Rudolf Nureyev many years ago, something that is more impressive to me for having done it than in any particular memories of the occasion. But, despite recognition of the great precision and artistry, I really didn't get into it.
Now, however, though not a balletomane, I do enjoy attending three or four times a year. Every so often, the Joffrey does some outreach to their subscribers, offering something extra, and that's usually fun - it's always cool to get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Yesterday, they held a subscribers' brunch, which included the chance to sit through a rehearsal.
I won't ramble on through my thoughts, because I know very little about the dance. I enjoy the vocabulary, and it's great fun to see the artistic director go through a routine, then to see the company execute it.
What struck me was the recognition of what great athletes these dancers are. I basically knew that from watching the dancing, but I didn't know their schedule so well.
A few years ago, I took on one of the classic challenges of running, the 24 X 1. This consists of running one mile in each of the hours of the day, starting in the 12-1AM hour, finishing before midnight. This is surprisingly difficult, not so much because of the running, but because of the time in between. The go, rest, go, rest, etc. pattern is hard to sustain (and it is a lot of showering).
So the dancers yesterday had a schedule like this: 11:00 - the rehearsal we attended, and it struck me as pretty tough. They start with barre work, which is not overtly athletic but can be challenging. By the end, however, they're doing some major leaping about (that's my technical term - for those who care, there were some jetes and glissades and pirouettes and the like).
Then at 2:00, a performance. I presume there was some re-warm up before that. Then, another performance at 7:30, and many of the dancers had to participate in all of it. I have no idea how one stays loose over 11 hours of rehearsing, performing, stretching, and so on. I guess that's why they're the world-renowned Joffrey Ballet.
**********
Oh yes, the farewell. The Joffrey is a community of dancers, no one is really supposed to stand out. But that never happens, and today we said goodbye to Maia Wilkins, who has been something of a prima ballerina with the company. She's been with the Joffrey since 1991, and has done some lovely dancing over the years. The circumstances of her departure are a bit muddled, but her send-off has shown due recognition of the esteem, even love, with which the audience has regarded her.
She leaves with her husband, Michael Levine, and her long-time partner Willy Shives (who will be moving to the non-dancing side of the company), and they will all be missed. It's always sad to lose people we've enjoyed, whether it's someone we work with or someone we watch on a stage or a diamond or a field, but it happens; I wish them all well.
I do have some history with it, as my mother took my brother and me to see Rudolf Nureyev many years ago, something that is more impressive to me for having done it than in any particular memories of the occasion. But, despite recognition of the great precision and artistry, I really didn't get into it.
Now, however, though not a balletomane, I do enjoy attending three or four times a year. Every so often, the Joffrey does some outreach to their subscribers, offering something extra, and that's usually fun - it's always cool to get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Yesterday, they held a subscribers' brunch, which included the chance to sit through a rehearsal.
I won't ramble on through my thoughts, because I know very little about the dance. I enjoy the vocabulary, and it's great fun to see the artistic director go through a routine, then to see the company execute it.
What struck me was the recognition of what great athletes these dancers are. I basically knew that from watching the dancing, but I didn't know their schedule so well.
A few years ago, I took on one of the classic challenges of running, the 24 X 1. This consists of running one mile in each of the hours of the day, starting in the 12-1AM hour, finishing before midnight. This is surprisingly difficult, not so much because of the running, but because of the time in between. The go, rest, go, rest, etc. pattern is hard to sustain (and it is a lot of showering).
So the dancers yesterday had a schedule like this: 11:00 - the rehearsal we attended, and it struck me as pretty tough. They start with barre work, which is not overtly athletic but can be challenging. By the end, however, they're doing some major leaping about (that's my technical term - for those who care, there were some jetes and glissades and pirouettes and the like).
Then at 2:00, a performance. I presume there was some re-warm up before that. Then, another performance at 7:30, and many of the dancers had to participate in all of it. I have no idea how one stays loose over 11 hours of rehearsing, performing, stretching, and so on. I guess that's why they're the world-renowned Joffrey Ballet.
**********
Oh yes, the farewell. The Joffrey is a community of dancers, no one is really supposed to stand out. But that never happens, and today we said goodbye to Maia Wilkins, who has been something of a prima ballerina with the company. She's been with the Joffrey since 1991, and has done some lovely dancing over the years. The circumstances of her departure are a bit muddled, but her send-off has shown due recognition of the esteem, even love, with which the audience has regarded her.
She leaves with her husband, Michael Levine, and her long-time partner Willy Shives (who will be moving to the non-dancing side of the company), and they will all be missed. It's always sad to lose people we've enjoyed, whether it's someone we work with or someone we watch on a stage or a diamond or a field, but it happens; I wish them all well.
2 comments:
Ahh, I'm jealous. Ballet seems to have almost completely disappeared from Detroit, which is just as well, since attending the performances would quickly drain my pocketbook.
My wife, who really enjoys ballet, couldn't really justify going until the Joffrey moved to Chicago. It is a considerable expense, one you understand when you see the size of the company, but (just barely) worth it to see a truly great troupe.
I'd say that ballet is the art that most suffers from mediocrity, that is, that I can still enjoy the music of a lesser-talented orchestra, perhaps because I have the memory of the music to underpin an uninspired performance.
But ballet is top-flight or it's not, so it isn't worth it for me to go to B-level. Sorry Detroit doesn't have a good company; it's a shame how we fail to support the fine arts.
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