Leonid Goldin | Guardians of Eternity 

In art, it is not important “what.” The most important thing is “how.” It must touch the soul; then it is real.

Maya Plisetskaya.

Today, art is on the barricades, artists and performers are actively involved in political struggles, and sometimes the voice of a popular artist is more influential than that of a politician. The world of music is the most abstract of the arts, but even here, the influence of the social atmosphere is noticeable.

Time is not bound

Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Prince, Kanye West, Bono, and many other pop stars have made political activism part of their careers. Their concerts often turn into political rallies. It is not always easy to distinguish between sincere beliefs and a PR campaign, but the influence on the public is obvious.

On the pop scene, shocking appearances and behavior, sex appeal, scandalous lyrics with profanity, and deafening accompaniment are familiar tools for stirring up the audience, and aggressive political messages are part of this arsenal.

Such tools are not applicable in classical music. In opera, nothing can compensate for professional technique and voice mechanics, range, timbre, intonation, articulation, and phrasing. In ballet, flawless arabesques, grand jetés, attitudes, glissades, and fouettés require natural talent and are developed over decades of hard work under the guidance of top-class teachers.

But even in classical art, artists and managers are often tempted to prove themselves with their repertoire and statements on current issues. Isaac Stern said that “Art life can never be separated from politics.” But he also acknowledged that his social activism prevented him from achieving his full artistic potential.

How does active participation in politics affect creativity? Does it inspire, motivate, fill with meaning, and provide ideas? Or does it distract from the search for the essential, the profound, the eternal, from professional development?

The merits and contradictions of the connection between art and politics are particularly evident in fiction. In a democracy, there are no obstacles to the expression of creative individuality and independent judgment, but the achievements and influence of literature in society are declining. The latest bestseller and a classic masterpiece are different categories.

This is not only talked and written about by conservatives. David Brooks, one of the leading commentators of the liberal camp, writes in his article “The Decline of the Great Novel” about the main reasons: social pressure and conformism on the left. The social atmosphere, political correctness, values, and tastes of mass consumption dictate their requirements and suppress dissent.

The music world is also not free from social pressure and conformism, and here leftism and progressivism are increasingly evident in the repertoire, professional advancement, critical evaluations, and the awarding of prizes and grants.

But in classical music, it is impossible to remove aesthetic barriers or lower professional standards; creative losses will inevitably affect interest and attendance. That is why the operas of Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, and Rossini never leave the stage. Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Carmen, Don Quixote, and Romeo and Juliet are gems of ballet art that retain their highest appeal for artists and audiences alike.

If a contemporary were transported back to 1637 to the opening of the first public opera house in Venice, or 345 years ago to Versailles for a ballet during the reign of the Sun King Louis XIV, there would be no doubt about the enthusiastic impressions. Tickets for La Scala, the Vienna Opera, Covent Garden, and the Salzburg Festival are bought years in advance, and for the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, ten years in advance.

Classics do not accept liberalism. Only a careful attitude towards heritage, professional training, iron discipline and responsibility, authority, and the firm will of the director and conductor will ensure genuine success and recognition.

The American Ballet Theatre is 85 years old

Classical ballet took shape in Italy, France, and Russia. In 1735, ballet appeared in America, but it only gained popularity in the mid-20th century, primarily thanks to the efforts of Lincoln Kirsten, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Anthony Tudor, and Mikhail Mordkin.

American ballet has gained worldwide recognition. It has its style, classical traditions, and constant experimentation, a rich repertoire, extensive participation of foreign choreographers and artists, and the ability to attract significant financial resources to create large-scale and new works.

The most famous American ballet companies are the American Ballet Theatre, the New York City Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet.

The American Ballet Theatre performs annually at Lincoln Center, with its spring season at the Metropolitan Opera and its fall season at the David Koch Theater. As a rule, each season includes a classical repertoire and new productions.

The theater’s high reputation and commercial success are primarily due to its classical ballets. The productions of Petipa, Ivanov, Fokin, Balanchine, Nijinsky, and Lifar remain the gold standard. Classical ballets are updated, but the original version remains the foundation.

This year, the ABT celebrates its 85th anniversary. In connection with the anniversary, the tour in New York has been extended. The theater’s director, Susan Jaffe, is a renowned ballerina who has been performing in leading roles since the age of 16. She has danced on the world’s most famous stages, partnering with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alexander Godunov, and many other outstanding ballet masters. She has also enjoyed success as a choreographer.

This season, the American Ballet Theatre has performed Swan Lake, Giselle, Sylvia, The Winter’s Tale, and a new production, Woolf Works.

Swan Lake has been part of the ABT’s repertoire since its inception. Tchaikovsky began work on this ballet 150 years ago. Swan Lake began its triumphant march through the world’s theaters in 1877 in Moscow. In 1895, Petipa and Ivanov created a production that remains a golden standard for all choreographers.

In the Soviet Union, Swan Lake became part of state cultural policy and was actively used in propaganda as evidence of the achievements of socialist art. Performances of the ballet often accompanied important events in the life of the country.  Paradoxically, when party propaganda was confused and did not know what to say until receiving instructions from above, the broadcast of Swan Lake on television was a sure sign of serious political change.

Recently, metaphors such as “white swan,” symbolizing purity, beauty, love, hope, and ideals, and its antithesis, “black swan,” symbolizing evil, treachery, and dark forces, have entered everyday language. There are two versions of the ballet in the world repertoire: a tragic one, in which evil forces prevail, and a happy one, in which good, love, and devotion overcome all obstacles.

Choreographers usually follow the classical tradition. But there are also extravagant versions that have gained widespread popularity. In Matthew Bourne’s production, the swans are danced by male athletes; reviews are mixed, but the creator of the ballet has won numerous awards and was knighted in the United Kingdom.

ABT presented Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie. He is well known in America and abroad and has been a leading dancer in many ballet theatres. As a choreographer, he gained recognition for his productions of Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Raymonda, and Sleeping Beauty.

When McKenzie became artistic director in 1992, the American Ballet Theatre was in a disastrous financial situation. He had to not only work on choreography but also prove himself a successful manager. One of the factors of success was the creation of the world’s strongest male group of artists and the invitation of choreographers with vivid creative imagination. The collaboration with Alexei Ratmansky was particularly fruitful.

The ABT earned the name “theater of stars.” The troupe participated in the Mstislav Rostropovich International Festival, and one of its productions was dedicated to the great musician.

In 2022, McKenzie stepped down as director of ABT, but remains closely associated with the theater. Mackenzie is convinced: “In the 21st century, ballet is perfectly safe.”

McKenzie’s version has been enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike. Particular praise has been given to the high technical skill, interpretation, artistic design, and corps de ballet. Some reviewers consider it the best production they have ever seen.

I am not a ballet critic, but I have had the opportunity to see Ulanova, Lepeshinskaya, Semyonova, Bessmertnova, Maximova, and Plisetskaya, and these memories remain for me the pinnacle of aesthetic perfection. Their work should be treated in the same way as the achievements of Antiquity and the Renaissance, avoiding comparisons.

This season, Odette-Odile was danced by Kristina Shevchenko. She was born in Odessa and has lived in the United States since the age of eight. She joined the ABT in 2007 and became a prima ballerina ten years later. Audiences and critics alike have praised her technical skill and dramatic interpretation of the role.

This season, I saw Delibes’ ballet “Sylvia” for the first time. Tchaikovsky saw this ballet in Vienna and wrote to a friend that if he had known this music earlier, he would not have written “Swan Lake.” However, he only liked the music. The ABT’s production is worth seeing not only for the music, but also for the choreography, the skill of the performers, and the artistic design.

This season, ABT also presented Giselle and The Winter’s Tale. Giselle is a world-renowned masterpiece and has always been a gem in any theater’s repertoire. The Winter’s Tale is new to ABT this year and has received mixed reviews, including criticism of the choreography.

The most controversial reviews were for the ballet Woolf Work based on Woolf’s most famous novels, “Mrs. Dalloway,” “Orlando,” and “The Waves.” Despite all the creative talent and effort, I cannot imagine how it would be possible to convey on the ballet stage the ideas and images of Woolf, which literary critics still find difficult to understand to this day.

Woolf is one of the leading figures of modernism, pacifism, feminism, neo-paganism, and sexual ambivalence. Having committed suicide, she became an icon for creative people suffering from mental illness.

Virginia Woolf is often called a humanist, but many of her unhidden opinions are shocking: “The lower classes are disgusting… Idiots should be killed…” She writes in the same vein about Jews, blacks, Germans, intellectuals, and traditional women.

Last season, ABT presented Crime and Punishment. In my opinion, the performance was very interesting, and its creators did not overestimate the possibilities of the genre. The problems in Dostoevsky’s novel are universal, timeless, and the author brought the plot to a predictable ending, with good and love triumphing over evil.

But Woolf’s novels are not material for dance, and the ballet creators’ concept was doomed to failure. My assumptions coincided with the experts’ assessment. Leading ballet critic Brian Selbert writes: “When the American Ballet Theatre premiered The Works of Virginia Woolf in New York, it was a big, loud, boring disappointment.” Experimentation is an integral part of great creativity, the search for new paths and discoveries in art. But experimentation for the sake of experimentation rarely leads to success.

Let me offer my conclusion: the production can be left as it is, but Virginia Woolf and her novels should be left out, to be analyzed by psychoanalysts and hermeneutics specialists. At the very least, the performance could be dedicated to her. Most ballet plots are simple fairy tales. Abstract, plotless ballet is nothing new. If the audience and critics are not overwhelmed with intellectual flourishes and charades, they will focus on the brilliant art of dance, and in that case, the success of this remarkable company is assured.