Leonid Goldin | Hard work, freedom, perfection

Classical ballet is a castle of beauty.
Joseph Brodsky

 

American ballet reflects the national character and history of the country not only by its themes and subjects but also by the conditions of development and its creators. It absorbed and preserves all the best in world art, and at the same time, was in continuous renewal. There have been many revolutions in the history of American ballet, but there has never been stagnation and sluggishness. Freedom of creativity, the coexistence of different schools, and the possibility of continuous experimentation have never been limited here.

The history of dance in America began in the 1700s with the touring European companies. American choreographers created their style even before classical ballet arrived on the scene. However, the national ballet has been established as a distinctive phenomenon since George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein created the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet Theater in 1934.

The current face of American ballet is a kaleidoscope of schools, styles, and diverse cultural influences, all often combined in the work of a single choreographer, on a single stage, and in a single repertory. Approximately 30 million people attend ballet performances each year. The competition at ballet schools is like that of elite universities.

American ballet is high art, but it is not separated from the social life of the country, its achievements, and its contradictions. Today’s ballet is racially and ethnically multicolored, but also struggles for diversification, and gender wars where men want to play women’s roles and women men’s roles.

The intrusion of politics and ideology into all spheres of social life has also affected American ballet and created more problems than achievements. This art form, like no other, makes the highest demands on talent, psychological and physical qualities, training, impeccable discipline, self-control and responsibility, bright individuality,  the ability to work together and be an organic part of the team.

No arguments for social justice, equality, diversification, inclusion, or privilege are applicable here. Nevertheless, in recent years, political correctness has influenced the choice of repertoire, the composition of ensembles, the distribution of roles, and the attention and evaluations of critics.

Internal relations in ballet have always been characterized by complexity, emotional aggravation and tension, and fierce competition. Training a ballet dancer is ten years of many hours of daily hard work. Dancers are often injured, but in many cases, they continue to perform. The time of a professional career in ballet is strictly limited by age, with most leaving the stage at 35-37.

The brilliance of the career, wide enthusiastic recognition, and high earnings of celebrities are often connected with envy and intrigue. According to Nikolai Tsiskaridze, a famous dancer and teacher, the legends about ballet dancers wishing injuries and misfortunes to their colleagues are not true; in fact, they wish them only one thing – death. The sad joke applies not only to Russian ballet.

The level of demands and achievements is constantly growing. As Maya Plisetskaya said, Nureyev had a huge influence on world ballet, but what only he did, many dancers can do today. My life partner has danced at leading ballet theaters, but she recognizes that the technical skill and stamina of the dancers are hairier than in her time, and the choreography is more demanding.

The American ballet scene has always been wide open to foreign repertoire, choreographers, and performers. The influence of Russian classical ballet is especially noticeable. Ballets by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich never leave the American stage. “The Nutcracker” is the most famous and popular ballet in the world, and especially in America. Balanchine, Danilova, Baryshnikov, Nureyev, Makarova, Ratmansky, Vishneva, Malakhov, Belotserkovsky, and the list goes on.

After the collapse of the USSR, no other creative group was in as much demand abroad as ballet dancers. In addition to the desire for creative freedom and better material conditions,  uncomplicated professional adaptation contributed to their mass immigration.

Nevertheless, they had to understand and internalize the new conditions of career advancement, the atmosphere of society, and formal and informal norms and requirements. Here, for example, the Snow Maiden, the White Swan, Romeo and Juliet have no restrictions on the color of their skin.

The mother of my student, a ballerina, and wife of a famous choreographer, told me how she lost her job after telling the parents at an audition that the shape of their child’s legs and what was above them did not meet the requirements of the career.

Nevertheless, the American ballet scene today is the most attractive for first-rate stars and the dancers of the Core de Ballet.

Perhaps nowhere can one get a fuller picture of American ballet than in the New York City Center. It is a renowned performance venue for many American and international artists. The main auditorium seats 2,260 people.

The Center has a rich history, and at various times, it has hosted opera, ballet, musical, and dramatic theater artists, symphony and chamber orchestras, and art exhibitions. In 1959, many musical groups left for Lincoln Center, but City Center has retained an important place in American culture, primarily in the art of ballet.

American culture lives by the laws of the market and commerce; state and local subsidies are limited and often politicized – whom to support and whom not to support, with great dependence on sponsors, their tastes, and preferences. City Center is owned by the city government, and that provides a stable and, within the realm of the real, independent life.

Perhaps nowhere else in the country can you see as many artistic groups and performances as at City Center. This season’s highlights were two premieres curated by and featuring Sarah Mearns, a soloist with the New York City Ballet Theater, critically acclaimed as “One of the most celebrated ballerinas in the world.” The program, a ballet and a theatrical drama included a composition “Do not Go Home,” – which shows the grueling work of preparing for a new role. The possibilities of classical and modern are tried, and at the end of a difficult search, a new image is born, free from external influences of the form, fully revealing her individuality. According to Mearns, “I play a character who is being selected for the role – Claire, it is the role of Sarah herself.” Working on the role is through doubt, depression, despair, overcoming, and the joy of success.

The second part, “Dance is Mother” is “a love letter to dance and to those who have dedicated their lives to this art.” Here, too, is the struggle with the image, the struggle with oneself, the search for the unknown, the triumph of will and effort. The program features a musical quartet and a vocalist; in my opinion, the vocals add nothing.

The audience and critics met the performance with enthusiasm, and Sarah Mearns confirmed her unfading skill. She has been on the big stage since she was 3 years old. Since 2023, she has been with the New York City Ballet Theater Company. She has found acclaim in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, The Red Shoes, Balanchine and Ratmansky ballets.
And another significant achievement in the complex world of art and stage – she has never been at the center of sensational scandals, often accompanying a great artistic career.