Arizona Ballet Theatre

If you want to see a preview of "Homage 2009," you'll have to find the clue below. Read on...

Since it is just a few days until the Fourth of July, I find I am thinking of the wonderful, All-American Ballet by George Balanchine, Stars and Stripes, to the music of John Phillips Sousa. I saw it danced, impeccably, by the New York City Ballet on the Fourth of July just two years ago, in Saratoga Springs, New York, where NYCB has performed for over fifty summers. Of course, since it is such a razzle-dazzle piece of choreography, Stars and Stripes closed the program, which was followed immediately by the local fireworks display. What a perfect evening. Wowsa!! I hope to repeat that very mood this Saturday here in Tucson. I could use some fireworks this year. Any suggestions?

Back to now, and I am intent on rambling today. First thing this morning, I plan to look for my Sousa CD at the Studio; it has most of the marches that Balanchine selected for this great, Neo-classical ballet, but the tempos are fast fast fast. Fun to dance to though; I hope that we at Arizona Ballet Theatre (and elsewhere) can get into the Independent Spirit of the New Era we now find ourselves in. Bad grammar, I know. But I hope you get the idea. Let's dance to create endorphins to build a better world. Seriously. As an adult woman, I have always felt very proud and extremely lucky to have been born an American. Freedom means many things to me, not the least of which is the freedom to dance ballet. In many countries, I would not have been allowed to study ballet, nor to actually dance any type of dance, in public. Not having access to dance training is actually mild in comparison to the dilemma in which millions of young women across the globe find themselves. Not much better for millions of men either, for that matter. We need to take care of each other, and watch each other's backs. I digress. Oops.

Stars and Stripes is a fun ballet for the audience with its lighthearted, easy breezy style. Lots of big smiles and happy steps. From the dancers' pointe of view, the pointe work for the Two Girls' Regiments is practically a Neo-Classical Wikipedia. I loved dancing in the Tall Girls Regiment back in 1968; the high kicks and sassy footwork were pure joy to dance for a teenage girl who was wild about ballet. Tough, challenging, fun. Thank you, Mr B and you, too, E. Virginia Williams. Dancing Stars and Stripes was a fantastic gift.

Back to the ballet...The Boys' Regiment choreography really can show off the collective technical chops of a true, male "corps de ballet" in a clean formation, doing the same steps as girls in ballet have been required to do for about hundred years. Such dances for men are not that common in Classical Ballet. Yet another reason I adore Neo-Classical ballet. I have often read discussions of how Balanchine's work for the male ballet dancer is so minor compared to what he created for women; it is certainly easy to look his body of work that way, but my experience is that Balanchine created many great male roles AND upped the ante as far as the technical demands on the male dancers in his ballets is concerned. I remember how much the "boys" at the Boston Ballet loved dancing Mr B's choreography in the many ballets the Company acquired during that magical Ballet Decade, the 1960s. Trust me, the Balanchine repertoire challenged the male dancers of that era to the limits of their abilities. A little beyond actually. It is the truth. The male corps de ballet I saw two years ago, however, was technically phenomenal, the best I have ever seen. I loved it. They were simply fabulous. Dance has come a long, long way, and we need to ride the gentle dance wave into a better way of being.

While it is a more advanced ballet technique class, this is "The Danciest Class" of the ABT Week. It's lots of fun. You may dance this class En Pointe, if you prefer. Either way, it really is fun, and I know you will really enjoy it.

I guess I am feeling a wee bit like a feminist rebel today (and every day, I confess.) Is that currently a dirty word? Feminist?

I confess. I am a