| Kirk Peterson, Répétiteur, on Staging Lilac Garden for The Royal Ballet School: |
The Royal Ballet School
Lilac Garden  |
Gailene Stock, Director of The Royal Ballet School, asked me if I thought that the senior students in the Upper School of The Royal Ballet could tackle Antony Tudor's Lilac Garden.
As a professional dancer, Gailene had a rather extraordinary experience with Mr. Tudor when he cast her as Hagar in his masterpiece, Pillar of Fire, and was in his The Divine Horseman with The Australian Ballet.
The Royal Ballet School, Lilac Garden; Photos by Johan Persson |
Working with Mr. Tudor was a career altering experience for Gailene and an event that affected her extraordinarily and remained with her for her entire career. Having developed an enormous respect for Mr. Tudor and a deeply felt love for his work, she wanted her charges at The Royal Ballet School to experience the work of this great 20th century master.
Lilac Garden, although only 15 to 17 minutes long, depending on the conductor and the violinist, is not a ballet Mr. Tudor gave his permission for anyone to perform lightly....
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| Student Dancer Anne Vierse, COCA St. Louis, (Center of Creative Arts), Answers Questions on Learning Tudor's Little Improvisations: |
Anne Vierse - COCA, Little Improvisations | What were the challenges of learning the choreography?
The real challenge of Tudor's choreography comes from the intellectual depth and tiny, yet important, innuendos he puts into his work. Something as small as the timing for opening your eyes as you "wake up" in the first movement means just as much as the later petit allegro. You have to understand the reason behind each step, not just the mechanics.
How was Mr. Tudor's choreography different from other choreography you've encountered?
Mr. Tudor's choreography is full of subtle nuances that must be communicated to the audience. Most of the choreographers I have encountered are all about the beat of the music and the way the steps flow together to create a mood, but not necessarily a story. With Little Improvisations, I had to first and foremost become a character. The steps themselves were secondary to this.
What were the difficulties? The rewards?
I would say that in dancing Tudor, the difficulties are the rewards. It's an immense amount of pressure to know that it is your responsibility to communicate the work of one of the top five ballet choreographers of the century! But at the same time it is an incredible honor. There are nerves to overcome, but in the end, the piece is an absolute joy to dance!
Would you be interested in dancing other Tudor ballets? Which ones and why?
I would be interested in dancing other Tudor ballets, but since this was my first introduction to his work, I can't say that I have specific ideas of pieces I would like to perform. I have however, fallen in love with Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner's performance of Leaves are Fading which I repeatedly watch on YouTube! |
| From a letter to Sally Bliss from Dennis Nahat, Artistic Director, Ballet San Jose: |
Antony Tudor, Eleanor D'Antuono, Dennis Nahat, Linda Nahat(mother), Gayle Young, Cynthia Gregory, Terry Orr, Roni Mahler, Martha Hill |
"The summer has been long and hard thus far... paying for last season, funding next - a total nightmare. It seems that the economy is less then it was a few years back. We all knew that it would take some time to rebound but this is crazy!
Still, before long I wanted to write to you thank you a million times over again for the help, care and dedication you have preserved toward the masterpieces of Tudor for us all to enjoy. Your work is among the unsung hero's of our time, but know that you are not forgotten or are an unsung hero to us that know!
There is so much more to putting ballets on the stage that the masses don't see, nor should they, but still, those in the profession need to support one another - and you sure have mine! Our performances were outstanding and everyone is still talking about Lilac, Elegies and Continuo - saying, "I had no idea...."
We cannot keep them away for long again. They must come back again and again to remind everyone where we came from and how to do it right... and, we have to do more -- Donald (Mahler) did a superb job on all accounts along with the pre-show talks everyone was mesmerized..."
The photo above was taken on December 10, 1969 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, backstage, after the premiere of Dennis Nahat's "Brahms Quintet" with American Ballet Theatre.
"Tudor was so proud that night, I remember him so well, hugging me like I never saw him before or since. One can see how proud he was of his student from Juilliard, now at ABT!" - Dennis Nahat |
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Tara McBride, Trust Administrator, on Writing a Grant for a Tudor Dance Studies Curriculum: | |
Tara McBride | This summer's oppressively high temperatures only added to the extreme heat Sally Bliss and I felt while tackling the crucial task of writing an NEA grant to develop "The Antony Tudor Dance Studies Curriculum" for college and university dance programs.
Our responsibility was to do justice to the ambitious outline of wonderful ideas and concepts the Curriculum Committee created this spring during their two weekend long marathon meetings.
James Jordan was hugely instrumental in helping us "clear the cobwebs" to define a precise schedule and details of the collaborative process and costs. Let it be known: the man is a saint! His consistently calm, ever-focused manner and much needed sense of humor made the challenge almost bearable.
Paula Weber is also a gem. Her commitment to the proposed project through CORPS and UMKS is enormous, as is her obvious appreciation of Antony Tudor's invaluable teachings.
In my nearly twenty years working as Administrator of The Antony Tudor Ballet Trust I've written several grants. It has been my pleasure and privilege but this grant was by far the most difficult. I expect it will also be the most rewarding should the project be funded. While Tudor's achievements are great and many, I'm particularly excited about how "The Antony Tudor Dance Studies Curriculum" can preserve in perpetuity the lost art of gesture as it relates to character/emotional development with future dance artists. "The Antony Tudor Dance Studies Curriculum" can surely accomplish this.
There is no doubt a Tudor Curriculum will broaden the knowledge and interdisciplinary perspectives of students, and further educate dance faculty on the positive impact this master choreographer can have on their program. It is vitally important this work be done now while those who worked directly with Antony Tudor are here and ready to share their knowledge.
The Trust will require supplemental funding in addition to the proposed NEA grant to get this project off the ground. Any and all help to ensure Tudor's teachings are preserved would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact me if you've any help or contributions to offer. |
| FIRST EDITION TUDOR CENTENNIAL BOOK AND DVD PUBLISHED AND DELIVERED! |
Tudor Centennial Book/DVD |
After two years in the making, The Antony Tudor Centennial Book and DVD are now completed. It has been a long and difficult process, but well worth the wait - the result is a collector's gem!
We are very proud of this important collection of photos and written remembrances from Tudor dancers and students.
Readers of the Centennial Book will delight in Centennial photos and dozens of Tudor remembrances and exclusive photos from world renowned dancers and choreographers. The 90-minute Centennial DVD shares excerpts from the Antony Tudor Centennial Celebration, including video clips of remembrances and in studio performances featuring ABT II, students of The Juilliard School, and the dancers of NY Theatre Ballet. Please take a look at the link below, and remember, all proceeds go toward an endowed Tudor Scholarship at The Juilliard School! Enjoy!
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| Donald Mahler, Répétiteur, Travels to San Jose, NZ and Australia |
L-R: Connaught Palmer, Chris Palmer (Tudor's niece and nephew), Ian Palmer (Chris' father), Donald Mahler and Christine Gunn  | |
Having recently returned from four months of travel, living with Mr. Tudor's works, I am finally having a chance to think about and digest all of the wonderful experiences I've had. Even more meaningful for me are the wonderful people I've met, worked with and with whom I've formed friendships.
I speak of people and not just dancers, because in every place I visited I became involved with not just dancers but those behind the scenes - the various staffs, office personnel, wardrobe, cafeteria staff, receptionists, stage crews, musicians and of course Ballet Masters, male and female, and the Directors of these companies and schools. I want to pay tribute to all those who have gone, sometimes to extraordinary lengths, to help and further the work of bringing Tudor's works to life.
I have already written about Echoing of Trumpets in Denver and the great success it was. From Denver I moved to sunny California for 6 weeks. There with Ballet San Jose I worked on 2 programs: a ballet of my own, Salut d'Amour and on the second program, Tudor's Lilac Garden and Continuo. What a wonderful friend and creative genius is their Director, Dennis Nahat. His inspiration and love for Tudor shines out in these troubled times. In addition, I was privileged to see his revival of Massine's masterpiece Gaite Parisienne. Tudor and Massine on the same program!
Donald Mahler and dancers - Salut d'Amour; Ballet San Jose
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From there a long flight took me to Wellington, New Zealand and The New Zealand School of Dance, Director, Garry Trinder. My assistant Christine Gunn was an amazing help and the students highly motivated by Tudor's work. The visit to the school of Tudor's New Zealand relatives and their participation was a memorable and moving event. My relationship with them is an ongoing one of which I am very proud!
From there on to the last leg of my journey, Melbourne, Australia and the Australian Ballet and its Director, David Mccallister. Danilo Radojevic, who danced with ABT in a number of Tudor's works and performed the 5th Song in The Dance in America television Dark Elegies is Associate Artistic Director. Danilo is a very friendly, helpful person whose wife Lucinda Dunn was the Italian Ballerina in Gala Performance.
After a very tearful goodbye it was back home, a nearly 24 hour trip! I arrived back in New York City tired but grateful for a wonderful 4 months.
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| NYTB Reconstructs Tudor's Soiree Musicale |
Inside NYTB: Reconstructing Soiree Musicale from Labanotation
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In March 2010, NY Theatre Ballet began a project with the Dance Notation Bureau in which Antony Tudor's Soiree Musicale was reconstructed from Labanotation. This eight minute documentary highlights the experiences of the dancers and discusses the reconstruction process. | |
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| THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS: |
Tudor at Rehearsal Photo: Liz Sawyer, 1961 | |
"Thanks so much for this wonderful (web) site!! How comforting to know that Tudor's legacy lives on and is so beautifully presented and discussed!! The artist-educator Antony Tudor would approve! - Gary Flannery, Juilliard Alum
"Ifeel so honored to have my photos on the Tudor blog. And for your exciting work and visions for the future, Carry On !!" - Cyndy Maasen, Dance Photographer
"He trusted his dancers to have brains and souls, not just beautiful bodies; and when the dancers got this, from Alicia Alonso to Gelsey Kirkland and Mikhail Baryshnikov, the results were sublime" - Octavio Roca, Dance Critic, Author, Chair Arts/Philosophy Dept. Miami Dade College
"Have enjoyed the DVD! Good luck in all your endeavors!" - Barbara Supovitz, Tudor Dancer |
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