Keynote Address: Sally Brayley Bliss at CORPS de Ballet
"This speech is how my life, from very humble beginnings in Halifax, NS, Canada became interwoven with one of the great master choreographers of the 20th Century.
Antony Tudor: ...my mother mentioned his name to me when I was a dance student, approximately ten years old. My teachers were Lativan immigrants. They were Russian trained and certainly had never heard of him.
Tudor was an important choreographer in my mother's world. I don't know why she knew about him, but she was a true Balletomane, the name for lovers of Ballet in those days. But she knew all about his ballets: Lilac Garden, Dark Elegies, and more. At that time in Canada, Celia Franca, a former dancer with The Rambert Ballet during Tudor's time there who then went on to dance with The Royal Ballet, formerly called Sadler's Wells Ballet, was brought to Canada to found a National Ballet.
Celia had worked with Tudor and danced in his ballets at Rambert. She revered him. Upon founding the NBC, besides the classical repertoire, she brought in four Tudor works: Lilac Garden, Dark Elegies, Gala Performance, and Offenbach in the Underworld, a work he created for a small company in Philadelphia. Resetting it for Canada he developed and refined the work and it became an established ballet in NBC's repertoire.
I joined the company and had the honor of dancing in 3 of those 4 ballets in the repertoire at that time. My mother was to me amazing, having known of him from when he first arrived in the U.S., and opening my mind to this great choreographer, was pretty special.
How interesting a young dancer, born in London, living in Nova Scotia, Canada in the late 40s, early 50s, by a twist of fate, meets this great choreogrpher of the 20th Century; and how my life connected with him througout my career!
He is the Godfather of my eldest son, Mark, and I have been given the task of sustaining his legacy for future generations of dancers.
I had six great years with NBC and decided I really wanted to move to NY to study. I did visit New York before moving and I remember my first class with Tudor: I stood in the back, hoping to hide, then I heard "Hey, Maple Leaf Forever, come up here!" I was petrified! How he knew I was from Canada so quickly I'll never know.
I moved to New York in 1962 and was accepted as a dancer into the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. At that time the new the Director of the Ballet, was Dame Alicia Markova, whom I loved. She was funny, respectful, taught a terrible ballet class, but that was ok because we had most of our classes with Antony Tudor and Margaret Craske..."
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Sally Brayley Bliss on the Launch of the Tudor Dance Curriculum
"Why an Antony Tudor Dance Studies Curriculum? This question has been in my head for a few years. I hope I can give you proper answers...
I'll start with him: the man; the teacher, and last but not least, the choreographer. I do believe he was a genius. To me, when you watch or dance a Tudor ballet, you cannot help but see the difference between an ordinary choreographer, who puts steps together, and a Tudor ballet. There is never excess movement. Each step or combination of steps means something: the gesture, the quiet stillness, the simplicity; the incredible use of the music he chose for each of his ballets.
If you ever had the honor of being in a rehearsal with him, he could tell you a story by standing with his back to you. It was all there before your eyes. He could be a woman in love, a man heartbroken, or an old, has-been whore. There it all was - breathtaking! Don't get me wrong: his combinations of steps were extremely difficult and complex. When he cast his ballets, he never really cast stars, per se. He always picked characters. These dancers were not necessarily geniuses. I certainly wasn't one. He picked intelligent, instinctive, and musical dancers.
Throughout my career, as a dancer, director, teacher, presenter and Trustee, I became involved in many university dance programs. Some had strong dancers and some not so strong. But what did I see? Intelligence and deep thought. These students totally understood Tudor. Their performances were always instinctively thoughtful and they always understood what Tudor was asking of them... It may not be danced like ABT, but many times I would be in tears after their rehearsals, showings or performances.
So what better place to teach Tudor's classes, or his ballets.... even just excerpts? Everyone wins. The students learn all about one of the great master choreographers of the 20th century. They get to experience his ballets. They graduate - maybe they dance; maybe they don't. But, they will keep Tudor's name in the forefront, well into the 21st century.
They will be our audiences, teachers, dancers, choreographers; and whatever career they wish to pursue. They are the future for dance. It is a win/win situation."
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Principia Wire: Antony Tudor Dance Workshop |
"Why Tudor is a "must" for university dance programs - this documentary, filmed at Principia College under the direction of Dance Chair, Hilary Harper- Wilcoxen, will give you an idea of what we achieved at this small Liberal Arts College, in tiny little Ilsa, IL." - Sally Brayley Bliss
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Shadowplay at American Ballet Theatre
The staff of the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust enjoy the American Ballet Theatre premiere of Tudor's Shadowplay at the Metropolitan Opera House,
May 24, 2011.
L-R: Tara McBride, Lance Westergard, Adria Rolnik, William Soleau. Photo: Sally Bliss
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L-R: Judith Chasin-Bennahum with Nancy Zeckendorf. Photo: Sally Bliss |
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A Look at the CORPS de Ballet International
13th Annual Teacher Conference
Kansas City, MO. - June 21-24, 2011
John Gardner, Trust R�p�titeur, Teaches Class for Members of
CORPS de Ballet |
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| Amanda McKerrow, Trust R�p�titeur, Joins CORPS Members in Excerpts of Tudor's Dark Elegies |
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Hilary Harper-Wilcoxen in CORPS Class |
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Kansas City Ballet Summer Intensive Students Learning Tudor's Continuo. Photo: Mike Strong |
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| UMKC Students Performing Tudor's Dark Elegies. Photo: Mike Strong |
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John Gardner demonstrates Tudor move to Kansas City Ballet Summer Intensive Students. |
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Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner being thanked by Peter Pawlyshyn, Director of Kansas City Ballet School, and Students. Photo: Mike Strong |
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Paula Weber, President CORPS de Ballet International at 13th Annual CORPS Award Banquet. Photo: Mike Strong |
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13th Annual CORPS Award Banquet - R-L: Sally Brayley Bliss, Judith Chasin-Bennahum, James Jordan. Photo: Mike Strong |
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Judith Chasin-Bennahum Honored with 2011 CORPS de Ballet Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo: Mike Strong |
After the CORPS de Ballet Conference Judith Chasin-Bennahum was named "Academic Advisor" to the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust. Oxford University Press in July published Ms. Chasin-Bennahum's latest work, Ren� Blum and The Ballet Russes - In Search of a Lost Life. Read Excerpt
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Students of the Kansas City Ballet Summer Intensive |
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The Antony Tudor Centennial Book and DVD
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