The prospect of the New Year makes me feel like dancing. My level of grace, however, suggests I should be watching, rather than participating. The perfect opportunity to be in the presence of grace will present itself on Saturday, January 2, when Tahoe Youth Ballet is hosting a ‘Meet the Artists’ event. In cahoots with Corkscrews Wine Bar, guests are invited to imbibe a little before meeting and hearing the stories of TYB’s dancers and guest artists as they prepare for the upcoming spring season. Special guests include Deborah Wingert, a former New York City Ballet dancer, and Stephen Straub, formerly with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and Susan Farrell Ballet. I got the lowdown on the event from none other than TYB artistic director Christin Hanna.
Moonshine Ink: Tell me a little more about the ‘Meet the Artists’ event.
Christin Hanna: ‘Meet the Artist’ is TYB’s lecture series that we started this past summer with guest teacher Peff Modelski. It’s basically an interview in an intimate setting where the artists can discuss their work and their careers, ending with a question and answer period. Not only does the audience get to hear the story behind the work they will later see in performance, but they get to know the person and the experience behind it all, which provides a deeper understanding of the art form and makes it more enjoyable and accessible to someone who has perhaps not been to the ballet before. All the TYB dancers will be there, but the focus of the evening will be Deborah and Stephen.
MI: How did Wingert and Straub come to be involved with TYB?
CH: Deborah Wingert was my coach when I was dancing professionally in New York City. My director asked her to join us in a rehearsal for a ballet to Mozart that I was having trouble with. We completely connected and after that I always went to her to perfect what I was doing once the steps were set, because she helped me find a sense of empowerment and ownership over what I was doing. Stephen Straub and I met through a mutual friend and worked together for a small company named Connecticut Ballet. He was Babar and I was Babar’s mother — needless to say it was a bonding experience! We have stayed close and I am thrilled to have him here. It’s important that the girls get to learn to partner and work with male dancers that are non-threatening and not ego-driven.
MI: Is Wingert creating her new ballet ‘Valse Romantique’ for Tahoe Youth Ballet? Will they be the first to perform it? How many dancers will be involved? What kind of ballet is it? Will they only be in Tahoe City for a brief time, or until the performances?
CH: ‘Valse Romantique’ is to sections of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse; George Balanchine choreographed to this famous music for New York City Ballet in 1951 and it is among his works that Wingert danced while in that company. Deborah will be re-working the version that she choreographed for students at Belvoir Terrace in Lenox, Massachusetts, an arts-based summer camp for girls where we both teach. The entire company will learn the choreography, as is the case when any of our guests set a piece, and then she and I will determine who does what with casting, but the ballet will involve all six girls in the company with Stephen in the male lead, which the Belvoir cast did not have. Deborah will only have five days to set the ballet and Stephen will be in town a little longer to rehearse. Then he’ll return the week of the show to rehearse and perform.
MI: What does the spring schedule look like?
CH: I’m a very busy woman! In addition to Deborah’s piece, which I will be in charge of once she leaves, I have also set the ballet ‘Viduity’ on the girls, which was choreographed by Constantine Baecher, a friend of mine who dances for Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen. I’m choreographing my own work to the music of David Lang, which Stephen will also dance in, and we’ll be performing Peff Modelski’s ‘Celebration Tarantella’ as well. We will be rehearsing three to four days a week, cleaning various sections of each ballet and finishing choreography on others. Our show is March 19 and 20, so we have plenty of time.
MI: February will be your one year anniversary — with 2009 coming to a close, how was the first year of TYB? Anything you would’ve changed? What are you looking forward to for the next year?
CH: I cannot express how fortunate I have been to have had the support this community has given to myself and Tahoe Youth Ballet. Arts organizations always have a hard time — in last year’s economic climate, many had to cancel their seasons or even close their doors completely. Within one month of starting the company, I had raised our whole budget for the June 13 show. A great turnout of an extremely enthusiastic audience was on their feet at our final bow at our debut. In addition to getting our own rehearsal space in the Cobblestone Center in Tahoe City, this year’s Bud Davis Memorial Abalone Dinner at Wolfdale’s went to supporting the company as well. At this point, I am happy to see the community’s support of the company and of performing arts in general, as this was not the case when I was growing up here. The dancers are receiving an incredibly unique experience in getting to dance these ballets and work with these artists. That is a gift that will stay with them all their lives and I am happy to give it to them as it is as much a part of me as it is of the art form itself. I can’t say I’d change a thing.
Take part in TYB’s Meet the Artists event Saturday, Jan. 2, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the studio and Corkscrews Wine Bar, Cobblestone Center, 465 North Lake Boulevard, Tahoe City. Info: Christin Hanna, tahoeyouthballet.com, 530-613-4363.
