To be performed by Bolshoi Ballet
June 16-21, 2009
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Le Corsaire is, perhaps, one of the most revised, reworked, and retooled ballets still performed today. Adolphe Adam, who we know as the composer of Giselle, wrote the score—one which would prove to be his last, performed only months before his death. The choreographer responsible for the original 1856 version, Joseph Mazilier, is not very well known today; probably because all modern-era versions of Le Corsaire follow the better-known Petipa choreography.

New directors added new choreography and music over generations of the work’s revival all across the world, inserting music from 10 composers in all, including Cesare Pugni, Leo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo and Ludwig Minkus. This piece eventually became the go-to theatrical vehicle that companies reshaped to suit the strengths of their star dancers. So much has been added and dropped that a truly authentic version of Le Corsaire does not exist today. With their upcoming production, however, the Bolshoi Ballet has taken great strides in returning the choreography to Petipa’s full-length version. Regardless of the performer or era, the ballet takes its inspiration from Lord Byron’s 1814 poem, The Corsaire, a story of swashbuckling pirates and adventure on the high seas that promises delights in any interpretation.

I saw this for myself on a trip to Russia in 1962. Acting as artistic ambassadors, The New York City Ballet went to Russia at the end of a long European tour. We were there for 6 weeks in October and November—the start of the cold months—going to Moscow, Leningrad, Tbilisi, Baku, and Kiev.

In Leningrad we were invited to a production of Le Corsaire, and we were amazed at what we saw. To a group of American dancers who had been brought up on Mr. B’s choreography and aspired to that style, something like Le Corsaire was really wild. We were entertained, of course, but almost to the point of laughter, because it seemed to be produced more like a movie than a dance. To our youthful perspective, it struck us as … un-ballet.

To this day I clearly remember the shipwreck at the end. First of all, I had never been in a theater big enough to accommodate that kind of stage theatrics. That wreck was a perfect visual example of the enormous gulf between the traditional direction of Russian dance and the renaissance Mr. B was taking ballet through. Russia was Mr. B’s homeland, after all. He was familiar with those ballets. He performed those ballets, and that was not the course he wanted ballet to follow. With complete respect for his heritage, he would not have been able to accomplish his vision had he remained in Russia.

Looking back at my diary from those days, both my delight in the spectacle of Le Corsaire and my amazement at the differences between this Russian dance and Mr. B’s vision are apparent. But to be sure, if some young Russian dancer had come to America to see New York City Ballet perform in those days, she might possibly write with the same level of astonishment. Surely she would say that our sparse costumes, minimalist staging, and stripped-down style was all just so … un-ballet.

To be performed by The Royal Ballet
June 23-28, 2009
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The Kennedy Center once again is pleased to welcome London’s Royal Ballet to the Opera House stage. I personally welcome back Alexandra Ansanelli, a ballerina who has danced in my company and who returns to perform Fredrick Ashton's A Month in the Country. The other ballets on this mixed repertoire program were created specifically for the company and are North American premieres, so audiences are in for exciting discoveries.

For instance, the energetic piece DGV (Danse à grande vitesse) comes to The Royal Ballet via Christopher Wheeldon—a young choreographer whose work audiences will have another opportunity to see up close in next season’s Ballet Across America II, which brings together his Morphosis company, my company, and others from across the country. Then, Chroma, choreographed by Royal’s resident choreographer Wayne McGregor offers “luminous” staging and some hip music from the folk rock band White Stripes. And of course, the company’s full length production, Manon, promises both captivating movements and mischief with a ballet well-honed on The Royal Opera House Stage.

I’ve had the pleasure of dancing at The Royal Opera House many times in the past. But most recently, in 2008, I was invited to stage Mr. Balanchine's Tzigane for the Royal Ballet.

Staging a work within an unfamiliar company can be daunting, but Royal’s Artistic Director Monica Mason made the entire process very comfortable. I think the dancers really loved doing Tzigane. Performing this particular Balanchine work was very different for them—they are accustomed to much more tailored choreography. When I offered "go wherever the choreography takes you," they were uncomfortable with that freedom. This was quite a different perspective for them, but one they eventually relished.

The power —and responsibility—of interpretive freedom is as much a part of   Mr. B's choreography, particularly in Tzigane, as are the annotated steps. Imparting this philosophy is one reason why I continually enjoy working with dancers; they are a great breed of people who are offering some truly great works to Kennedy Center audiences this June.