One of my personal heroes, Peter Martins is going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Dance Museum in Saratoga! I know this will probably mean squat to anyone here, but I have to spill my delight or else the top of my head will blow off, lol. I am really excited about this - this is a man who deserved this years ago for the beautiful vision he has turned the NYC Ballet into. From his humble view on being a servant to Art and his carrying on of the Balanchine choreography, to presenting his own vision and bringing his own aesthetic to the New York City Ballet - Peter Martins has been a huge inspiration to me and I have been a fan of his since I was small. I live near Saratoga, with the Performing Arts Center (SPAC) being the summer home of the New York City Ballet - so this company has eevn more reason for holding a special place in my heart. People do gripe about the NYCB aesthetic, but they have clearly not seen the company in a couple of decades. Nor have they ever attended one of Peter Martins' pre-performance talks on the dance. Because ballet is so very important to me, it has not only had a huge influence on my own personal views of art and dance, but also on my own aesthetic as a fibre artist. Much of my work has a classical line with a modern-primitive twist, and I see so much of this in NYCB and realize just what an influence this wonderful company and their ballet master-in-chief have had on me. Far From Denmark , Peter Martins' autobiography, has had an enormous impact on me - it taught me a great deal about Balanchine - the man, his technique and reasoning, traditions and his choreography and choice of music. That was a major hurdle for me - I had always considrered George Balanchine a bit of a monster. The book taught me otherwise, as have various interviews with Mr. Martins. He is a fantastic teacher of dance, musicality and down to earth reason in the ethereal world of the arts and dance and I have learned so much about the art form I love almost more than all others. It is that kind of learning and perspective that I have gained from being able to read and hear what he has had to say about dance and the arts and even Balanchine - whose vision is now made much clearer :) I am so stoked he is finally being given the recognition for his outstanding, extraordinary contribution to the ballet and to dance in general. And if you have never seen him dance (he retired in the early 80's), you really must - absolutely incredible. I am so bummed I will not be able to attend the ceremony (too short notice :( ) but I am exctied that one of my great heroes has earned this honor.
Yea!!!
http://www.dancemuseum.org/nmd/peter.html
Recommended Viewing:
PBS series, Dance In America - Choreography by Balanchine
Recommended Reading:
Far From Denmark by Peter Martins and Robert Cornfield
In Balanchine's Company
Stories of the Great Ballets by George Balanchine
Prodigal Son by Edward Villella
Once A Dancer by Allegra Kent
Recommended Night Out in July:
Go see the NYC Ballet at SPAC!!!! You will not be sorry!
Recommended daytime summer activity:
Head up to the Dance Museum and go out back to the Studios, where dance classes are held - they really love to have people come to watch so the dancers get practice dancing in front of an audience :) Bring lunch and have a picnic on the beautiful grounds :))