Sondra's annual insider report,
straight from the heart of it all. . .

This was a year of growth, change, challenges, and plenty of world class performances in the Dance Mecca of the World. I've enjoyed every minute of it -- even the transit strike that crippled the city during the Christmas and Hanukah holiday season, and the break-all-records snowfall in early February that brought everything to a halt yet again. The strike was a hardship for many, true enough, but it also made for jovial shared rides in cabs and private cars with determined New Yorkers getting where they needed to go any way they could. As for the "Blizzard of '06," for me it was a hushed and welcome interlude in a town that's normally bustling 24/7.

Don't get me wrong, though. I love the fast pace and electric atmosphere in the Big Apple as much as anyone else does! In fact, I thrive on sharing NYC experiences with people who come to visit. That's exactly what happened at the end of December when Dana Long Kelly, my friend since our girlhood summers as ballet students at Interlochen, came down from Toronto with her charming husband Tony to stay with me for several days. We went to museums, ate at wonderful restaurants including O'Neal's with a seat right by the mural, and saw Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Seascape." However the hands-down highlight of our time together was going to a performance of "Chita Rivera: A Dancer's Life" on Broadway on New Year's Eve. Chita is, at 72, nothing short of amazing. For over two hours she held us all in her thrall -- dancing full-out, belting signature songs, and talking about herself sometimes with wit and sometimes with wistfulness. It was a rare treat, and a dance history lesson in the bargain.

The show wasn't the only reason the evening was memorable, though. There we were right in Times Square while hordes of revelers jockeyed for good vantage points as we gamely fielded our way past pedestrian barricades in order to get to the theatre. That was an adrenalin-pumping adventure for sure! Then after the performance, we headed for a friend's celebration at a rooftop party room with dazzling views and interesting guests in suitably festive attire.  Finally, Dana and Tony and I went back to my neighborhood for a late dinner at a local restaurant and then a midnight champagne toast at my apartment to ring in the New Year. What a glorious way to start 2006! 

Now, as the title of this update promises, I'm going to let you in on key events of the past year that altered the ever-changing New York Dance Scene in diverse and sometimes profound ways.
 

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

• The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre

The fall of 2005 marked the beginning of the second full year of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. JKO, as everyone calls it, is American Ballet Theatre's increasingly prestigious pre-professional training program.  The school began as the Studio Company Associate Program in January of 2004 and was soon renamed in honor of the late Mrs. Onassis, ABT's Honorary Chairman Emeritus. Except for summer intensives, there hasn't been a school at ABT since 1981 when Baryshnikov tried to transform the school that had started in 1951. Consequently, JKO is really big news and a most welcome addition to the New York Dance Scene.

The current students, ranging in age from 12 to 14 for the Junior Division and 15 to 18 for the Senior Division, come from all over the country. A few, including a little 15-year-old powerhouse named Saige Miller, are defectors from the School of American Ballet. I caught up with Saige while I was at ABT's 890 Broadway studios to watch some JKO classes. She said with an inscrutable smile, "I was at SAB from the time I seven. I just wanted a change."

Still, like the other students who talked to me while I was on the scene, Saige emphasized the excellence of instruction at JKO. And no wonder. For the 2005-2006 academic year, the school welcomed the internationally renowned Franco de Vita as its full-time Principal. A demanding yet charming man with a grin that illuminates his whole face, Franco not only runs the school but also teaches classes in both levels and has plans to add an intermediate level next season. He gives a challenging class, to be sure, yet he clearly cares deeply about his young charges.

For that matter, so do all the members of the faculty. The same day that I watched Franco teach, I sat in on Susan Jaffe's variations class for the Senior Level girls. What a thrill! Newly retired from the stage, Susan is a vibrant role model who demonstrates with great élan and urges the students to develop the artistic side of their dancing. She was in practice clothes with her hair now appealingly close-cropped. Yet as she showed the class how to dance one of Kitri's fiery variations from "Don Quixote," she was just as convincing as if she had been in a red tutu with a fan on stage at the Metropolitan Opera House. I was witnessing a great ballerina in the act of passing on her role to the new generation. Believe me, you can't learn what Susan was giving just from watching a video. How fortunate her students are to have her coaching them in person!

I came back the next day to watch Olga Dvorovenko, Irina's mother, teach both the Senior and Junior level character classes. She is a font of knowledge who has both style and soul. The legendary Gelsey Kirkland agrees with me about Olga. In the middle of the Senior class, Gelsey and her husband Michael slipped in and sat next to me on the bench. Gelsey, who now lives and teaches in Australia, was at the school as a guest teacher that week. I sneaked a peek through the glass doors of Studio 1  as she taught the Seniors, and I once again marveled at how lucky these kids are. Not only that, but they are also taught by Ethan Brown, Martine van Hamel, and Lupe Serrano, ballet greats one and all. In addition, the students have Jessica Lang for modern and Clarice Marshall for Pilates.

Beyond the classroom, the JKO students have a variety of performing opportunities. While I was observing at the school, Franco was beginning to prepare the ladies for an appearance as "Nutcracker" Snowflakes on the occasion of the unveiling of the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday window displays. Then a few months later, I watched the students do a commendable job in excerpts from "Les Sylphides" as part of a program at the Guggenheim Museum in honor of ABT's founder, Lucia Chase. The event boasted rare historic photos and film clips along with performances by ABT principals, Studio Company members, and the JKO students. The audience was also treated to fond and funny reminiscences from Lucia's son, Alex Ewing, as well as from ABT luminaries Donald Sadler, Cynthia Gregory, and Ted Kivitt. The panel was ably moderated by John Meehan, Artistic Director of ABT's Studio Company. Also, I am particularly proud to say that the event was researched and coordinated by my daughter, Stacey Forsyth Mahan. She is ABT's Artistic Associate for Educational Outreach.

Click on this JKO link to learn all about auditions and schedules. Then click on this Programs for Dancers link to find out about other exciting training opportunities at ABT, including the new Collegiate Summer Intensive and the Young Dancer Summer Workshop.
 

• Dance New Amsterdam

Dance New Amsterdam (formerly for 21 years the Dance Space Center) has relocated to a state-of-the-art dance center in the landmark, “Sun Building,” at 280 Broadway and Chambers Street. According to Executive Director Charles Wright, one of five founding members of DSC, Dance New Amsterdam is among the first major cultural institutions in NYC to move downtown post 9/11. "This will be a true performing arts center for dance, unlike anything else in the city," said Mr. Wright. "We were pioneers in 1984, breathing life back into what is now NoHo. We are eager to serve as pioneers again in an area of our city -- around City Hall -- that will greatly benefit from the restorative power of the arts."

The center received significant funding from the offices of the Mayor, the Speaker of the City Council, and the Manhattan Borough President. In addition to cultivating new dance audiences in the area, DNA has programs open to the public, including health and fitness classes, a 1,100-square-foot gallery spotlighting work by and about visual artists and art/dance collaborations, and a film series devoted to dance on screen. There is a street-level café that serves both as a rotating gallery for art by area residents and as an informal setting for music and dance programs.  DNA is also providing office space for emerging dance companies, a library for dance research, and housing for dance archives.

The inaugural production at DNA's new center, which I was privileged to attend in February, was "Four Dance Pieces by Seán Curran Company." Especially notable was Art/Song/Dance, a charming duet choreographed by Mr. Curran and performed by Heather Waldon and Kevin Scarpin with the deceptively easy grace of dancers who have fully mastered their technique.
 

Sondra