Lizabeth was excited after discovering that Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village carries “Swan Lake” cupcakes, an homage to the ballet currently being performed by American Ballet Theatre.
I joked about what fun we could have, taking that first nibble — and biting the heads off. I assumed they’d have lovely swans, and the joke was a bit of a jab at all those years of ballet training. Some weren’t so terribly pretty.
But alas, they were merely frosted with an elegant combination of black and white, so I settled for a key lime cheesecake cupcake instead — sadly replacing the calories I’d burned walking all those blocks to get there.
We ate our cupcakes at a little park just up the street from the bakery, where children played in a fine mist of water and couples sat on benches near stone tables etched with chessboard patterns.
Earlier in the day, we’d enjoyed another park just off Fifth Avenue that has one entrance featuring a giant marble arch. Around a fountain, there were four sets of two chess tables — and men about my age or older stopped by to play.
Women pushed baby strollers (sorry, guys — but none of you were out doing the baby things at that point). Some had small white pizza take-out boxes on top. Squirrels darted on and off the paths. Folks fired up laptops on the lawn.
We stopped for lunch at a lovely eatery in Greenwich Village where we split a baked ziti and salad combo. Our table was elevated but just off the street, so we watched puppies walking their pedestrians and hoped the pigeons weren’t partial to Italian fare.
We made a few subway trips, which Lizabeth navigated with ease — even finding a Christopher station on Christopher Street, reminding us of her brother back home. We must fit in fairly well because we ended up giving directions more often than we asked for them.
Lizabeth could easily lead a “famous film locations” tour. “Law and Order” steps, “The Adjustment Bureau” warehouse, “Enchanted” skyscraper. She’s learning various landmarks that help guide her through the city, and I’m having fun playing “find the Starbucks.” If I don’t get my coffee, I really might bite someone’s head off.
— Lynn
Coming up: Lynn & Liz do Lincoln Center, Fun finds in NYC, 9/11 tributes and memorials
Posted in arts, Music, Nature, Visual Arts
Tagged ABT, chess, Christopher Street, cupcakes, Fifth Avenue, Greenwich Village, Magnolia Bakery, NYC photos, parks, pets in NYC, Starbucks, subway stations, Swan Lake, Yoda
- Daniel Russell (Billy) and Maximilien A. Baud (Older Billy) perform in “Billy Elliot” (Photo: Kyle Froman)
David Hallberg, principal with American Ballet Theatre in New York, is considered by many one of our country’s greatest male dancers — and is known the world over for the beauty of his ballet performance.
Hallberg hails from Rapid City, South Dakota — but trained during his teens with Kee Juan Han at Arizona Ballet School in Phoenix. My daughter Lizabeth was among the school’s younger students at the time, so we had the pleasure of seeing him dance in studio and on stage.
Hallberg’s talent has taken him to Paris, Russia, Sweden, Japan, Buenos Aires and beyond. Parents who dream only of little boys becoming baseball legends might want to expand their horizons. Because boys who ballet are every bit as athletic. And artistic to boot.
Valley families can enjoy some time with boys who ballet next week as the touring production of the Broadway musical “Billy Elliot The Musical” comes to ASU Gammage in Tempe. It’s a fun-for-all-ages show about a boy’s search for identity and acceptance.
Billy loves to dance. But the other sons of men working in the local coal mine prefer boxing to ballet. So how do father and son come to terms with Billy’s dreams and his father’s choices? How do they reconcile individual wants with collective needs?
It’s a powerful musical that every parent should see. Because, as those of us with teens or young adults know all too well, our children rarely follow the paths we’ve worked so hard to pave for them. And their journey changes us no less than it changes them.
Ib Andersen, artistic director for Ballet Arizona, began his ballet training at the age of seven with the School of the Royal Danish Ballet — and went on to dance in works created by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and many others. He’s renowned the world over as both dancer and choreographer.
You can enjoy a bit of his work next week as well — as Ballet Arizona performs “Mosaik” April 28-May 1 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix. “Mosaik” is a non-narrative ballet set to the music of Chopin, Berlioz, Schubert and more.
“Mosaik” features choreography, costumes and set design by Andersen. I saw the work performed by Ballet Arizona many years ago, and was simply stunned by the beauty of Andersen’s sculptural offering. It’s rare to enjoy such a close coupling of exquisite dance and visual artistry, making this one of my favorite Andersen works.
Take your little boys, and your little girls too. You never know when brief moments spent at the ballet or a Broadway musical might spark a lifetime of beauty and brilliance.
— Lynn
Note: “Billy Elliot The Musical,” based on the film “Billy Elliot,” features a score by Elton John. The musical received 10 Tony Awards in 2009 — including “Best Musical.” It’s recommended for ages 8 + due to strong language and confrontations between police officers and miners. Click here to learn about auditions for the role of Billy Elliot.
Coming up: Conversations with “Cosette”
Posted in arts, Dance, movies, Music, Theater, Visual Arts
Tagged ABT, Arizona Ballet School, Ballet Arizona, Best Musical, Billy Elliot, boys and ballet, Broadway and Arizona, Broadway auditions, dance auditions, dance lessons for boys, David Hallberg, Elton John, Ib Andersen, Kee Juan Han, male dancers, Solidarity, The Letter, theater and dance, Tony Awards
I spoke with David Hallberg, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, the morning after Natalie Portman waltzed away with a best actress Oscar for her performance in “Black Swan.”
Hallberg noted that she’d done some of her dance training for the film at the ABT studios in New York, and was generous in his praise of her work in developing the level of movement needed to perform the role of “Nina.”
Still, he’s quick to dispel the myth that “Black Swan” is a ballet flick. Instead, Hallberg describes it as “a great horror movie.”
Hallberg uses the term “focused pressure” to describe his own experience as a principal dancer — noting that he’ll be performing in March with the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia.
“All the world and Russia will be watching,” reflects Hallberg. One “could buckle under the pressure,” he says. “But — knock on wood — I never do that.”
So is there a strategy Hallberg suggests for developing dancers? “Focus the stresses,” he says. “Know how to use them to your best advantage.”
David Hallberg performs in “Other Dances” (Photo by Rosalie O’Connor)
It sounds like he got plenty of experience doing just that during his five years as a student at Arizona School for the Arts — which recently honored Hallberg with its inaugural “Distinguished Young Alumnus Award.”
Arizona School for the Arts, a charter school in downtown Phoenix that serves grades 5-12, is currently celebrating its 15th anniversary.
ASA students spend their mornings in academic classes and their afternoons in arts classes. The school enjoys partnerships with several professional arts organizations, including Ballet Arizona.
Hallberg credits much if his success to Kee-Juan Han, with whom he studied both at ASA and at what’s now known as the School of Ballet Arizona.
Despite his devotion to ballet, a talent Hallberg first honed during his early teens (which is late by ballet standards), he was always expected to study hard and get good grades.
“My parents were never okay with me having a secondary academic career,” shares Hallberg. After a full school day at ASA, he’d take more dance classes at the Ballet Arizona studios.
Hallberg recalls doing homework during brief breaks between classes — then heading home around 9pm for a protein shake, more homework and that scarce resource known as sleep.
While studying at ASA, Hallberg’s mornings began at 5:15am. First there was the drive to school. Then more homework. Then classes and dance for the rest of the day.
David Hallberg performs in “Cinderella” (Photo by Marty Sohl)
But what about the students studying dance who haven’t the same passion for pursuing a ballet career? Hallberg says they enjoy the same benefits — developing discipline, a strong work ethic and the focus that’s helpful in all walks of life.
Hallberg recalls that French was among his favorite academic classes at ASA, where all students are required to complete several years of study in either Spanish or French. It came in handy during his time with the Paris Opera Ballet.
Hallberg describes developing greater appreciation for history and language arts as his “school career went along.”
He’s especially intrigued by European history and the “molding influence of arts” on movements like the Renaissance and the Reformation. He also sees the influence of arts in contemporary movements and events.
David Hallberg performs in “Giselle” (Photo by Rosalie O’Connor)
So was there something specific in his ASA education that gave Hallberg this appreciation for the interplay of arts and culture? “I had an education,” reflects Hallberg, “that was out of the box.”
“It wasn’t a conventional A-B-C type academic education,” says Hallberg. “It taught me to see all shadings of a certain situation.”
Hallberg feels the experience sets him apart from his peers. “I realize my responsibility as an artist to influence my contemporaries and the next generation.”
Too often public education in our country doesn’t value or respect students as individuals, according to Hallberg. “At ASA,” he says, “being an individual is encouraged.”
“Being a unique individual,” muses Hallberg, “is what sets you apart from the status quo.” Hallberg says his years at ASA were “very positive and formative” — helping him “spread his wings” to become the person he is today.
Experiences at ASA taught Hallberg to keep reaching and growing — and to share the wealth of his experiences with others.
“When you have a talent or a calling,” says Hallberg, “it’s one thing to rest on your laurels.” The higher calling is “owning up to the responsibility that brings.”
When he’s not dancing or traveling, Hallberg enjoys experiencing “other art forms.”
Hallberg rattles off a long list that includes visual arts, museums, other performance art and classical music. Also something he calls “techno” — a fact shares with a bit of a giggle.
But how did Hallberg even realize he had an interest in dance? What made him take that first class? What started the journey to so many places far and wide?
“I saw Fred Astaire on television at the age of eight,” recalls Hallberg. “I just knew I wanted to move like him.”
— Lynn
Note: Click here to learn more about ASA’s affiliation with another Valley arts organization, Phoenix Theatre.
Coming up: Burning questions (inspired by Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony), Real drama in Wisconsin, Scottsdale Conservatory Theatre
Update: Mr. Hallberg has accepted the position of premier (principal dancer) with the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia, the first American dancer to do so. Learn more at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/arts/dance/american-to-join-the-bolshoi-ballet.html?_r=2&hp. Updated: 9/20/11.
Update: The Opera & Ballet in Cinema Series presents a live simulcast of the Bolshoi Ballet production of “The Sleeping Beauty” featuring Svetlana Zakharova and David Hallberg in three Arizona theaters at 8am on Sun, Nov. 20. Click here for details. Updated: 11/3/11.
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