The Rise of the House of Harkness
BALLET
by Douglas Turnbaugh
Ten years ago, an applicant for a Fulbright Scholarship to study ballet was summoned by an adjudicative committee assembled to consider his peculiar request. Such applications were rare, because of the requirement of a bachelor of arts degree. Installed behind card tables in a gym, the committee asked the applicant to show his dance. Struck by their obtuseness, he attempted to explain that he wanted the opportunity to study ballet with great teachers, that this art form is still transmitted directly from teacher to student, choreographer to dancer, and that performance and choreography were his long-range goals. He was dismissed summarily and his application denied.
Today, many boys and young men are able to study through scholarships and trainee programs established by major ballet companies. But a decade ago, the vital daily classes took time and money, and were generally paid for through parttime work, which also took care of the student’s living expenses. Such a schedule was killing. (Girls generally seemed to have supportive mothers.) For those few men who did survive to achieve professional technique, where to find employment remained a serious and demoralizing problem. In 1958, there were only three major U.S. ballet companies: the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Ballet Theater, and the New York City Ballet. Doubtless there were seasons in which there were no openings for new men.
The next few years saw the demise of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the oldest of the three companies, and with the constant uncertainty of the future of the Ballet Theater, prospects were black indeed for the man who wanted to dance or choreograph for the ballet. Many gave up or found work on Broadway or in television; the more creative went abroad to seek careers, or were assimilated into the world of the modern dance, which became stronger and more popular as American ballet waned as a creative force.
In a survey financed by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, a question asked of choreographers expresses concern over the dearth of choreographers, and asks for suggestions on how to “Train” for this work. The answers indicate that choreographers develop from the ranks of dancers. As dancers, they have practical experience of what a body can do, and working as instruments of choreographers they are directly exposed to the movement ideas of others. So, lack of opportunities for dancers to work also impaired the future development of the art.
Despite the stability of the New York City Ballet, which has always had the practical advantage of a New York City theater for a permanent home, the company was and is the exclusive domain of its artistic director, George Balanchine, whose choreography dominates the repertory. He is particularly famous for his “pure dance” works — abstract pieces whose interest is created solely by movement design. Though this is a valid aspect of the dance spectrum, a dancer’s artistic development is limited by this repertory, just as a pianist’s would be if nothing but Chopin were available to him. No new choreographers of commanding distinction have developed from this company.
The Ballet Theater, on the other hand, has the greatest and most varied repertory of any ballet company in the world, and a roster of stellar dancers. They perform in works ranging from La Sylphide, created by August Bournonville for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1836, to Harbinger and At Midnight, successful new ballets by the young choreographer Eliot Feld, who created them while a member of the company. This great range of ballet gives the dancers an incomparable experience in different styles, but maintenance of a large repertory limits the number of new productions possible each year.
This background is necessary to appreciate the significance of the establishment of the Rebekah Harkness Foundation in 1961, and of its profound accomplishments. Mrs. Harkness is concerned with encouraging and promoting American cultural achievement, especially in the field of dance, and with fostering recognition of this achievement throughout the world. Her foundation has been notably successful in these aims. In association with the U.S. Department of State, the foundation enabled Jerome Robbins’ Ballets: USA to tour Europe, Pearl Primus to tour Africa, and Alvin Ailey’s Company to tour Europe.
Another foundation program sponsors the Dance Festival in Central Park as part of the N.Y. Shakespeare Festival season. This remarkable program gives a N.Y.C. season to artists who might otherwise be denied a showing, owing to the expense and difficulty of renting a theater. Selected by the Shakespeare Festival, funded by the Harkness Foundation, more than thirty-five groups representing a wide variety of dance have played every summer since 1962 to more than 168,000 people. The audience is composed of sophisticated theatergoers, eager to see work they would otherwise miss, as well as people who have never had the opportunity to see a dance concert before. The foundation also supports its own school (trainees receive a stipend as well as tuition), educational programs, and a performing unit of trainees who dance primarily for young people — the Harkness Youth Ballet.
Beginning in 1962, another major program was established to finance the U.S. and overseas tours of the Joffrey Ballet, then a small but highly respected company directed by Robert Joffrey, and to commission new works to augment its repertory. By 1964, the Harkness Foundation had decided to form its own company. Robert Joffrey was invited to join this company, but declined, preferring to maintain his own. This decision left Joffrey without continuing funds; some of his dancers joined the Harkness Ballet; and there was general misunderstanding that the Harkness Foundation had tried to take over the Joffrey company. The fact remained that the Joffrey Ballet had become established as a major company by aid from the Harkness Foundation, and it was able to continue its operations through a grant from the Ford Foundation. The Joffrey company retained permission to use many ballets, including decors and costumes, which had been commissioned by and which belong to the Harkness Foundation. The Joffrey Ballet has become even more prominent, and hopefully more secure, by becoming the resident company at New York City Center, the theater occupied by the N.Y.C. Ballet until it moved into the N. Y. State Theater at Lincoln Center. Now called City Center Joffrey Ballet, the company is composed of vivacious and talented young dancers, and has an attractive repertory, which includes important revivals. The bulk of new productions, however, is the work of Gerald Arpino, co-director and principal choreographer of the company.
The Harkness Ballet, the showpiece of the foundation, was founded in 1964. Mrs. Harkness does not administer or dominate the artistic policy of the company. Its success or failure is the responsibility of the artists involved. One of the most striking aspects of the Harkness Ballet is that it does not have the closedshop appearance of other leading companies. There is no principal choreographer, designer, costumer, or composer whose work receives preferential treatment. In its N.Y.C. debut in November, 1967, the company presented eighteen new works by eleven contemporary choreographers; thirteen different designers created the decors. Fourteen musical scores were by contemporary composers, eight commissioned for the company. The dancers are all young, and, with no established stars in their path, they may develop as fast as their talents allow. The repertory offered them covers a broad range of ballet styles, from nonobjective pure dance to dramatic pieces with strong narrative lines. These latter works offer roles which challenge the dancers not merely as athletes but as interpretive artists.
Perhaps the company’s proudest achievement to date is the international stardom acquired by Lawrence Rhodes. He is a dancer with spectacular physical technique, a master of the Bournonville as well as modern ballet styles; but beyond this he is a masterful actor-dancer. He is, in my opinion, the most accomplished American male ballet dancer, and one of the most gifted artists in the world. He began his career with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and spent four years with the Joffrey company before joining the Harkness Ballet at its inception. He profited from his association with these companies, but it was with the Harkness Ballet that he found the range of opportunity which allowed his unique talents to develop. Aside from the question of their own abilities, choreographers are limited by the caliber of the dancers available to them. In Rhodes they find a superb instrument who can perform their most complex designs and enrich them through his own interpretation.
Last August, Lawrence Rhodes was named artistic director of the company, and it is hoped that this new role will not deflect him from his performing career. Still in his twenties, he has not yet reached the peak of his strength or performing artistry. His appointment as director encourages the mood of youthful optimism that is a quality of the company. The vital and often neglected artistic post of lighting designer has been given to Gil Wechster, who recently completed his graduate work in theater at Yale. Among the new works scheduled for the coming U.S. season are ballets by Rudi van Dantzig, whose Monument for a Dead Boy was a popular success last season, by Richard Wagner, a member of the company who has already done several works for the repertory, and by Benjamin Harkarvy, one of those Americans who had to go abroad a decade ago to continue his career. Mr. Harkarvy founded and directs the Netherlands Dance Theater.
In large measure, the Harkness Ballet has provided for the ballet world the alternative that young people are demanding today in all areas of endeavor. They have not been forced out of their chosen field; they have been given an unequaled opportunity to work in the costly and complicated medium of the ballet. They do so without compromise, and with freedom to fail. They shape their own style. We wish them well.