The Miami Balanchine Conference
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7/23/2019 The Miami Balanchine Conference
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The Miami Balanchine Conference: Tradition and InnovationAuthor(s): Dawn Lille HorwitzSource: Dance Research Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring, 1990), pp. 49-50Published by: Congress on Research in DanceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1477754Accessed: 10-03-2015 17:15 UTC
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7/23/2019 The Miami Balanchine Conference
2/3
dance forms.
Acknowledging
those
concerns and
providing
materials
and
instructors o address
hem,
was
one of
the
goals
at east
partially
chieved
at
the
1989 conference.
Gigi
M. Berardi
LoyolaMarymountUniversity
THE MIAMI BALANCHINE
CON-
FERENCE:
TRADITION AND
INNOVATION
(Miami-Dade
Commu-
nity
College,
Florida,
10-12
November
1989)
Many
dance historians
were attracted o
this
conference
by
the
promised
ap-
pearance
of three Russian
experts
(two
of
whom were on
their irst
forays
out
of
Russia),
and
the
prospect
of their
ex-
changes
with
some of their
American
counterparts.
Elizabeth
Souritz
(critic
and
historian,
whose
publications
in-
clude a
book on Russia
n
the
'20s),
Vera
Krasovskaya
ballet
critic,
historian,
nd
former
dancer),
and Vadim
Gayevsky
(an
arts critic who
has
written exten-
sively
about
Balanchine)
were
indeed
informative
and
gracious
participants,
speaking
individually,
appearing
on
panels,
and
commentingthroughout.
In
her
keynote
address,
George
Bal-
anchine:
Tradition
and
Innovation,
AnnaKisselgoff remindedus that Lin-
coln
Kirstein
had once
referred
o
T.
S.
Eliot's
essay
Traditionand the
Indi-
vidual
Talent as
Balanchine's
credo:
Eliot
believed
that nnovation
could not
take
place
without
tradition. Ms.
Kis-
selgoff
said that
Balanchine,
like
the
poet,
saw no
problem
n
representing
he
two
strains,
often
simultaneously.
She
went
on
to
say
that
Petipa
was
surely
Balanchine's
spiritual
ather,
but
that
more
of his
training
ook
place
afterthe
revolution
(he
entered school
in
1913
and left in
1921)
and that his
family
background
was
decidedly
left
wing.
Additionally,
Goleizovsky
and
Lopokov
influenced
him
and he at
least
knew
of
Meyerhold's
1912
version of
Orpheus,
even if
he did
not see it. On the tradi-
tional
ide,
theRussian
Orthodox
Church
affected
his
philosophy,
andhe was
con-
dance forms.
Acknowledging
those
concerns and
providing
materials
and
instructors o address
hem,
was
one of
the
goals
at east
partially
chieved
at
the
1989 conference.
Gigi
M. Berardi
LoyolaMarymountUniversity
THE MIAMI BALANCHINE
CON-
FERENCE:
TRADITION AND
INNOVATION
(Miami-Dade
Commu-
nity
College,
Florida,
10-12
November
1989)
Many
dance historians
were attracted o
this
conference
by
the
promised
ap-
pearance
of three Russian
experts
(two
of
whom were on
their irst
forays
out
of
Russia),
and
the
prospect
of their
ex-
changes
with
some of their
American
counterparts.
Elizabeth
Souritz
(critic
and
historian,
whose
publications
in-
clude a
book on Russia
n
the
'20s),
Vera
Krasovskaya
ballet
critic,
historian,
nd
former
dancer),
and Vadim
Gayevsky
(an
arts critic who
has
written exten-
sively
about
Balanchine)
were
indeed
informative
and
gracious
participants,
speaking
individually,
appearing
on
panels,
and
commentingthroughout.
In
her
keynote
address,
George
Bal-
anchine:
Tradition
and
Innovation,
AnnaKisselgoff remindedus that Lin-
coln
Kirstein
had once
referred
o
T.
S.
Eliot's
essay
Traditionand the
Indi-
vidual
Talent as
Balanchine's
credo:
Eliot
believed
that nnovation
could not
take
place
without
tradition. Ms.
Kis-
selgoff
said that
Balanchine,
like
the
poet,
saw no
problem
n
representing
he
two
strains,
often
simultaneously.
She
went
on
to
say
that
Petipa
was
surely
Balanchine's
spiritual
ather,
but
that
more
of his
training
ook
place
afterthe
revolution
(he
entered school
in
1913
and left in
1921)
and that his
family
background
was
decidedly
left
wing.
Additionally,
Goleizovsky
and
Lopokov
influenced
him
and he at
least
knew
of
Meyerhold's
1912
version of
Orpheus,
even if
he did
not see it. On the tradi-
tional
ide,
theRussian
Orthodox
Church
affected
his
philosophy,
andhe was
con-
nected
with and
influenced
by
both
the
Danish and
Frenchschools. Thus
Kis-
nected
with and
influenced
by
both
the
Danish and
Frenchschools. Thus
Kis-
selgoff
sees
Balanchineas
looking
both
backward nd
orwardwith
equanimity.
She feels
this
duality
can be
clearly
seen
in
Concerto
Barocco,
a
work she de-
scribed as
his best ballet in a later
discussion.
Kasyan Goleizovsky
and
Fyodor
Lopokov
were also
discussed
by
the
Russians. Souritz
noted
the
enthusiasm
of the Young BalletGroupfor the for-
mer,
and
postulated
hat
Balanchine
was
probably
attracted
by Goleizovsky's
academic
background. Gayevsky
felt
that
Goleizovsky
made an
impression
on
Balanchine,
but
exerted no
tangible
influence. For
Gayevsky,
it
was
Lopokov's
dance
symphony
The
Mag-
nitude
of
the
Universe,
choreographed
to Beethoven's
Fourth
Symphony,
hat
really
had a
lasting
effect on Balanch-
ine,
andservedas
the
prototype
ormuch
of his later
work. In
Gayevsky'sopinion
Balanchine ulfilled
Lopokov's slogan,
Onward o
Petipa.
For
Krasovskaya
Lopokov's
nfluence
evealed tselfmore
in
opposition.
She
pointed
out that
he
preserved
he best
ballets of
Petipa
and
she
felt that t was
not thelibrettoof
The
Magnitude
of
the
Universe,
but
rather
the inner
concept,
the
battleof
light
and
dark
centering
about
dance
itself,
that
influenced
Balanchine.
Souritz re-
mindedher
audiencethat
Lopokov
was
the Director
when
Balanchinejoined
he
former Maryinskycompany, and that
the
young
dancer
not
only
saw how he
reconstructed
Petipa's
ballets,
but
per-
formed n some of
Lopokov's
own,
more
radical
works.
Souritz,
n
her
paper
AvantGarde
n
Balanchine's
Youth,
also
pointed
out
thathe
received the
best of
the old tradi-
tion
as well
as the
new
freedoms and
possibilities
available after
1919. He
saw the
AvantGardeof
Moscow,
which
travelled
to
Leningrad;
he saw art ex-
hibits;
and
he
probably
aw the work
of
Radlov, who,
in
his
form of
popular
theater,
workedwith
commedia
dell'arte,
acrobatics,
opical
subjects,
and
circus
acts. When Radlov
went
into academic
theater
he even
invited Balanchine to
choreograph
for
him.
Souritz
spoke
about
Balanchine's
associationwith the
Factory
of
Eccentric
Actors,
who
copied
selgoff
sees
Balanchineas
looking
both
backward nd
orwardwith
equanimity.
She feels
this
duality
can be
clearly
seen
in
Concerto
Barocco,
a
work she de-
scribed as
his best ballet in a later
discussion.
Kasyan Goleizovsky
and
Fyodor
Lopokov
were also
discussed
by
the
Russians. Souritz
noted
the
enthusiasm
of the Young BalletGroupfor the for-
mer,
and
postulated
hat
Balanchine
was
probably
attracted
by Goleizovsky's
academic
background. Gayevsky
felt
that
Goleizovsky
made an
impression
on
Balanchine,
but
exerted no
tangible
influence. For
Gayevsky,
it
was
Lopokov's
dance
symphony
The
Mag-
nitude
of
the
Universe,
choreographed
to Beethoven's
Fourth
Symphony,
hat
really
had a
lasting
effect on Balanch-
ine,
andservedas
the
prototype
ormuch
of his later
work. In
Gayevsky'sopinion
Balanchine ulfilled
Lopokov's slogan,
Onward o
Petipa.
For
Krasovskaya
Lopokov's
nfluence
evealed tselfmore
in
opposition.
She
pointed
out that
he
preserved
he best
ballets of
Petipa
and
she
felt that t was
not thelibrettoof
The
Magnitude
of
the
Universe,
but
rather
the inner
concept,
the
battleof
light
and
dark
centering
about
dance
itself,
that
influenced
Balanchine.
Souritz re-
mindedher
audiencethat
Lopokov
was
the Director
when
Balanchinejoined
he
former Maryinskycompany, and that
the
young
dancer
not
only
saw how he
reconstructed
Petipa's
ballets,
but
per-
formed n some of
Lopokov's
own,
more
radical
works.
Souritz,
n
her
paper
AvantGarde
n
Balanchine's
Youth,
also
pointed
out
thathe
received the
best of
the old tradi-
tion
as well
as the
new
freedoms and
possibilities
available after
1919. He
saw the
AvantGardeof
Moscow,
which
travelled
to
Leningrad;
he saw art ex-
hibits;
and
he
probably
aw the work
of
Radlov, who,
in
his
form of
popular
theater,
workedwith
commedia
dell'arte,
acrobatics,
opical
subjects,
and
circus
acts. When Radlov
went
into academic
theater
he even
invited Balanchine to
choreograph
for
him.
Souritz
spoke
about
Balanchine's
associationwith the
Factory
of
Eccentric
Actors,
who
copied
Charlie
Chaplin
and
employed
jazz
music.
She saidBalanchine
aw
Isadora
Charlie
Chaplin
and
employed
jazz
music.
She saidBalanchine
aw
Isadora
Duncanat least
twice and
probably
aw
some
of the German
dance thatcame to
Russia. She
also
thought
t
possible
that
he saw
Foregger's
tremendously
suc-
cessful machine dancers. Souritzcon-
cluded
by saying
that most of
these
things
did
not
necessarily
have a
great
influence on
him,
but
they
surely
had
some
impact
on his
future
work,
espe-
cially theDiaghilev productions.
Gayevsky's paper,
Balanchinen the
Early
20s,
hadbeen
ranslatedn
Russia
and was
read
by
SelmaJeanne
Cohen.
Gayevsky
prefaced
he
readingby
say-
ing
that he
had
just
spent
four
days
in
New
York
City
on his first
visit to the
United States and for the first
time he
realized
that Balanchinehad
included
much of this
extraordinary ity
in his
dances.
He
compared
Balanchine's
ability
to see
more as an
outsider to
Petipa,
he
Frenchman, oing
to
Russia.
Mr.
Gayevsky
then
asked Ms.
Cohen to
read what he
wrote before
coming
to
New York. He went
back
to
1958
when
the Paris
Opera's
production
of
Balanchine's
The
Ciystal
Palace was
performed
n Russia.
Arriving
in the
midst
of a
period
of
awful
dramatic
ballets,
this workbecame
the model for
a new wave of
Russian
choreographers.
It was
seen
again
in
Russia four
years
later as
Symphonie
n
C when the
New
York
City
Ballet
performed
t there. To
Gayevsky,this work,althoughderived
fromthe
interpretation
f
the
music,
has
a
meaning
of its
own-an
interplay
of
separations
and
unifications.
In her
paper,
The
Petipa
Heritage
and
Classicism,
Krasovskaya
pointed
out
that the Russian
Revolution came
between
Petipa
and
Balanchine,
and
hat
the atter
was one of the
fortunate ew on
whom
the revolutionhad a
wholesome
effect;
people
like Fokine
belonged
to
an earlier era and those
younger
than
Balanchine
maturedat a
time of
little
creative
freedom.
Krasovskaya
dis-
cussed
the rich tradition
of the
Russian
Ballet
School,
which,
when
Raymonda
Variations
was
seen
in
1962,
under-
stood
Balanchine's
respect
for
Petipa
better
than
anyone.
She
concluded
by
commenting
on
the
current
productions
in Russia of
Themeand
Variationsand
Duncanat least
twice and
probably
aw
some
of the German
dance thatcame to
Russia. She
also
thought
t
possible
that
he saw
Foregger's
tremendously
suc-
cessful machine dancers. Souritzcon-
cluded
by saying
that most of
these
things
did
not
necessarily
have a
great
influence on
him,
but
they
surely
had
some
impact
on his
future
work,
espe-
cially theDiaghilev productions.
Gayevsky's paper,
Balanchinen the
Early
20s,
hadbeen
ranslatedn
Russia
and was
read
by
SelmaJeanne
Cohen.
Gayevsky
prefaced
he
readingby
say-
ing
that he
had
just
spent
four
days
in
New
York
City
on his first
visit to the
United States and for the first
time he
realized
that Balanchinehad
included
much of this
extraordinary ity
in his
dances.
He
compared
Balanchine's
ability
to see
more as an
outsider to
Petipa,
he
Frenchman, oing
to
Russia.
Mr.
Gayevsky
then
asked Ms.
Cohen to
read what he
wrote before
coming
to
New York. He went
back
to
1958
when
the Paris
Opera's
production
of
Balanchine's
The
Ciystal
Palace was
performed
n Russia.
Arriving
in the
midst
of a
period
of
awful
dramatic
ballets,
this workbecame
the model for
a new wave of
Russian
choreographers.
It was
seen
again
in
Russia four
years
later as
Symphonie
n
C when the
New
York
City
Ballet
performed
t there. To
Gayevsky,this work,althoughderived
fromthe
interpretation
f
the
music,
has
a
meaning
of its
own-an
interplay
of
separations
and
unifications.
In her
paper,
The
Petipa
Heritage
and
Classicism,
Krasovskaya
pointed
out
that the Russian
Revolution came
between
Petipa
and
Balanchine,
and
hat
the atter
was one of the
fortunate ew on
whom
the revolutionhad a
wholesome
effect;
people
like Fokine
belonged
to
an earlier era and those
younger
than
Balanchine
maturedat a
time of
little
creative
freedom.
Krasovskaya
dis-
cussed
the rich tradition
of the
Russian
Ballet
School,
which,
when
Raymonda
Variations
was
seen
in
1962,
under-
stood
Balanchine's
respect
for
Petipa
better
than
anyone.
She
concluded
by
commenting
on
the
current
productions
in Russia of
Themeand
Variationsand
Scotch
Symphonie,
which
she
faulted
for their mechanicalness
and lack of
Scotch
Symphonie,
which
she
faulted
for their mechanicalness
and lack of
Dance
ResearchJournal
2/1
(Spring
1990)
49
ance
ResearchJournal
2/1
(Spring
1990)
49
This content downloaded from 160.80.178.241 on Tue, 10 Mar 2015 17:15:44 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/23/2019 The Miami Balanchine Conference
3/3
fluidity
and inner
poetry.
Nonetheless,
Krasovskayaexpressed
her admiration
for
Oleg
Vinogradev,
who returned
Balanchine
o
the
stage
where
he
began.
Surveys
of Balanchine's
choreogra-
phy
were
given
by
Dawn Lille Horwitz
( The
Diaghilev
Years ),
Francis
Ma-
son
( Ballets
1933and
heBalletsRusses
de
Monte
Carlo ),
and
Nancy Reynolds
( The New York City Ballet ). Ms.
Reynolds
and Mr. Mason also
partici-
pated
on
later
panels. They
interviewed
former Balanchine
dancers
Marie
Jeanne,
Esmeralda
Agoglia,
Elyse
Bourne,
Suki
Schorer,
and Edward
Villella.
SukiSchorer's
ecture-demonstration,
Balanchine
Technique
and
Style,
with
Miami
City
BalletdancerNatalie
Hauser,
was a summation
of Ms. Schorer's
own
experience
with
Balanchine,
both on
stage
and in the classroom.
Citing
en-
ergy,
speed, high
extensions,
and
the
ability
to be
slightly
aheadof the
music
as some characteristics
equired
o dance
his
work,
she reminded us
that in dis-
cussing
a Balanchine
class she was
referring
o
a
company
class,
not one
to train dancers.
She recalled
that oc-
casionally
there were
no
plies,
but that
pictures
and
mages
were
always part
of
the
coaching
vocabulary.
Balanchine
nd
Music,
a
thoughtful
paper by
Alan
Kriegsman,
reminded
many hat hisdancecriticwas trained s
a
musicologist.
He
covered what
he
termed five
conspicuous
actors n the
choreographer's
elationship
o
music:
Balanchine's own
musicianship;
the
fact that his
choreography
was
not with
or to the
music,
but
came
from
deep
within
t;
the
catholicity
of
his
taste;
the
revelatory
character
of the
choreogra-
phy (e.g.,
while
watching
the dance we
hear
aspects
of the music we neverheard
before);
and the transcendent
spect
of
his
treatment
f
music.
Calling
his
own
approach
a
philosophical
one,
Mr. Kri-
egsman
termed Balanchine's
choreog-
raphy
both
holistic and
holographic
n
its
relationship
to
music,
in
the sense
that
he saw the whole score
in his cho-
reographic layout,
but that
any
small
section
of the
choreography
was
equally
capable
of
reproducing
heentire
mage.
fluidity
and inner
poetry.
Nonetheless,
Krasovskayaexpressed
her admiration
for
Oleg
Vinogradev,
who returned
Balanchine
o
the
stage
where
he
began.
Surveys
of Balanchine's
choreogra-
phy
were
given
by
Dawn Lille Horwitz
( The
Diaghilev
Years ),
Francis
Ma-
son
( Ballets
1933and
heBalletsRusses
de
Monte
Carlo ),
and
Nancy Reynolds
( The New York City Ballet ). Ms.
Reynolds
and Mr. Mason also
partici-
pated
on
later
panels. They
interviewed
former Balanchine
dancers
Marie
Jeanne,
Esmeralda
Agoglia,
Elyse
Bourne,
Suki
Schorer,
and Edward
Villella.
SukiSchorer's
ecture-demonstration,
Balanchine
Technique
and
Style,
with
Miami
City
BalletdancerNatalie
Hauser,
was a summation
of Ms. Schorer's
own
experience
with
Balanchine,
both on
stage
and in the classroom.
Citing
en-
ergy,
speed, high
extensions,
and
the
ability
to be
slightly
aheadof the
music
as some characteristics
equired
o dance
his
work,
she reminded us
that in dis-
cussing
a Balanchine
class she was
referring
o
a
company
class,
not one
to train dancers.
She recalled
that oc-
casionally
there were
no
plies,
but that
pictures
and
mages
were
always part
of
the
coaching
vocabulary.
Balanchine
nd
Music,
a
thoughtful
paper by
Alan
Kriegsman,
reminded
many hat hisdancecriticwas trained s
a
musicologist.
He
covered what
he
termed five
conspicuous
actors n the
choreographer's
elationship
o
music:
Balanchine's own
musicianship;
the
fact that his
choreography
was
not with
or to the
music,
but
came
from
deep
within
t;
the
catholicity
of
his
taste;
the
revelatory
character
of the
choreogra-
phy (e.g.,
while
watching
the dance we
hear
aspects
of the music we neverheard
before);
and the transcendent
spect
of
his
treatment
f
music.
Calling
his
own
approach
a
philosophical
one,
Mr. Kri-
egsman
termed Balanchine's
choreog-
raphy
both
holistic and
holographic
n
its
relationship
to
music,
in
the sense
that
he saw the whole score
in his cho-
reographic layout,
but that
any
small
section
of the
choreography
was
equally
capable
of
reproducing
heentire
mage.
The last
day
of the conference
in-
cluded a
talk
on
Balanchine's
Rela-
The last
day
of the conference
in-
cluded a
talk
on
Balanchine's
Rela-
tionship
to
Modernism
by Roger
Copeland. Copeland
suggested
that
Balanchine
was modern
n several
ways:
the
concept
that less
is
more,
andartcriticClement
Greenberg's
defi-
nition of modern
as
being
that art
which deals
only
with
its
own
intrinsic
values.
The
concludingpanel,
Balanchine nd
the Evolution of 20th CenturyDance,
provided
a final
meeting
ground
or the
Russiansand
Americans. Selma
Jeanne
Cohen,
moderator,
opened
the discus-
sion
by
asking
about
he
significance
of
Balanchine's
works,
both
today
and
in
the future.
Kisselgoff
stated
her
opinion
that he Balanchine
echnique
s
going
to
change,
and
that the New
York
City
Ballet
may very
well
collapse.
Kra-
sovskaya
compared
Balanchine's and
Vaganova's
devotion otheirart.Souritz
discussed
the effect
of
Balanchine's
statement,
The
meaning
of
the
dance
s
the
dance,
on her and the
currentRus-
sian
dance. No conclusions
were
reached.
The
appearance
of Miami
before
Balanchine
n
the title of
this
confer-
ence
seems a bit
presumptuous.
How-
ever,
whenone realizesthat an interest
in
Balanchine nda
commitmento dance
is
fairly
recent
n
this
city,
and thatover
250
people
attendedhis weekend
which
was
supported
by
the Miami-Dade
CommunityCollege, thecity, the state,
and the
National Endowment
for the
Humanities,
Miami's
pride
is under-
standable.
Dawn
Lille Horwitz
City College
of New York
CORD CONFERENCE
(Cascades
Conference
Center,
Colonial
Wil-
liamsburg, Virginia,
16-19 November
1989)
What a
delight
to be
part
of an
experi-
ence thatwove
together
with such
mas-
tery
panels, workshops,
performances,
locale,
and theme.
Special
commenda-
tions
go
to
conference
organizers
Susan
Bindig,
Merry
Feyock,
and
Vicky
Ri-
sner
Wulff,
and to
the
conference
host,
tionship
to
Modernism
by Roger
Copeland. Copeland
suggested
that
Balanchine
was modern
n several
ways:
the
concept
that less
is
more,
andartcriticClement
Greenberg's
defi-
nition of modern
as
being
that art
which deals
only
with
its
own
intrinsic
values.
The
concludingpanel,
Balanchine nd
the Evolution of 20th CenturyDance,
provided
a final
meeting
ground
or the
Russiansand
Americans. Selma
Jeanne
Cohen,
moderator,
opened
the discus-
sion
by
asking
about
he
significance
of
Balanchine's
works,
both
today
and
in
the future.
Kisselgoff
stated
her
opinion
that he Balanchine
echnique
s
going
to
change,
and
that the New
York
City
Ballet
may very
well
collapse.
Kra-
sovskaya
compared
Balanchine's and
Vaganova's
devotion otheirart.Souritz
discussed
the effect
of
Balanchine's
statement,
The
meaning
of
the
dance
s
the
dance,
on her and the
currentRus-
sian
dance. No conclusions
were
reached.
The
appearance
of Miami
before
Balanchine
n
the title of
this
confer-
ence
seems a bit
presumptuous.
How-
ever,
whenone realizesthat an interest
in
Balanchine nda
commitmento dance
is
fairly
recent
n
this
city,
and thatover
250
people
attendedhis weekend
which
was
supported
by
the Miami-Dade
CommunityCollege, thecity, the state,
and the
National Endowment
for the
Humanities,
Miami's
pride
is under-
standable.
Dawn
Lille Horwitz
City College
of New York
CORD CONFERENCE
(Cascades
Conference
Center,
Colonial
Wil-
liamsburg, Virginia,
16-19 November
1989)
What a
delight
to be
part
of an
experi-
ence thatwove
together
with such
mas-
tery
panels, workshops,
performances,
locale,
and theme.
Special
commenda-
tions
go
to
conference
organizers
Susan
Bindig,
Merry
Feyock,
and
Vicky
Ri-
sner
Wulff,
and to
the
conference
host,
Colonial
Williamsburg.Everyaspect
of
the
conference,
titled Dance
in
the
Colonial
Williamsburg.Everyaspect
of
the
conference,
titled Dance
in
the
Americas:
Past,
Present,
&
Future,
contributed
to the
celebration
of
the
diversity
of dance
as
part
of American
culture.
The conference
was
grandly
successful
in all
of its
phases,
from the
keynote panel's thoughts
on
Dance and
CulturalConservation
nd
various
chol-
arly presentations
to
workshops
and
performances
f
dance such
as
Dance
in Virginia: 1607-1824, and The
King's
Birthnight
Ball,
an
eighteenth
century
celebration
of music anddance.
As Allen Jabbour tated
in
his
keynote
address,
cultural
conservation
needs
equal parts
of
research,
documentation,
and
sharing.
Dance
in the Americas
serves
as an
example
of how the conser-
vation of danceas culture
can succeed.
Colonial
Williamsburg
is a
living
history
museum
ndeavoring
o
preserve
the
architecture,
dress, customs,
and
mannerismsof
eighteenth
century
Vir-
ginia.
To
that end
Merry Feyock,
su-
pervisor
of
dance
for Colonial
Wil-
liamsburg,
described
how their
program
encourages
dance
rehearsal,
perform-
ance,
andresearch
n
eighteenth
entury
dance
orms,
deportment,
nd
echnique.
Today,
sixty
dancers
perform hrough-
out the
historic area and
provide
an
educational
as well as an
entertaining
experience
or visitors.
William
White,
Director
of
the
Company
of the Colonial
Performers,
n his
paper Performing
Arts and Living History Museumsor
Damn These Colonials...
They
will
be
the Death of me
yet
showed how three
forms of the historic
model are utilized
at
Colonial
Williamsburg.
The
sym-
bolic model
provides
interpretivepro-
grams
which allow vivid communica-
tion with the
visitor,
the
iconic model
presents
a one-on-one
segment
of
past
life,
and the
analogic
model allows the
past
and
present
to meet
in
the interac-
tionbetween he Colonial
performer
nd
the visitor. These
three
techniques
re-
construct he
reality
of life in the
past
in
a
dynamic
and educational
way.
In
her
workshop,
Planting
and Cul-
tivating
Dance
in
Living
History
Mu-
seums,
CrystelleTrump
Bond detailed
from
personal experience
how dance
history
research,
reconstruction,
and
performance
an
succeed in a
variety
of
Americas:
Past,
Present,
&
Future,
contributed
to the
celebration
of
the
diversity
of dance
as
part
of American
culture.
The conference
was
grandly
successful
in all
of its
phases,
from the
keynote panel's thoughts
on
Dance and
CulturalConservation
nd
various
chol-
arly presentations
to
workshops
and
performances
f
dance such
as
Dance
in Virginia: 1607-1824, and The
King's
Birthnight
Ball,
an
eighteenth
century
celebration
of music anddance.
As Allen Jabbour tated
in
his
keynote
address,
cultural
conservation
needs
equal parts
of
research,
documentation,
and
sharing.
Dance
in the Americas
serves
as an
example
of how the conser-
vation of danceas culture
can succeed.
Colonial
Williamsburg
is a
living
history
museum
ndeavoring
o
preserve
the
architecture,
dress, customs,
and
mannerismsof
eighteenth
century
Vir-
ginia.
To
that end
Merry Feyock,
su-
pervisor
of
dance
for Colonial
Wil-
liamsburg,
described
how their
program
encourages
dance
rehearsal,
perform-
ance,
andresearch
n
eighteenth
entury
dance
orms,
deportment,
nd
echnique.
Today,
sixty
dancers
perform hrough-
out the
historic area and
provide
an
educational
as well as an
entertaining
experience
or visitors.
William
White,
Director
of
the
Company
of the Colonial
Performers,
n his
paper Performing
Arts and Living History Museumsor
Damn These Colonials...
They
will
be
the Death of me
yet
showed how three
forms of the historic
model are utilized
at
Colonial
Williamsburg.
The
sym-
bolic model
provides
interpretivepro-
grams
which allow vivid communica-
tion with the
visitor,
the
iconic model
presents
a one-on-one
segment
of
past
life,
and the
analogic
model allows the
past
and
present
to meet
in
the interac-
tionbetween he Colonial
performer
nd
the visitor. These
three
techniques
re-
construct he
reality
of life in the
past
in
a
dynamic
and educational
way.
In
her
workshop,
Planting
and Cul-
tivating
Dance
in
Living
History
Mu-
seums,
CrystelleTrump
Bond detailed
from
personal experience
how dance
history
research,
reconstruction,
and
performance
an
succeed in a
variety
of
living history settings.
Her
problem-
solving
ideas
for
developingearly
dance
living history settings.
Her
problem-
solving
ideas
for
developingearly
dance
50
Dance
ResearchJournal
2/1
(Spring
1990)
0
Dance
ResearchJournal
2/1
(Spring
1990)
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