World Enough and Time

World Enough and Time....Why I don't believe ballet is over

I have often felt a small tinge of alarm when I hear the word "like" which has crept into the vocabulary of our young, and into many older generations' speech as well. Jenifer Homans, in her article "Is Ballet Over?", speaks of today's ballet artists "not quite committing" as they dance. The word "like" is often inserted before a verb, as in "we were like hoping," " we were like thinking,", or "I was kinda like going this way..." If we accept the premise that there is probably a problem of commitment here, a fear of embracing action, and apply it toward the art of ballet, perhaps we can engage in a conversation about what we actually want to be committed to in the ballet world.

Some years ago, as a founding artistic director of a ballet company in a mid-sized city in the fly-over zone, I began asking questions about our purpose in the rapidly changing democracy in which we live and work and create art. What values do we hold that resonate in this world? How do we open our ballet world of idealistic hope and belief to others? How do we listen to what others say, and then nurture and create art and artists as members of a world, not a narrow kingdom? In ballet's history, artists who left the European capitals often returned with a greater understanding of what people bring to dance. I think particularly of the great Danish choreographer Auguste Bournonville (check spelling of both names please!) . By being attentive to other cultures and classes, he brought a recognizably human embrace to the ballet stage.

In a city like Memphis, with enormous social challenges and a culture so clearly enriched and influenced by black America, I have never felt that the white European aristocratic model was one in which we need to imprison ourselves. Neither did George Balanchine, as Ms. Homans points out so well. Exploring what others have to offer can broaden our language.