Dance in Saratoga Springs

by Denise Warner Limoli

  Children’s Workshop on the Lawn with a dancer from the New York City Ballet. Photo by Richard Cohen, courtesy of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

  In 1983, the Freihofer Baking Company began its program of sponsoring free lawn passes to the ballet for children. As a result, countless local children have grown up on the lawn of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Generations of parents have been grateful for the exposure to world-class performing arts as part of their children’s education.

  Herb Chesbrough, president of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, commented, “Over time, we are confident that the fact that they’ve been here, understood and had fun, will bring them back at some point in their lives.”153

  The Children’s Workshops on the Lawn are sponsored by the Albany Medical Center. New York City Ballet dancers offer lively participatory activities for young children and their families, giving them a chance to “dance” with the professionals.154

  The Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s efforts spread beyond the venue itself when, in 1993, it initiated an integrated arts education program in public schools. Class Action was a program that brought singers, dancers and musicians into the classrooms to introduce students in grades five through seven to classical music and ballet. Instructional materials were provided to the teachers, who created lesson plans around a particular work. A musician or dancer then visited the classroom, thus forming a personal connection between the students and performer. Finally, students and teachers attended a performance of the same work they studied, performed by the same artist they met. Students who completed this two-year program received a free lawn pass for every summer season through their junior year of high school.

  This outstanding model arts education program has been sponsored by many local and regional companies, such as Time Warner Cable, CDPHP, the Freedom Forum, Taylor Made, Target, McGregor Links Foundation and Aramark. Now sponsored by Union College, Class Action was renamed Classical Kids in 2009.155

  The Saratoga Performing Arts Center Action Council also provides support for educational outreach and audience enrichment. Since 2005, the Vivienne Anderson Children’s Program gives underprivileged children the chance to visit the National Museum of Dance, meet a New York City Ballet dancer and see a matinee ballet performance. This program has introduced over 1,500 children to the performing arts, an opportunity many would otherwise not have had.156

  EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS

  Beginning in 1986, the National Museum of Dance sponsored free lectures and Pre-Curtain Talks for adults. Presented by trained museum docents and local dance professionals, audience members gained insight into that evening’s dance program. The talks moved in 1990 from the museum to the gazebo on the Saratoga Performing Arts Center lawn and continued for several seasons. Antoinette (Toni) Smith, who was the director in the summer of 1990, said, “This is a learning museum rather than a fine arts museum. It is a dance museum, and dance is about movement, so we have to showcase this movement in everything we present.”157

  Saratoga Performing Arts Center educational programs have expanded to include several opportunities for adults on-site. In 2008, the informative presentations before the ballet performances returned.

  The Pre-Performance Talks are ticketed events held near the Hall of Springs. This program boasts a roster of first-rate professional dancers, choreographers, dance writers and ballet conductors.

  Past lectures have included: “NYCB 2000, Flexibility and Constancy” by ballet master in chief Peter Martins, “Dancing at the Speed of Balanchine” by former principal dancer Merrill Ashley and “Balanchine’s Relationship with Stravinsky’s Music” by ballet conductor Andrea Quinn. Well-known dance writer Deborah Jowitt presented “Games, Dreams and Dancing Like Fred Astaire: The Diverse Aspects of Jerome Robbins,” and writer Mindy Aloff lectured on “Lincoln Kirstein’s Taste in Art.” Several local arts personalities have hosted and introduced these distinguished guests, including Skidmore professor emeritus Charles Joseph, an expert on Stravinsky and Jay Rogoff who writes on dance for the Saratogian. Former New York City Ballet dancers Robert Maiorano and brothers William and David Otto have hosted interviews with their colleagues.158

  The New York City Ballet initiated the newest pre-performance experience in 2011. See the Music is a program that showcases the New York City Ballet orchestra and company’s extensive musical repertoire. The conductor briefly discusses the musical selections in that evening’s program, and the orchestra plays excerpts of the piece.159 Former soloist David Otto remembers that George Balanchine frequently said, “You must hear the dance and see the music.”160

  DANCE ACTIVITIES AT SARATOGA SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL

  Mary Ann Fantauzzi is a Saratoga Springs High School mathematics teacher who works tirelessly to bring dance into her students’ lives. Ms. Fantauzzi is a long-term docent for the National Museum of Dance, the president of the Dance Alliance and a loyal fan of the New York City Ballet. She is the owner of the local fitness studio Total Body Trifecta, where she has been teaching the “NYCB Workout” since 1997.161 Through her annual training and re-certification, Ms. Fantauzzi has developed a close relationship with the New York City Ballet, which is advantageous to her ongoing efforts in dance education here in Saratoga Springs.

  At the high school, Ms. Fantauzzi created a physical education dance elective course that incorporates the NYCB Workout into a comprehensive curriculum. Students gain a complete experience that combines lecture, video observation, creative work and movement participation. Ms. Fantauzzi’s Saratoga Springs High School course is the only officially sanctioned NYCB Workout program outside New York City, and it fulfills the mandated New York State dance curriculum for public schools. On video, students study samples of the company’s repertoire and hear dancers speak about the works. Students then have the opportunity to create their own choreography inspired by the ballet they studied. They also do the NYCB Workout exercise program throughout the term. In addition to the course, all participants take a guided tour of the National Museum of Dance and receive free lawn tickets for a ballet performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

  MOVE Dance Club at Saratoga Springs High School. Photo provided by Mary Ann Fantauzzi.

  Mary Ann Fantauzzi also administers an after-school dance program in the high school. In 2001, the Dance Alliance’s Youth Outreach program began and funded a dance group whose mission was to “accept and celebrate diversity through dance.” Under the guidance of dancers from Skidmore College, students create and perform their own work. The group adopted the name MOVE and now is an officially sanctioned student club at the high school.

  In addition to her regular dance activities, Ms. Fantauzzi recently brought two dancers from the New York City Ballet to speak in high school music and English classes. Andrew Scordato and Justin Peck discussed Stravinsky’s Firebird with orchestra players, and they used scenes from Peter Martin’s ballet Romeo+Juliet and Jerome Robbins’s West Side Story in the English classes to illustrate themes from Shakespeare’s play.162

  Thanks to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the New York City Ballet, the students of Saratoga Springs have had the opportunity to learn directly from dancers and musicians who are at the top of their professions. The opportunity to attend performances free of charge encourages students to make the arts a meaningful part of their lives now and in the future.

  Chapter 10

  NEW YORK STATE SUMMER SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (NYSSSA)

  THE SCHOOL OF BALLET

  The Saratoga Performing Arts Center had already established the city of Saratoga Springs as an exciting destination for those who love the arts. The success of the three training schools sponsored by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra had prepared the way for an expanded statewide arts education program.

  In the late 1960s, Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered the New York State Education Department to conduct a study on the status of the arts and humanit
ies in New York. After the findings, the New York State legislature voted to support a summer arts education program for New York’s gifted students. In 1970, the New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA) introduced the School of Orchestral Studies in Saratoga Springs. The school was directed by Maestro Eugene Ormandy, who chose a faculty of musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra. Students were accepted by audition, regardless of ability to pay. The success of this school led to the 1976 addition of five new programs: the Schools of Media Arts, Choral Studies, Theatre, Visual Arts and Ballet.

  To coincide with the summer residency of the New York City Ballet, the School of Ballet is also located in Saratoga Springs. The artistic directors and faculty of the School of Ballet are all dancers or teachers from the company. They deliver a curriculum that includes classes in ballet technique, pointe, men’s technique, repertoire, character dance and pas de deux. Students perform a demonstration of their work at the end of the program.

  The professional staff has complete control over the audition process. Auditions are held in three locations around New York: in Saratoga Springs, at the School of American Ballet in New York City and at SUNY Brockport. Each year, a group of thirty-five dancers, ages eleven to eighteen, is chosen. Students regularly attend ballet performances at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and many have the opportunity to perform with the New York City Ballet when the repertoire requires young dancers.

  Melissa Hayden directed the pilot program, and Ricky Weiss was the first long-term director, assisted by Bojan Spassof. Subsequent directors have included Heather Watts and Damien Woetzel; Jenifer Ringer and Daniel Ulbricht currently direct the school. A master teacher from the School of American Ballet, Olga Kostritsky has been instrumental in building the program.

  Prior to 1992, the School of Ballet utilized various locations around the city because the Skidmore College dance facilities were in use during July. Students were housed on campus, but they were bussed to Lake Avenue School, Spa Little Theatre and Skidmore’s Moore Hall for classes. Open spaces in these buildings were adapted into studios with a state-of-the-art portable dance floor designed by New York City Ballet’s production manager, Eddie Bigelow.163

  THE SCHOOL OF DANCE

  By the 1980s, dance fans were enjoying modern dance performances at the Spa Little Theatre and exploring the exhibits at Saratoga’s newest gem, the National Museum of Dance.

  The New York State legislature supplied funding to open two additional arts schools in 1988—the School of (Modern) Dance and the School of Jazz (Music). Saratoga Springs was the chosen location, due to the multitude of dance activities in the city and its proximity to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Bennington College.

  Carolyn Adams, a well-known dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, was selected as artistic director. She had connections throughout the diverse modern dance world.

  Carolyn Adams and her sister, Julie Adams Strandberg, had founded the American Dance Legacy Institute, a program that preserves the work of the pioneers of modern dance. They adapted this program’s comprehensive college curriculum for the summer high school students. Some of the early choreographers who worked directly with students were Donald McKayle, Anna Sokolow, Mary Anthony and Daniel Nagrin.

  The current curriculum also represents the work of contemporary choreographers. Students study dance techniques, repertory, composition and music for dance. The exhibits and programs at the National Museum of Dance are an integral part of the course, and students attend modern dance performances whenever possible. At the close of the session, students perform the repertory they have learned and their own original work in a final showcase at the Skidmore Dance Theater.

  Contemporary teachers have included members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Robert Battle’s Battleworks and the David Parsons Dance Company. Guest artists from visiting companies also offer master classes.

  The School of Dance students and staff have been housed on the Skidmore College campus. For the first five years, all classes were held in the Skidmore dance studios that were available during the August program.

  Groundbreaking for the Lewis A. Swyer School of the Arts, with Carolyn Adams, Heather Watts, Edward Swyer, Marylou Whitney and others. Photo provided by the National Museum of Dance.

  In 1992, the New York State Summer School of the Arts Schools of Ballet and Modern Dance moved into the Lewis A. Swyer School of Dance, a state-of-the-art studio facility built behind the National Museum of Dance. They now had a home to call their own, where the programs could continue to offer students the best in ballet and modern dance training.164

  The Mary Daley Scholarship has been created by past and present dance program participants to aid future artists as they pursue their training. This award honors the more than thirty years of dedicated service by Mary Daley, Executive Director Emerita of the New York State Summer School of the Arts.165

  Chapter 11

  DANCE AROUND THE CITY

  ARTSFEST

  The Saratoga ArtsFest was originally intended to be a vehicle for Skidmore to reach out and share cultural resources with the local community.166 Marie Glotzbach, wife of Skidmore president Phil Glotzback, initiated the idea of bringing together local artists and arts organizations to facilitate the project.

  Started in 2007, ArtsFest is now an annual four-day summer festival of local, regional and national performing and visual artists. The purchased ArtsPass enables the public to attend all events during the festival and to receive discounted admission to many cultural events throughout the year.167

  From the beginning, both professional and local dance ensembles have been featured participants. Several of the major dance companies in residence at Skidmore College have opened the festivities with performance on campus or at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The festival’s other dance performances have taken place at a wide variety of venues throughout the city, including the Spa Little Theatre, Skidmore College Dance Theater and Zankel Music Center, the National Museum of Dance, Universal Preservation Hall and even the East Side Recreation Field and the Saratoga Polo Fields.168

  Choreographer Debra Fernandez has this to say about her participation in projects for Saratoga ArtsFest:

  From this artist’s point of view, ArtsFest has provided me with two wonderful opportunities to show my work in the Zankel Music Center. I think the Dance Department has benefitted from both the exposure and from the opportunity for our students to perform in such a professional setting. These performances connect us with larger audiences and enhance and expand the reputation of the department. Through ArtsFest, we also make connections with other professional dance artists who come to Saratoga Springs to participate.169

  The Saratoga ArtsFest has presented the following dance ensembles:

  2007

  Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company*

  CoMotion in Motion

  Lilly Loveday Dance Performance

  Tango Fusion

  2008

  Dancing With Horses: The Equus Project

  Debra Fernandez and Dancers

  Ellen Sinopli Dance Company

  Martha Graham Dance Company* with student workshop dancers

  Wise Monkey Dance Company

  2009

  Company Stefanie Batten-Bland

  Paul Taylor Dance Company*

  Taylor 2* and students of Skidmore Summer Dance Showcase

  2010

  Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company

  Gallim*

  José Limón Dance Company*

  Music and Motion,* choreography by Debra Fernandez and Rubén Graciani; Richard Danielpour, composer

  2011

  Ariel Rivka Dance

  Lar Lubovich Dance Company*

  Saratoga Dances I

  2012

  Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company with Anne Bogart’s SITI Company*

  DNA Works: HaMapah

  Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company

  Keeping Company with Cage,* choreography by Deb
ra J. Fernandez; David Porter, piano

  *dance company or event sponsored through Skidmore College Office of the Dean of Special Programs

  DANCE FLURRY

  The Dance Flurry came to town in 1988, presenting dozens of dance and music workshops in traditional folk and social dances. Contradance, English country, squares, clogging, Scandinavian and Chinese folk dance are just some of the forms offered. Every year, a large multigenerational group of enthusiastic dancers comes to Saratoga from far and wide for this weekend festival. The Dance Flurry events are held at the First Baptist Church, the Parting Glass, City Center, Hilton Garden Inn, Skidmore College and the Saratoga Music Hall.170

  STREET FESTIVALS

  There are two annual downtown celebrations that showcase a multitude of performers: the Victorian Streetwalk ushers in the holiday season, and First Night Saratoga celebrates New Year’s Eve with a city-wide festival of the arts. Participating dancers, both students and professionals, perform at the Saratoga Music Hall, Universal Preservation Hall, National Museum of Dance, Skidmore Dance Theater and the Spa Little Theatre.

  DANCE AT YADDO

  Yaddo, the four-hundred-acre estate of Spencer and Katrina Trask, offers residencies to professional creative artists of all types. Through a highly competitive process, these prestigious awards enable artists to produce their work in a very private setting as they enjoy the peaceful surroundings of the estate.

  Twyla Tharp and Christopher D’Amboise have both been in residence at Yaddo. However, opportunities for dance artists have been limited due to inadequate facilities on-site. Renovations are currently underway, and a new building is replacing the Greenhouse Studios. This new studio space with properly sprung floors opens the possibilities for more choreographers and performance artists at Yaddo.171

  Yaddo has inspired artists, and many have honored the institution with their work. During its 2000 residency at Skidmore College, the Trisha Brown Dance Company presented performances commemorating the 100th anniversary of Yaddo. The 2012 Saratoga Dances II program reflected Yaddo’s mission of supporting and bringing together artists of various disciplines. Choreographer Justin Peck debuted his duet Yaddo Shadow, danced by two members of the New York City Ballet.