Less Balanchine: Terry Orr recasts Pittsburgh Ballet

Dance Magazine, Nov, 2004 by Karen Dacko, Linda Hamilton

One afternoon last spring, the music of both Felix Mendelssohn and Bruce Springsteen emanated from the studios and mingled in the atrium of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's multi-studio complex in the city's warehouse district.

The rich Mendelssohn melody leads to Studio F, where Christopher Rendall-Jackson, not quite the love-besotted Lysander, kneels in his yellow sweat pants. He kisses the hand of his confused Helena, an expressive Erin Halloran, wearing a blue chiffon practice skirt. Gnest repetiteur Francia Russell, a keeper of the Balanchine flame who is versed in each nuance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, darts toward the posed pair, unconvinced of Rendall-Jackson's ardor. She admonishes him and then demonstrates to Hermia (Kaori Ogasawara) the proper way to gasp at his infidelity.

In an adjacent studio, Canadian choreographer Matjash Mrozewski (see "25 to Watch," January, 2004, page 41)conducts his new ballet while standing atop a metal stool. Wearing sweats and a T-shirt, he gestures excitedly, toots an invisible saxophone along with the Springsteen riff, and stretches forward, rubbing his lower spine. Later he slides to the floor to demonstrate what looks like a pushup combined with an air turn.

At PBT, under the directorship of Terrence S. Orr, Mendelssohn and Springsteen, and Balanchine and Mrozewski coexist. Pittsburgh's repertoire of Balanchine works was cultivated by former artistic director Patricia Wilde, a longtime New York City Ballet principal. Orr is steering his medium-size company along a new avenue.

PBT's thirty sixth season, which from October 28-31 features Ben Stevenson's Dracula, is the first to break its twenty-two year Balanchine tradition. Orr is nurturing a taste for change that he hopes will distinguish PBT from other troupes, as it reenters the competitive touring market and bids for prominent venues like its recent engagement at Wolf Trap in Virginia and New York's Joyce Theatre, where it performs next spring.

When I came to PBT in 1997," says Orr, an American Ballet Theatre alumnus, "its mainstay was Balanchine. That background developed technique and strength in the women and put the company on the map." While there are no Balanchine ballets programmed for the 2004-05 season, Orr remains committed to inviting artists like Russell, who worked directly with the late master, to share that legacy with his thirty full-time dancers.

However, Orr's vision looks beyond Pittsburgh's Cultural District, home to the 2,770-seat Benedum Center, where PBT performs four series per year plus the annual Nutcracker. He notes that by 1997, PBT's visibility was down. He is aiming to create a unique repertory that represents not only PBT, but also Pittsburgh. "I believe in commissioning contemporary ballets, in building collaborations with the city's other arts organizations, and in bringing in world-renowned choreographers," he says.

Four years ago PBT commissioned a package of ballets by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Kevin O'Day, and Dwight Rhoden that capitalized on Pittsburgh's jazz music heritage. These works, with their improvised musical accompaniment, breathed excitement into the local scene.

However, Rhoden's torso-focused choreography required difficult torques combined with unfamiliar and uncomfortable coordinations. "Dancers were in my office in tears," says Orr. "They didn't feel that they could do it. But it's good for the company to work with living choreographers who have something to say."

More recently PBT's focus has shifted to pop music icons including Sting, Springsteen, and this season, Paul Simon. Orr seeks choreographers who are inspired by the challenge. "There's no fire without a spark," he says, quoting Springsteen. The results have produced O'Day's sleek Sting/ING Situations, Mrozewski's poignant Lost and Found and gritty Straight Life, and Derek Deane's demi-caractere charmer Hungary Heart ... 'we all have one'!!!, which elicited gasps from the audience and a standing ovation.

"I learned a new body language from Kevin," says Dmitri Kulev, who was promoted to principal this season. The Bolshoi-trained artist says that pop music ballets were unheard of in his native Moscow. "I had to learn English to follow the lyrics and had to adapt the relaxed, mellow jazz moves to my ballet technique."

Orr prefers to import dance makers to keep PBT on its toes, but has tried his hand at choreography. Like Cinderella's prince, the former ABT ballet master traveled the globe seeking The Nutcracker of his dreams. When he failed to find the perfect fit, he decided to create his own. PBT's The Nutcracker (2002) keeps the traditional story line, but is set in 1904 Pittsburgh at the home of a wealthy family, with party guests drawn from the city's prominent families of the day, including Mr. and Mrs. Heinz, and at a local amusement park with an enchanted carousel. (The Heinz Foundation, headed by Teresa Heinz Kerry, is a supporter of the production, while the biggest sponsor is Kaufmann's Department Store, and members of the Kaufmann family are portrayed in the party scene.) He also choreographed a new interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, which premiered at the Hollywood Bowl last year.