An appreciation of John Taras

Dance Magazine, July, 2004 by Delia L. Peters

Although Mr. Balanchine taught company class and directed final stage rehearsals at New York City Ballet, John Taras actually rehearsed us. John was the company's ballet master from 1959 to 1983, and he worked with perseverance, humor, frustration, and a stubborn dedication to maintaining the integrity of Mr. B's choreography.

He liked to say he was not stubborn, but Ukrainian. Once John decided which swan you could be and taught you the choreography, that was it. I had the misfortune of growing two inches my first year in the company, forcing him to reposition me in several ballets. He felt it was audacious of me to grow and disrupt his careful planning.

When John taught company class, it was challenging and dancey; he always gave insightful corrections. Even though he could be an ogre in rehearsals, later he would put his arm around you and laugh. We knew he loved us.

When we were touring in Europe, John would not allow us to spend time sleeping when we could be experiencing the city. We'd be awakened in the morning with a phone call, followed by a knock on the hotel door. "I have a cab waiting; I want you to see ..." John loved life: good food (he was an excellent cook); French, Russian, Ukrainian culture; people, dance, theater, opera, traveling; and, oh yes, shopping.

A native New Yorker, John studied Ukrainian dance as a child, and from the age of 16 he studied ballet with Michel Fokine and Anatole Vilzak. He himself made a number of ballets, which ran the gamut from leotard (Ebony Concerto) to narrative (Piege de Lumiere and Jeux) to romantic (Souvenir de Florence). His choreography was a product of his life as a dancer, first with several European companies and then with Ballet Caravan, a precursor to NYCB. He was the one who operated the phonograph when Mr. B was choreographing Concerto Barocco.

John, who died in April, will be missed by his many friends and colleagues.

--DELIA L. PETERS, FORMER DANCER, NEW YORK CITY BALLET

Ludmilla Tcherina, French dancer, actress, and artist, died in March at the age of 79. In 1942, she made her debut at the Salle Pleyel when Serge Lifar cast her to dance with him in his new pas de deux, Romeo and Juliet. She went on to become a leading dancer in the Nouveau Ballet de Monte Carlo. Tcherina inspired new works by Maurice Bejart and Roland Petit, and appeared in twenty-two movies, including The Red Shoes.

Sofia Golovkina, who directed the Bolshoi Academy at the Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado, died in March at the age of 88. Madame Golovkina was a former ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet and also directed the company's affiliated academy, Moscow Ballet School, for forty years.

Leonard Reed, tap dance pioneer and co-originator of the famous Shim Sham Shimmy dance routine, died in April at the age of 97.

MOVING AROUND

Julie Diana and Zachary Hench have left San Francisco Ballet and headed east for Pennsylvania Ballet, where they have signed on as principal dancers.

Brazilian ballerina Roberta Marquez has signed a principal contract with The Royal Ballet in London. Marquez, who was awarded a silver medal at the Ninth Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2001, has previously performed with The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre as a guest artist.