Steps across the Sea: American dancers abroad

Dance Magazine, March, 1995 by Jeffrey Edwards

During my student days at the School of American Ballet, I can remember sneaking past the backstage guard at the City Center theater to view a performance of Bejart's Ballet of the Twentieth Century. My heart was pounding from the risk of being caught when I approached the wings and saw Jorge Donn standing atop a table, dancing Bolero. There was something exotic and sensual happening on that table that intrigued me. The dancers possessed a raw freedom of expression and style of movement that I had not seen before. From that moment I have been fascinated and lured by European dance.

As an SAB student I was also seduced by the balanchine style. During New York City Ballet performances at the New York State Theater, I would stand outside in the plaza during intermissions and call up to patrons on the veranda, trying to persuade perfect strangers to toss their ticket stubs down to me so that I could come inside. (Who could afford an eight-performance-a-week fix on a student's budget?) The styles of these two companies seemed completely contradictory, but I found myself drawn to both.

Besides my frequent illegal entries to City Ballet, I was fortunate enough to view performances of many European companies, featuring such artists as Marcia Haydee, Richard Cragun, Lynne Charles, and John Neumeier; these experiences gave me a better impression of European dance but never distracted me from my quest to become a Balanchine dancer. I was eventually accepted into NYCB, but never gave up hope of dancing in Europe. I remember admiring Suzanne Farrell for having the courage to leave NYCB at the peak of her career and immerse herself in a totally new style of dance with Bejart. City Ballet's rich repertoire and prestige make leaving difficult for any dancer. It took time (almost ten years) before I decided it was time to make the transatlantic leap. I now find myself amid the Swiss Alps dancing with Zurich Ballet.

During the past year I have been amazed to discover the extreme differences between the life-style and work habits in Europe and those in the States, as well as the artistic and financial advantages Europe offers, of which many American dancers are unaware. The diversity of European dance companies makes generalizing or categorizing difficult, but after interviewing other expatriates, I now have a broader view of the current European dance scene from an American perspective.

Europe offers a variety of options for dancers interested in an eclectic repertoire that includes classical, modem, and dance-theater pieces. It is more difficult for a dancer to get such a wide variety of experience in America, because dance tends to be more segregated. Many companies set stylistic limits on what is acceptable, yet in Europe even classical companies have incredibly varied repertoires that often include highly experimental dance-theater works.

Most dancers in Europe tend to be amazingly versatile from exposure to different styles and techniques as they move from company to company. Several of my colleagues have danced with four or five. They may have been content within a previous company, but chose to change for a different kind of experience. In America, dancers tend to remain in a company even when they are unhappy because of the scarcity of jobs. A dancer in the States who has worked for many companies could also be branded fickle or unreliable, but in Europe such experience is more welcome.

The European aesthetic for dancers is markedly different from the American, with its strictures about body types. A lean, well-proportioned body is, for some American companies, a higher criterion than a dancer's talent. Europe is simply not as body-conscious. I strongly urge dancers who have been rejected because of physical inadequacy to give Europe a try. Antony Rizzi, who has danced for ten years with Frankfurt Ballet, where he is now principal dancer and ballet master, auditioned for fifteen American companies, only to be rejected. He says, "Comments like `too short,' `too fat,' `unfortunate body' were beginning to get on my nerves. Billy [Forsythe] saw past my thick thighs and offered me a job." Rizzi is now one of the most compelling dancers in Europe and is in international demand as a choreographer. Bruce Michaelson, who trained with Pennsylvania Ballet, points out that Europe is more appreciative of seasoned artists. "When I joined the Geneva Ballet at twenty-eight, I was considered the baby of the company. Jirf Kylian hired me for Netherlands Dance Theater at thirty-one. Few American companies would ever have considered me at that age."

American ballet companies are also more culturally and racially segregated. The homogeneity of NYCB and American Ballet Theatre is startling. These companies fail to represent a cross-section of American culture. Minority companies, on the other hand, tend to remain on the outskirts of American dance because of their self-imposed limitations. They portray a significant facet of dance culture, but their repertoires are inevitably limiting for the dancer who is interested in a broad range of styles. European companies are melting pots. Even in a company as conservative as Zurich Ballet, the thirty-one dancers come from sixteen different countries, bringing a wealth of cultural diversity from which all can benefit. Difference and individuality are encouraged, and the multiculturalism shows in the work.