Kudelka becomes Artistic Director at the National Ballet of Canada
Leigh Witchel
Warren Hudson <Hud...@inforamp.net> wrote:
>
>It was announced that James Kudelka is now Artistic Director at the National
>ballet of Canada. He was their Artist in Residence for quite a few years.
>I myself am not thrilled. I find his choreography to be dry. Would anyone
>like to speak to this?
>
I'll repost my Kudelka dialogue from last May and leave it at that. (And
yes, Pax tecum, Joseph :-)
From d...@panix.com Sun May 28 10:01:28 EDT 1995
Article: 3638 of alt.arts.ballet
From: d...@panix.com (Leigh Witchel)
Newsgroups: alt.arts.ballet
Subject: Re: Kudelka
Date: 28 May 1995 09:59:40 -0400
In article <D9AEJ...@blaze.trentu.ca>, <j...@ivory.trentu.ca> wrote:
>In article <3q8tph$l...@news.acns.nwu.edu>, chi...@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
Amy Reusch writes:
>>Just read a review of a dance company here comparing a
>>choreographer to Kudelka & calling Kudelka a New Yorker.
>>I thought he was Canadian. Is he a New Yorker living
>>in Canada? (Here in Chicago it's easy to bond with
>>your readership by ragging on New Yorkers) Considering
>>myself still something of a New Yorker even though it's
>>been five years since I left, I'm curious as to whether
>>the reviewer had her facts straight or was just looking
>>for an easy hit....
>>
>>Amy Reusch
>
>Amy,
> Kudelka is Canadian. He was born in Newmarket, Ontario, a small
>town just north of Toronto. He attended the National Ballet School and
>joined the Company in 1972. He left the National in 1981 to become
>principal dancer of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and moved into
>choreography in 1984. He became artist in residence at the National in
>1992. An excellent documentary of Kudelka's work is the recently released
>'Making Ballet', a 90 minute documentary on the new ballet "The Actress",
>done as a vehicle for prima ballerina Karen Kain two years ago.
>
>Joseph So
><J...@TRENTU.CA>
>
OK, I may be the one with the bad back, but I'm certainly the one who's
most limber at putting my foot in my mouth...what do y'all think of
Kudelka's work? He's been hyped to glory in America, especially by ABT
and SFB, who use his work extensively. I liked some pieces I saw around
1983 (In Paradisuum, and a piece for Joffrey II to Thomas Tallis' Spem in
Alium. I had just started to study dance, and sometimes in retrospect
I'm not sure whether it was the Kudelka or the Tallis that I liked.
Let's say it was the Kudelka.) After that I started wondering why I kept
going to see premieres of his work, 'cause I kept leaving somehow
unsatisfied.
In around '91 or so, San Francisco Ballet came to City Center with a mixed
bill with The Comfort Zone and New Sleep by Forsythe. Comfort Zone went
up first, and it was the first glimpse most New Yorkers had of the
company. I kept wondering why all the dancers looked so stocky and
overmuscled, especially in the upper thigh. Then the Forsythe piece
came, with mostly the same dancers and I realized that it wasn't the
dancers who were overmuscled. It was the choreography.
Kudelka has a strong modern background, which he brings to ballet, but in
a way that's sometimes very awkward for ballet dancers to reconcile. He
has them spend most of their time turned in, and they grab in their quads
to try and do his work. I think it would be much more congenial on
people who were more aligned to modern than ballet.
Having said this, I've heard that Cruel World, done on ABT in 1994 is
very lovely, I just haven't gotten to see it. After six or so hopeful
disappointments, I can't say I was rushing there.....Anyone out there who
can encourage me to revise this opinion?
Disagreements welcome -
LAW
(Let's give it to Mikey....
He won't like it, he hates EVERYTHING!)
(Old Life Cereal commercial.....)
--
"Beautiful costumes and grandiose musical ambition serve only to
underline the sadness of the enterprise: like a wan girl in a fabulous
prom dress, the work's lack of personality leaves you looking over its
shoulder for another partner." E. Zimmer, Village Voice, 7/4/95