Now, here¹s a word for the ballet dads. These are the guys who offer support behind the scenes -- in fact, they often build the scenes for productions like Saratoga City Ballet's recent 'Little Red Riding Hood,' performed to full houses at the Skidmore College Dance Theater.
Leonard Blackburn, father of senior dancer Victoria Blackburn, headed the sets and scenery committee, which likely involved months of planning and designing, recruiting a crew to paint backdrops, constructing Red Riding Hood's cottage, and storing set pieces in the family garage.
Fathers get onstage, too. Gene Auciello, father of SCB graduate Amy Auciello, who's now a dance major at SUNY/Brockport, has become an adept character dancer, appearing as Drosselmeyer in many a 'Nutcracker' and convulsing the audience as one of Cinderella's stepsisters.
Even though his daughter has reached the next level, Auciello still enjoys performing with SCB, and they really couldn't do without him.
In 'Red Riding Hood,' Auciello was a disarming Grandmother, big round spectacles, ruffled nightcap and all.
Young dancers have told me how their dads built ballet barres in the basement or rec room or their homes so they could practice.
The dads in Michael Steele's Ballet Regent School courageously learned to be Cavaliers as they partnered their teenage daughters in Steele's Pas de Dad classes.
And, of course, you can spot the dads in the audience at a show like 'Red Riding Hood.' They are the ones with the cellophane-wrapped bouquets of flowers and the digital cameras, the better to capture their daughters' performance for many a rerun at family gatherings.
Now that Steele is closing Ballet Regent after 27 years in Saratoga Springs, SCB's artistic directors Julie P. Gedalecia and Eve D. Whelchel must feel they are stepping to the head of the line.
For several years, they've held classes at the Ballet Regent studios on Jumel Street, alternating days with Steele's classes. The two schools had many students in common because serious ballet students want to take class every day, not just two or three times a week.
The two young directors, who took over SCB a few years ago from its founder (in 1994) Patti Pugh Henderer Moore, showed imagination and intelligence in the 'Red Riding Hood' concert, which also included the classical 19th century showpiece 'Pas de Quatre' and a bright modern ballet, 'The Comedians' to the music of Dmitri Kabalevsky and choreographed by William Otto, a former New York City Ballet soloist who has relocated in our region.
'Pas de Quatre' was made to show off the distinctive talents of four 19th century prima ballerinas: Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Fanny Cerrito and Lucile Grahn. They were the rock stars of their day, with crowds of followers cheering their every move.
In reconstructing Jules Perrot's choreography, Gedalecia not only gave her students the chance to embody these superstars, she taught her dancers an important chapter in the history of ballet.
The dancers, Victoria Blackburn as Grahn, Catherine Fraser as Cerrito, Alexandra Hughes as Grisi, and Kira Mulshine as Taglioni, the Queen Bee to whom the others courteously deferred, all danced with great classical style.
Each one had a solo with her specialty move: dead-on angled stops, quick sissones, jump turns, a gamine-like back-kick as the dancer jumped offstage. In clouds of pink tulle, they skimmed the stage and then grouped in the famous pose that brings the four together.
Otto's 'The Comedians,' a diversion for eight dancers, played with shrug-your-shoulder steps and heel and toe traveling that always projected forward, as well as deeply squatting plies and other amusing moves -- a clever contrast to the romantic aura of 'Pas de Quatre.'
The costumes, brief black dance dresses with crisp lines, underscored the modern quality of the choreography.
Note that 'The Comedians' was a joint project with the Saratoga Springs Youth Orchestra, which played at the dance's premiere last February.
Performing with a live orchestra was a first for SCB, and probably new for many of the young musicians, as well. Let's hope this leads to more such collaborations.
Choreographers Gedalecia and Whelchel set 'Red Riding Hood' to music of Bartok, including excerpts from his 'Rumanian Dances.' What a wonderful idea! The music is danceable, by definition, and it evokes the Eastern European origins of the fairy tale, so it puts the dancers and the audience in the right mood.
'Riding Hood' had a large cast that included dancers from every rank, down to the tiniest Woodland Fairies. I was impressed with the poise and character of the leads -- Rachel Torgesen as Riding Hood, Madison Beumer as the plotting Wolf, and Skidmore's Julio Toledo as the brave Woodcutter.
Corps of Rabbits, Water Fairies, Fireflies, Butterflies, Pixies, Wildflower Fairies, and Woodland Fairies filled the stage in turn. Each group was given choreography that challenged them to dance at their highest level, which made for an engaging performance.
Meanwhile, at Queensbury High, the Adirondack Repertory Dance Theatre, directed by Pamara Perry, celebrated its 25th anniversary in great style with a concert including live music by members of the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Peltz.
Perry has always insisted on live music for her dance concerts, but this anniversary show kicked the practice up a notch. Other musicians on hand were Perry's long-time composer/pianist Jonathan Newell and Adirondack fiddler George Wilson.
Perry, who began as a full scholarship student at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet and went on to dance with the Joffrey Ballet, has trained more than 800 students over the years. Stephen Satterfield, now with Edward Villella's Miami City Ballet, came home to dance onstage.
We are blessed to have so many fine ballet schools and choreographers among us. They work year round honoring and extending the Balanchine tradition. We -- audiences, young dancers, and their families -- get the benefit.
Mae G. Banner is The Saratogian's dance critic. Dance Moves is published on the third Sunday of each month.