Archive of "Washington Ballet: Show goes but the void is hard to fill", The Straits Times, 24 January 1988

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Washington Ballet: Show goes but the void is hard to fill

DANCE

By SERENA TOH

WHAT next after Goh Choo San?

When Washington Ballet’s resident choreographer died in November, he left a void in the company and some questions about its survival.

The question becomes more pertinent when one reads that Choo San, whose sleek contemporary works were sought after by top ballet companies, single-handedly lifted the company to world status.

Washington Post dance critic Alan Kriegsman told The Sunday Times: “When Choo San arrived 11 years ago, Washington Ballet was basically a small company which showed off the dancers of the Washington School of Ballet.

“Because his talent was so great, the company developed into a world class company.” Some of its dancers had left established companies for the more provincial Washington Ballet, drawn to its gifted choreographer whom critics hailed as successor to ballet great George Balanchine. Choo San, who joined the company when it was still new in 1976, was also its associate artistic director.

His work was commissioned and performed by such stars as Russian defector Mikhail Baryshnikov. So who is Washington Ballet's new choreographer? Will the company sink into oblivion as not a few fear? Or will it survive, and better yet, strike out in new directions?

What is certain is that it has to find its feet anew.

“It’s too early to tell. We’ll have to see what the new season brings,” was the careful reaction of Miss Mary Day, the director and founder of the company.

What the season will bring are two fresh works from newcomers James Canfield, 27, and Kirk Peterson, 38, who both recently joined the company as assistant artistic directors.

Canfield’s contribution, still untitled, is set to an electronic score; its choreographer admitted it is still very much “floating around” in his head.

The other, called Ballades, is set to classical Chopin and it is “modem and very romantic’’ said its choreographer Peterson.

All eyes will be on these works and naturally there will be comparisons. For although they are experienced dancers, Peterson and Canfield are fairly new to choreography.

Canfield, who started with the Washington Ballet, has danced with the Joffrey Ballet in New York for seven years.

He was artistic director with Pacific Ballet Theatre in Oregon. Last September, he rejoined the Washington Ballet as dancer and choreographer.

Peterson has danced with the world-ranked American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet, where he started choreographing five years ago.

Stylistically, they differ from each other and from Choo San, known for his syncopated yet emotive ballet with Asian hand movements.

Peterson’s influences run the gamut of tap dance, jazz, flamenco, modem dance pioneer Martha Graham and classical Indian dance.

Canfield’s focus seems to be contemporary dance, but he admitted. “I’m still trying to find out what my style is.”

However, both experiment with electronic music, still novel for ballet companies They said that this could set the direction for the company.

But the company’s character won’t change overnight.

Choo San’s works, its strongest selling point, will continue to be a major part of the repertoire.

Said Canfield: “He gave the ballet company a very individual look and it is important to keep this, filter in new influences and decide artistically where to go.”

There will be also some continuity since both men have professed admiration for Choo San’s work. Canfield loves “his use of hands and the way he shapes bodies’’ and shares his preference for dancers with the “long-limbed” look.

Dance critic Kriegsman said: “These two men will be filling the gap in terms of working with dancers and creating ballets but it is impossible to tell whether that will suffice.

“Choo San provided the backbone of Washington Ballet. I don’t think it will be an easy matter for the company to solve the problem of getting new ballets of such distinction.”

He could name only four choreographers in the same league - Jiri Kylian with the Netherlands Dance Theatre, William Forsythe of Frankfurt Dance Company, Canadian choreographer James Kudelka and American choreographer Michael Smuin.

To help fill the gap, there will be pieces from guest choreographers hired under the Choo San Goh-Guest Choreographer Fund established by the company to bring in new talent.

Choo San drew experienced dancers like 33-year-old Janet Shibata - whom he called his Muse - from Baryshnikov’s American Ballet Theatre.

When she was still a dance student, Kristina Windom, 18, peeked into Choo San’s rehearsals and there and then decided to join him.

Now that he is gone, another question arises - will the dancers stay?

“It will be something that each dancer has to think about,’’ said a senior dancer.

Younger dancers were equally contemplative.

Choreographer Peterson said that dancers are a “little spoilt” after the rich experience of working with Choo San. Dancer Michael Bjerknes said: “Choo San worked very fast, which was wonderful for a dancer because it kept your concentration.”

But the directors and choreographers are fairly confident that the company’s strong points - solid repertoire and young dancers - are reasons enough for optimism.

The average age is 21 to 22 years whereas 25 to 26 years is more common for other companies. “They are willing to try anything and are very game. They are perfect vehicles for a choreographer,” said Peterson.

For the coming season, the company will perform in the John P Kennedy Centre's Opera House in Washington, and tour Europe in May.

A dance company can grow in uniqueness, quality, size and reputation. Growing in its uniqueness seems to be Washington Ballet’s best bet at the moment.

(Photo: Will the dance company sink into oblivion with the lass of Goh Choo San? Picture by John Lim.)

(Photo: New choreographer Kirk Peterson: Dancers now a ‘little spoilt’

=See also=
 * Earliest cases of HIV/AIDS in Singapore
 * Archive of "Choo San leaps to new heights", New Nation, 15 August 1980
 * Archive of "The ascent of Goh Choo San", The Singapore Monitor, 5 June 1984
 * Archive of "The Gohs get together for two concerts", The Straits Times, 22 June 1987
 * Archive of "Choreographer Goh Choo San dies in New York", The Straits Times, 1 December 1987
 * Archive of "The dance is over", The Straits Times, 1 December 1987
 * Archive of "Choo San’s million-dollar gift to young dancers and choreographers", The Straits Times, 17 January 1988

=References=
 * Serena Toh, "Washington Ballet: Show goes but the void is hard to fill", The Straits Times, 24 January 1988.

=Acknowledgements=

This article was archived by Roy Tan.