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Nutmeg Ballet Electrifying at Warner Theatre Gala
Aug 18, 1997
August 18, 1997|By TONY ANGARANO; Dance Critic
For one unforgettable night Torrington became America’s dance center when Sharon E. Dante, founder and artistic director of the Nutmeg Ballet, celebrated her school’s 20th anniversary with a gala performance at the Warner Theater.
There was cause for celebration. The program featured Nutmeg alumnae Victoria Mazzarelli, Cheryl Madeux, Karla Kovatch and Natasha Fielding, who have established careers with major ballet companies, plus guest artists Ethan Steifel of the American Ballet Theatre, Cynthia Quinn and Brian Simerson from Momix and Tim Melady from Hartford Ballet. Also appearing were recent Nutmeg students poised for professionalism.
There was particular excitement concerning the return of Torrington native Mazzarelli, the only American woman to win a gold medal in the New York International Competition.
As prima ballerina with the Basel, Frankfurt and Zurich Ballet Companies, she has achieved international fame. At the Nutmeg gala she appeared first in a contemporary work, the pas de deux from William Forsythe’s hard-edged, muscular “In the Middle . . . Somewhere Elevated” with Steifel.
Like a finely calibrated automaton, she performed Forsythe’s mechanized movements with astonishing precision and plasticity.
In Petipa’s pas de deux from “Le Corsair,” Mazzarelli and Steifel created another electrifying combination with their consummate mastery of 19th-century style and form.
With technical perfection (her expansive, elevated leaps were marvels of grace) and cheekbones that fashion photographers fight over, she ideally exemplified the wish of every ballet teacher.
Dancing like a young god, Steifel, with his breath-taking jumps and turns, also brought the cheering audience to its feet.
After touring nationally with the Joffrey Ballet, Madeux, another Torrington native, joined the Hartford Ballet, where she has won particular praise for her radiant “Giselle.”
Repeating the role’s Act Two pas de deux with Melady, she revealed anew the warmth, lyricism and technical brilliance that define her dancing. As always, Melady was a responsive partner whose solo revealed his individual artistry. From the Boston Ballet, Kovatch and Fielding offered contrasting performance styles.
In the beautiful “Rhapsody,” choreographed by Nutmeg alumnus Barry Hughson, Kovatch’s elegance and purity of line captivated. Tom Barber, her partner, complemented their duet with light- limbed agility.
Fielding, paired with Joshua Brooksher, disappointed, however, in “Diana & Acteon.” There was a heaviness in their movements that kept the pas de deux earthbound, despite their obvious technical proficiency.
Persuasively demonstrating their Nutmeg training — which is based on the Russian pedagogic method developed by Agrippina Vaganova — Kerryanne Saunders, who will join the Hartford Ballet this season, and Steven Erwin, who also belongs in a major company, danced the “Swan Lake” pas de deux with a refined sense of classical style that belied their youth.
Momix, the contemporary dance ensemble founded by Moses Pendleton, might seem a strange choice to share the Nutmeg gala, but they provided thrills. Quinn’s “White Widow” embodied the fusion between aesthetics and athletics.
From “Baseball,” Simerson performed the bravura “The Wind-Up,” usually Quinn’s solo, appearing like Olivier’s blond Hamlet deftly balancing an oversize baseball instead of Yorick’s skull.
Emily Patterson and Sam Beckman, both Nutmeg alumni, demonstrated how classical training can enhance contemporary dance in their sinuously beautiful solos from the Momix repertoire.
IN THE MEDIA
After 50 years of building a reputation for professionalism in dance instruction, Nutmeg Ballet was forced to put that reputation to the test this year. Audition tour director Joan Kunsch injured her arm and was unable to go on her annual 18-city nationwide recruiting tour. But, “Nothing will be canceled,” she promised in early December. “It was up to me to solve it,” said Kunsch. “I thought, ‘Who better to represent Nutmeg than the former students who are making professional company careers around the country?’” She compiled a list of about a dozen Nutmeg alumni around the country and called them. They eagerly accepted the challenge. For example, Kunsch said, “We have a Nutmeg graduate, Amy Potter, who is a principal dancer in the Oklahoma City Ballet, and I called her and she’s ecstatic to do it. She said, ‘Proudly, I would do it. Proudly.’” Another former student, Thel Moore, trained at Nutmeg from 2012 to 2015. He agreed to cover three of Kunsch’s scheduled cities, including Richmond, Va., where he is a danseur at the Richmond Ballet Company. Moore said in an email, “What I typically look for in an audition is a base in classical ballet but also a love for ballet as well. I’m looking for a spark that you usually can’t teach but mold into something beautiful.” He said students are nervous at first, but “when they see the brochure [and] how beautiful the building is and how incredibly professional the staff is, they usually lighten up and get really excited for the audition.” The far-flung team of Nutmeg-trained dancers are directing auditions in January and February in nearly 40 cities in the United States and Canada. Some of these cities are on Tim Melady’s usual itinerary as audition tour co-director. Melady, Nutmeg’s principal ballet master, is also standing in for Kunsch in several cities. Speaking by phone from an airport near St. Louis, Mo., Melady said, “I have been to the West Coast. Seattle had a good turnout. Portland had a good turnout. San Francisco had a good turnout, and they are all so interested in Nutmeg and Torrington!” He said, “We’re so lucky that we have such a respected reputation.” When an auditioning dancer asks about Nutmeg, he refers them to former Nutmeg students in the area, who are happy to talk about their experiences. Melady said the constant influx of students from thousands of miles away is enriching for them, for Nutmeg and for Torrington. “People come to Nutmeg and say, ‘Oh my God, we’re meeting people from Wyoming! From California! This is crazy.’ Everybody knows about Nutmeg Ballet. It’s wonderful!” Kunsch said that when she has gone on the audition tour – which she has done every year since 1993 – she tells dancers, “Not only are you auditioning for Nutmeg; Nutmeg’s auditioning for you.” She tells them, “We’re not looking for perfection. If you were perfect, would you need us? We’re looking for trainability.” Moore said, “Bringing talent from all over is very important because it keeps Nutmeg as one of the best schools to train at in the United States.” Melady said, “[The auditioners] have heard of us, and they’ve heard of our reputation. And that’s a real advantage. Our reputation is golden. There are more and more schools just vying for this slice of talent. And there is always talent.” Victoria Mazzarelli, artistic director, said Torrington auditions at the Nutmeg Conservatory attract not only local aspirants but dancers from New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for both the summer and year-round programs. Remaining auditions at the Conservatory at 58 Main Street are Feb. 1, 15, 29 and March 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. And by the way, said Mazzarelli, locals are most welcome! “During these next few months, our year-round students and faculty are rehearsing and preparing for our Spring Studio Series that will be held on March 18, 19, 20 and 21,” she said.
TORRINGTON – The first time Shelley Gallo and her mother, Rosemarie Meyer, attended Nutmeg Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” in 1975, they thought it was a musical play. Shelley was four years old. “When are they going to start talking?” she asked her mother. They had never been to a ballet before! But, since that night 44 years ago at Torrington High School’s Little Theatre, they have attended Nutmeg’s “Nutcracker” almost every year, missing it only once due to illness. “I’ll bet we hold the record,” Shelley said. Nutmeg’s “Nutcracker” has since outgrown the high school auditorium, of course, and now is performed yearly at the 1,750-seat Warner Theatre and the 900-seat Belding Theatre at The Bushnell in Hartford. It opens Dec. 7 at the Warner. “I remember going that first time with my mother,” Shelley said, “but I don’t really remember how I felt when I left. I do remember all the pretty ballerinas and the pretty costumes, but I can’t say I ran out of there saying I want to be a ballerina.” Rosemarie said she had taken Shelley to Christmas Village and was looking for something new to share with her. She saw an advertisement for “The Nutcracker” in what was then The Torrington Register. “I thought that was something that I’d like to start with her as a tradition,” she said. “We realized at some point in the performance that it was not going to be a play,” she said. “There was not going to be singing, or any kind of dialogue, but we just watched it in awe because the dancers were so talented and the costumes were so beautiful and the scenery was beautiful. And as the years have gone by, it’s gotten better and better.” Costumes and scenery have evolved, and this year the mother-daughter duo are looking forward to revolutionary changes. To mark Nutmeg’s 50th anniversary, hundreds of the 1,200 costumes will be new, designed by Janessa Urwin and Susan Aziz and hand-finished at Nutmeg’s own costume shop. And the 22-year-old set by Campbell Baird will be replaced by spectacular scenery by Boston’s theatrical designer Roger LaVoie. Artistic director Victoria Mazzarelli has reimagined the choreography, and Brian Sciarra has designed new lighting. There will be some delightful surprises. “There have been little tweaks every year,” Shelley said. “Maybe the lighting is a little different, or the choreography is different, or maybe there’s a sash on a costume that’s a different color. My mother and I would bump elbows and whisper, ‘Did you see that?’ This is the first year that we can’t compare our notes.” When they heard that things would look very different this year, Shelley said she and her mom were at first nervous. “But I’m sure it will be beautiful.” Rosemarie said, “I can’t wait to see this year’s new scenery and costumes. We’re both really excited about it.” Rosemarie and Shelley both love family traditions, especially around Christmastime. Since Shelley was a child, she helped her mother every year bake cookies. Now, though she lives in New Hartford and her mom lives in Torrington, Shelley says she still bakes more than 1,000 cookies every Christmas and gives them to co-workers, family and friends. “The Nutcracker” is perfect for tradition-minded people, she believes. “I love the story because it’s the whole Christmas Eve party, and I come from an Italian family,” she said. “Christmas Eve is the biggest celebration in my family. It’s such a magical time, even for me now. I carry on the cookie-baking traditions my mother and my two Italian grandmothers carried throughout the years.” Nutmeg’s new 2019 “Nutcracker” ushers in a brand-new tradition as Nutmeg Ballet enters its second half-century. Tickets can be ordered through Nutmeg’s website – also reimagined and redesigned for the occasion – at www.nutmegconservatory.org. Warner Theatre performances are Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Performances at The Bushnell in Hartford are Dec. 14 and 15 at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
