Dance in Saratoga Springs
Page 1
Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net
Copyright © 2013 by Denise Warner Limoli
All rights reserved
Cover images courtesy of Maurice Seymour, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Steve J. Nealy.
First published 2013
e-book edition 2013
Manufactured in the United States
ISBN 978.1.61423.920.8
Library of Congress CIP data applied for.
print edition ISBN 978.1.60949.167.3
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
MAE G. BANNER
(1933–2007)
Photo courtesy of Shawn Banner.
Art is not supposed to be a commodity you sell. Art is something that a civil society must support.
—Mae Banner through her son, Shawn
Mae Banner loved dance. She cherished words and understood their power. She believed in advocating for, indeed fighting for, something that was important to her and to her community.
Mae also loved Saratoga Springs. She attended every local dance performance she could, whether or not she was allowed to write about it. Her support of the dance community in Saratoga Springs must not be underestimated. Mae was always there.
Dance in Saratoga Springs is dedicated to the memory of Mae G. Banner, with the gratitude of the entire Saratoga dance community for her unwavering appreciation and support.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Entertainment in Nineteenth-Century Saratoga Springs
2. Skidmore College Dance Department
3. Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the New York City Ballet Come to Town
4. Dance Teachers and Dance Schools in Saratoga Springs
5. The National Museum of Dance and the Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame
6. The Office of Special Programs, Skidmore College
7. Modern Dance in Saratoga Springs
8. Dance Organizations in Saratoga Springs
9. Arts Education at Saratoga Performing Arts Center with the New York City Ballet
10. New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA)
11. Dance Around the City
12. The Dance Audience
Appendix 1. Skidmore College Department of Dance Faculty and Staff
Appendix 2. Skidmore College Dance Faculty Biographies
Appendix 3. Skidmore College Department of Dance Guest Artists in Ballet (Partial List)
Appendix 4. Saratoga Performing Arts Center Staff
Appendix 5. New York City Ballet Staff
Appendix 6. Repertoire Performed by the New York City Ballet at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Appendix 7. Local Dance Schools and Directors
Appendix 8. National Museum of Dance Staff
Appendix 9. Skidmore College, Office of the Dean of Special Programs Staff
Appendix 10. Skidmore College Department of Dance and Office of the Dean of Special Programs: Modern Dance Guest Artists and Companies in Residence
Appendix 11. Dance Organizations, Dance Departments, Dance Supplies
Notes
Bibliography
About the Author
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following people were interviewed or gave assistance during the preparation and research process. I am grateful for their participation.
SARATOGA DANCE TEACHERS
Oleg Briansky/Mireille Briane, Briansky Saratoga Ballet Center
Peggy Delay, Stepping Star School of Dance and Gymnastics
Phyllis Latin, American Dance Center
Dianne Carola, Dance Factory
Aggie Jacobowsky, for Michael Steele, Ballet Regent
Julie Gedalecia, Saratoga City Ballet (Patricia Pugh Moore)
Christie Handley, School of the Arts, National Museum of Dance
Leslie Anne LaGuardia, Arthur Murray International
Beth Fecteau, Nacre Dance Company
Raul Martinez, Director School of the Arts, National Museum of Dance
David Otto, Saratoga Ballet Academy, former NYCB
Robert Maiorano, miscellaneous schools, teacher, author, actor, former NYCB
SKIDMORE COLLEGE DANCE FACULTY
Isabel Brown, faculty emerita, Skidmore dance historian
Mary DiSanto-Rose, associate professor of dance, dance advocate
Debra J. Fernandez, professor and chair of dance, choreographer
SKIDMORE COLLEGE SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Donald McCormack, former dean of Special Programs and dance advocate
Sharon Arpey, director of programs, institutes and conferences
Antoinette (Toni) Smith, faculty advisor
SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (SPAC)
Mrs. Kay Leach, wife of Richard Leach, first director of SPAC
Edward Lewi, former owner Ed Lewi Associates, SPAC Board of Directors
Lisa Hill, director of public relations
Marcia White, artistic director and president of SPAC
Ronald Riggi, SPAC Board of Directors, local businessman
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DANCE
Mrs. Marylou Whitney, founder and original president
Carol and Edward Swyer, father was founder Lewis Swyer, Board of Directors SPAC and National Museum of Dance
Alison Moore, first director
Sharon Walsh, initial volunteer, assistant to Ms. Moore; executive assistant to Marcia White, SPAC
Heather Mabee, former president
Michele Riggi, current president
Donna Skiff, current director
NEW YORK CITY BALLET (NYCB)
Peter Martins, ballet master in chief
Erin Hestvik, archivist
Justin Peck, dancer and choreographer
Ellen Sorin, director, The Balanchine Trust
Kathryn Levy, NYCB Education Department
Daniel Duel, former dancer and musician
NEW YORK STATE SUMMER SCHOOLS OF THE ARTS (NYSSSA)
Mary Daly, director emerita
Carolyn Adams, director, School of Modern Dance
SARATOGA SPRINGS
Mary Ann Fantauzzi, high school teacher, Dance Alliance president, owner of Total Body Trifecta, dance education advocate, For Arts Sake
Rhona Koretzky-Forman, former librarian, dance fan and advocate, For Arts Sake.
Leslie Roy-Heck, owner Saratoga Dance and Bunheads, former dancer NYCB, Board of Directors National Museum of Dance
Susan Edwards, programming director, National Museum of Dance, dance fan
Shawn Banner, son of Mae Banner, artist and dance advocate
Jay Rogoff, poet and dance writer, Skidmore College
Kim Vanyo, designer for fashion and costuming, owner Khymanyo Studio
Michael Limoli, ballet pianist and clarinetist, former dancer
Carl Landa, dance musician, composer
Sheila Parkert, former owner Adelphi Hotel and dance fan
Peter Kobor, friend of Zachary Solov, theater manager, designer
Andrew Wentink, archivist and librarian, Middlebury College, dance historian
SARATOGA SPRINGS HISTORY
Mary Ann Fitzgerald, Saratoga Springs city historian
Field Horne, local historian
Mayor Raymond Watkin, former mayor of Saratoga Springs and ballet fan
Terri Blasko, Saratoga Room, Saratoga Library
John Connors, Bolster Collection, Saratoga Springs Historical Society
INTRODUCTION
Ballet has been my calling for over fifty years. As a professional dancer, ballet master, choreographer and teacher, I have experienced all aspects of my profession. When the request for this book came to me, I immediately accepted, trusting that I knew enough about the topic. I expected it would be a relatively easy task, but that was only partially correct.
While beginning my research on the evolution of dance in Saratoga Springs, I discovered a multilayered story that involved countless interesting people. It was then that I decided on the “right” method for me: direct contact with as many of these fascinating people as possible. These interviews took place over fourteen months; some were face-to-face and some via e-mail or telephone.
I was humbled by stories of those visionaries who were the driving force at the beginning of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Former New York City Ballet dancers entertained me with their tales of Saratoga. I felt pride in the growth of dance at Skidmore College and in the successes of the National Museum of Dance. Mostly, I was touched by the enthusiasm, love and support of the Saratoga dance fans.
Saratoga Springs continues to attract talented artists who lend a special vibrant sophistication to the community. Dancers and those who love them are an important part of the cultural fabric of our city. It is my hope that the local support and enthusiasm I have learned so much about will continue so that the beauty of dance will thrive in Saratoga Springs for future generations.
Thanks to my husband, Michael Limoli, and daughter, Francesca Limoli, for their patience while reading and helping to edit my work. I especially want to thank all the wonderful people who gave me their time and shared their memories during interviews. They helped guide me through the process and generated further contacts. The list of names is long, and it demonstrates that these people themselves are the story of dance in Saratoga Springs.
Chapter 1
ENTERTAINMENT IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY SARATOGA SPRINGS
Early in the nineteenth century, Saratoga Springs began developing its natural mineral springs into what would become the city’s world-renowned spa facilities. Saratoga subsequently became the summer destination for America’s elite society, which was familiar with the great spas of Europe. Known as the “Queen of Spas,” Saratoga Springs offered visitors the natural beauty of the surroundings and the health benefits of the mineral waters. Its summer guests enjoyed elegant accommodations in opulent hotels and a variety of entertainments, including evening balls and gambling. Members of the great American families, international celebrities, business tycoons and politicians all came to Saratoga Springs for the summer spa season.
The hotels were famous. Union Hall, built by the Putnam family as a boardinghouse in 1802, evolved into the Grand Union Hotel, the world’s largest hotel and one of the most opulent. Along with the Grand Union, the United States Hotel and Congress Hall composed an elegant trio with grand piazzas on Broadway where guests would promenade and enjoy musical entertainment.
One of the earliest entertainers in the village was Mr. Vilallave, a traveling player who performed acrobatics on the tightrope and sleight of hand magic tricks. Vilallave remained in Saratoga, where he erected a small playhouse. This was replaced in 1821 by a more substantial theater on the corner of Washington and Federal Streets, known popularly as “Vilallave’s Theatre.”
Announcement of an appearance by Vilallave. Collection of the Saratoga Springs city historian.
The Hop at Congress Hall. Collection of the Saratoga Springs city historian.
As Saratoga grew, other small playhouses and lecture halls were built, many to be adapted later by emerging religious congregations. The 1848 St. Nicholas Hall on Broadway at Phila Street was considered the “most sumptuous playhouse of the time.” Over the next forty years, several large theaters were constructed. The Leland Opera House, a grand theater that could seat 1,600, was erected on the park-like grounds of the Grand Union Hotel. The Congress Hall Ballroom opened in the 1870s, and the largest public space of all, the Convention Hall, had a seating capacity of 5,000.1
With the growing popularity of gambling, the tradition of the annual summer visit to the spa soon gave way to horse racing and casinos. Harness racing was overshadowed by the Thoroughbreds when the Saratoga Race Course opened in 1864. The elegant Morrissey’s Club House was built in Congress Park and later renamed the Canfield Casino. Several lake houses with fine restaurants and casinos were built along Saratoga Lake to accommodate the demand for high-stakes gambling in Saratoga Springs.2
SARATOGA’S FLORAL FÊTES
In 1893, a group of concerned local citizens came together to discuss projects that could extend the duration of the summer season and repair the city’s reputation, which was being tarnished by gambling. They chose the Floral Fête, and a Floral Association was established and charged with organizing the festival.
In September 1894, Saratoga’s first Floral Fête debuted, complete with a parade down Broadway of carriages and floats decorated with thousands of beautiful flowers. Over three thousand people attended the first grand Floral Ball, an elegant entertainment of music and dance in the Convention Hall.3 This performance featured several ballets danced by beautifully costumed young women and children. Mr. Meredith Stanton Frothingham, who was the master of ceremonies at the United States Hotel, staged the Dance of the Roses and Butterflies. Mr. Jacob Mahler arranged the Waltz of the Flowers for a large group of children, including soloist Miss Rosalind Mahler, whose “dancing enhanced by the efforts of the other children, elicited considerable applause. It was her last farewell to the Saratoga public for the season.”4
The Saratoga Floral Fêtes continued annually for almost a decade. Each year, the festivals became more elaborate and attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists who traveled to Saratoga Springs in specially decorated train cars. The parades added bicycles, children’s prams and eventually motorcars, all covered with beautiful flowers and greenery. All the buildings along Broadway were festooned with greenery and blossoms. In 1900, elaborate floats were imported directly from New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations. The lavish Rex Pageant and the Proteus Pageant were introduced, and for the next several years the festival expanded to four days.5
The Floral Ball also evolved with more complex productions based on a different theme each year. The theme of the third festival was “Arcticania,” which was described thus:
It was a poet’s dream ably and beautifully depicted, with all the grace and charm that surrounds childhood and womanhood. For an hour, frost maidens, snowflakes, snow elves and icicles held sway among flowers and forests of evergreens…and the luminous Polar Star gorgeous in attire, appeared among them. The star, Miss Margaret Tynan of New York was a vision of loveliness in a costume of white gauze, a star of diamonds on her head and a drapery of all over silver tissue from neck to waist.6
Children in costume for the 1899 Floral Fête. Saratoga Room Collection, Saratoga Springs Public Library, photo by Epier.
“The Realm of Roses,” “Columbia,” “Le Mer” and “Flora’s Retenne” were the themes of subsequent Floral Balls, all staged by Mr. Frothingham. Other popular dancers of the day included “Miss Mae C. Bennett, a twelve year old toe dancer from Troy, and Saratoga’s Miss Daphna Leonard Chase, a fourteen year old ballerina who was a student of Professor Van Arnum.”7
The phenomenon of Saratoga’s Floral Fêtes eventually ended in 1905 due to a gradual decline in public interest and mounting financial losses. The Floral Association dissolved two years later, citing “too much of a good thing” as one of the problems.8
TWENTIETH-CENTURY VAUDEVILLE AND PAGEANTS
Although gambling had been declared illegal, it was still very popular in the summer lake houses
. These establishments had their own orchestras and dancers, and famous vaudeville performers entertained the clientele. The Meadow Brook Lake House, Neuman’s Lake House and Riley’s Lake House were some of the most successful and regularly attracted wealthy patrons every summer. The Saratoga casinos eventually became linked with infamous gangsters, and by the 1950s, lake house gambling was shut down by the state.9
Meadowbrook Lake House dancers. Bolster Collection, Saratoga Springs Historical Society.
In town, the remaining local theaters were now venues for popular vaudeville acts. Dancers in these acts were entertaining at best or considered risqué at worst. However, in the early twentieth century, there were some performers who brought a new style of dance to the public. Inspired by the revolutionary dancer Isadora Duncan, an interpretive style of dance was emerging, later to be named modern dance.
In the summer of 1914, the famous dancer Ruth St. Denis and her partner, Ted Shawn, were married in Saratoga Springs. The Denishawn ensemble performed at the Canfield Casino on August 19 for an audience of five hundred.10 Ruth St. Denis was billed as the “World Famous Oriental Dancer,” and she and Shawn performed the exotic dances “The Hindoo Snake Charmer” and “The Peacock.”11
The Spa Little Theatre was built as part of a government-funded initiative to develop the state reservation lands in Saratoga Springs. The 1930s building project included a complex of bathhouses and administrative offices. The Spa Little Theatre began as a medical lecture hall but has evolved into one of the city’s primary performance venues for modern dance, opera, chamber music and regional theater.12
Denishawn: Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in Algerian Dance. Walter Terry, The Dance in America. (New York: Harper and Row, 1971).
The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo produced Massine’s ballet Saratoga in 1941. Alexandra Danilova and Frederic Franklin were featured as a young jockey and his sweetheart. Oliver Smith’s scenic design was inspired by the Saratoga Race Course. Photo by Maurice Seymour.