Dance in Saratoga Springs

by Denise Warner Limoli

  SARATOGA RACE COURSE

  Even the Thoroughbreds at the Saratoga Race Course are involved with dance in Saratoga. NYRA established the “Ballerina Stakes” in 1979. Named for the Thoroughbred Ballerina, this seven-furlong race is run during the last week of August as part of the Breeders’ Cup.

  In August 2012, NYRA debuted a new race, the “National Museum of Dance,” also a seven-furlong race. Museum staff and board members cheered, and costumed dance students from the School of the Arts strolled among the crowds.172

  EN POINTE!

  As people stroll through Saratoga in the summers, they see painted and decorated horse sculptures placed around town. Soon there will be sculptures of a ballerina’s foot on pointe, uniquely painted by local artists.

  En Pointe! sculptures in progress. Photo provided by the National Museum of Dance.

  This celebration of dance is a program initiated by the National Museum of Dance and is sponsored by many individuals and local businesses. The pointe shoe sculptures will be unveiled in summer 2013.

  Chapter 12

  THE DANCE AUDIENCE

  DANCE FANS OF SARATOGA

  An audience often includes a variety of people who attend a performance for different reasons. Some are curious, some are simply enjoying a night out and some are avid fans of the performers. The Saratoga dance fans are a large, surprisingly diverse group of people who share a love of dance and a loyalty to the New York City Ballet. That common bond inspires them to come together to advocate for maintaining the company’s residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

  New York City Ballet’s ballet master in chief Peter Martins has said of Saratoga’s dance audience:

  In sheer sophistication and knowledge, I think our Saratoga audiences are, by far, more educated and advanced in terms of judging ballets than most audiences in the world. By coming to the ballet for many years, you get an understanding of the ballet.173

  Mrs. Kay Leach has been a fan and supporter of the New York City Ballet’s Saratoga seasons from the very beginning. Her husband, Richard Leach, was the first executive director of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and they were both intimately involved with the company. Mrs. Leach shared her memories of the ballet:

  July was a dream. There were so many exalting moments—Suzanne was so wonderful; Patty was adorable and everyone loved her; Kay Mazzo was lovely. At certain times it was so extraordinary, it would make you dizzy. It could hit you so.174

  The Saratoga dance fans are aware of a select group among them who are referred to as the “every nighters.” For these fans, attending the ballet nightly is, without question, the natural thing to do. For other fans, it is something to aspire to.

  Sheila Parkert, former owner of the Adelphi Hotel, admits, “I have always been a huge ballet fan, an every nighter!”175 “Of course I’m an every nighter,” says Mary Ann Fantauzzi.176 Christie Handley, a former dancer who now teaches ballet, remembers, “My first summer, I went to SPAC every show for four weeks, matinee and evening.”177 Rhona Kretzky-Forman states, “Those ballet weeks are sacred to me. I have a group of friends who are fans, and we are all working towards becoming every nighters.”178

  Several dedicated ballet fans began working for the Saratoga Performing Arts Center or with the New York City Ballet in one capacity or another. Their love of the ballet, their awe of George Balanchine and their pride in having this company in their midst compelled each of them to participate in the ballet experience. They have been among the most determined advocates for protecting the New York City Ballet’s residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

  Mary Ann Fantauzzi is the indefatigable liaison between the New York City Ballet and the people of Saratoga Springs. She is a Saratoga Springs High School mathematics teacher who also owns a fitness studio where she teaches the NYCB Workout program.179 Through her annual certification in the program, she has a working relationship with the New York City Ballet.

  Ms. Fantauzzi is one of the founding writers for Saratoga’s summer dance newsletter, Ballet Beat. She is also an original member of two local organizations, For Arts Sake and Save the Ballet. Her work with the Dance Alliance, of which she is president, has resulted in the successful Saratoga Dances I and II projects. These multifaceted projects showcase the work of the young choreographer Justin Peck and the emerging ballet teacher and costume designer Andrew Scordato. With great pride, Mary Ann Fantauzzi refers to these talented young artists as “my boys.”180

  As a teenage ballet student, Christie Handley came to Saratoga to study in the summer with Melissa Hayden. Many New York City Ballet company dancers attended Ms. Hayden’s classes while they were in town. Ms. Handley went to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for every performance, “frequently sneaking in backstage like one of the dancers so I could watch from the wings. I saw it all—I even met Mr. Balanchine!”

  Mary Ann Fantauzzi and Justin Peck, dancer and choreographer at the New York City Ballet. Photo by Anthony Tassarotti.

  Ms. Handley enrolled part time in Skidmore College to continue her training with Melissa Hayden and then with Elisabeth Carroll and Michael Steele. After sustaining an injury, Ms. Handley began teaching ballet for Ballet Regent and other area schools. She studied costume design in New York City and immediately began sewing costumes for Ms. Carroll’s student performances at Skidmore College.

  At the age of twenty, Ms. Handley started her summer job backstage with the New York City Ballet. She was initially hired as a dresser for the children, but she moved to the corps de ballet room and soon on to the soloists. She was eventually assigned to work with the principal dancers, dressing Suzanne Farrell, Darci Kistler, Wendy Whelan, Sara Mearns and others.

  Year round, Christie Handley continues to share her passionate love of ballet with her students at the National Museum of Dance School of the Arts. During the July ballet season, she is dedicated to her work as a principal dresser for the New York City Ballet, and she is still there to see every performance. “How could I not be a ballerina and still have had all these wonderful opportunities and experiences at such a high level—Saratoga IS ballet land!”181

  Rhona Koretzky-Forman came to Saratoga in 1978. Having started ballet in college, she continued in adult classes with Michael Steele. “I believe the more you study, the more respect you develop for the art form.” She recalls the first time she attended a performance of the New York City Ballet at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center: “The program included Balanchine’s In G Major.182 I had no idea what a cornerstone of my life the New York City Ballet presence would become.”

  This initial summer ballet experience compelled her to become a volunteer usher for the Saratoga Performing Arts Center at a time when ushers received guest passes for performances. Ms. Koretzky-Forman was soon employed as usher captain and was responsible for educating the ushers and house staff: “It was a wonderful thing to be a part of, a real privilege to be a small cog in this incredible machinery.”

  She was thrilled to be sharing her hometown in the summers with the company, especially with George Balanchine: “Here in Saratoga Springs, we were intersecting with Genius.” Ms. Koretzky-Forman believes that some of the sense of tradition from that time has been lost: “The loss of Balanchine left a chasm, but we still had Maestro Ormandy and Jerome Robbins. I can still, even to this day, feel Balanchine’s presence at SPAC. That was Balanchine’s house.”

  Ms. Koretzky–Forman also enjoyed seeing the modern dance companies at the Spa Little Theatre: “The modern dance festivals were incredible! I support having all styles of first-rate dance here.”

  As a city librarian, she worked to encourage and support arts education in public schools. She was one of the originators of the newsletter Ballet Beat and the organizations Save the Ballet and For Art’s Sake. She has been a vocal advocate for keeping the New York City Ballet summer season at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.183

  Sue Edwards’s life as a dedicated dance fan began when she was eighteen ye
ars old. During the first summer season of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, she worked at a snack bar located in the Hall of Springs. The New York City Ballet dancers frequently stopped by, especially a young Suzanne Farrell, who became a good friend of Ms. Edwards. Volunteers and workers were invited to watch rehearsals and received free lawn passes to the performances.

  Susan Edwards remembers seeing Swan Lake with Suzanne Farrell: “Her presence brought tears to my eyes every time, especially Swan Lake, which is and always will be the ballet I love the most.”

  Illustration from Ballet Beat. Apollo by Shawn Banner. Drawing inspired by Apollo choreography by George Balanchine. ©The George Balanchine Trust.

  She goes to as many ballet performances as she can every season and has happy memories of that first summer when she met her now longtime friend Suzanne Farrell.

  Although she enjoys and appreciates the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Sue Edwards’s primary dance interest is the National Museum of Dance. A constant volunteer since the earliest days of the museum, she is currently employed as the program director for the National Museum of Dance.184

  The Saratoga Performing Arts Center requires the assistance of hundreds of volunteers who work as ushers, greeters and office help throughout the year. The program for the 1991 summer season features an article on a few of the many people who help keep the Arts Center going. These volunteers share a gratitude for the artists and take great pride in being a part of it all: the ballet, the orchestra, the opera and the popular programming. An unnamed volunteer is quoted as saying, “SPAC has the power to put beauty in your life. When you walk onto the grounds, you get this feeling that beauty is going to be there.”185

  The administration of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center expressed its gratitude in this statement:

  Regardless of how much the volunteers feel SPAC has given to them, The Center is much in debt to each and every person who gives of themselves to contribute to the success and smooth running of SPAC. The time and enthusiasm that every volunteer contributes to the Center is an invaluable resource without which SPAC could not survive. We are indebted to their year-round time, spirit and cooperation.186

  There are others in Saratoga Springs who were never dancers themselves but were influential in supporting dance and bringing it to our area. Donald McCormack has been an energetic and determined advocate for dance in our community since the 1980s, when he took over as dean of special programs at Skidmore College. He championed modern dance and believed it deserved a dynamic presence in Saratoga Springs, complementing that of the New York City Ballet. “I believe we can really set the stage for great things happening.” He was instrumental in organizing the Spa Little Theatre modern dance festivals starting in the 1980s and advocated for several modern dance companies to be showcased in the main stage of the amphitheater.

  Now retired from Skidmore College, Donald McCormack continues having an impact on the cultural life of Saratoga Springs. He is a member of the board of directors of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and is among the originators of the Extended Season/Emerging Artists series.187

  Originally from New York City, Jay Rogoff is a poet, dance writer and avid ballet fan. His introduction to ballet was in high school, and he found himself “being drawn magnetically to the more abstract NYCB works, especially those by Balanchine and Robbins.”

  In 1985, Rogoff moved to Saratoga Springs to join the English Department at Skidmore College. He explained how his love of dance influenced his writing:

  I came to dance writing at first through poetry. I wanted to capture the peculiar symbolic mental and emotional realm we enter when we watch ballet or modern dance, and I wanted to pay homage to the creators of dance who have meant so much to me. But I also wanted to integrate my appreciation of dance with the interactions in our daily lives between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

  Jay Rogoff wrote dance criticism for several publications prior to stepping in to write on the New York City Ballet seasons for the Saratogian:

  The conflict between criticism and advocacy is especially germane to writing for the Saratogian. It’s the hometown paper, and therefore I see part of my job as advertising what is so good about NYCB, since I think it’s so important that they stay at SPAC. In the paper I’m writing for a general audience who, I hope, is interested in finding out why ballet is worthwhile, why it might be something they’d like to try attending, and I want to encourage them that, yes, this is a really exciting kind of entertainment that we don’t have to be afraid of, that can provide an enjoyable evening out, and at its best can even admit us into the sublime.188

  Jay Rogoff is the author of four books, including his most recent collection of dance-inspired poetry, The Art of Gravity. He also writes on dance for the Hopkins Review and the Ballet Review.189

  Michele and Ronald Riggi are among Saratoga Springs’ most prominent patrons of the ballet. Mrs. Riggi, a former dancer, has dedicated her energies to her position as the president of the National Museum of Dance. Ronald Riggi now sits on the board of directors of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and he brings his knowledge of the community and business expertise to the table. Mr. Riggi believes that the relationship between the New York City Ballet and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center is solid. He states:

  I am having a lot of fun with this. I enjoy being with community leaders and diverse professional people who share the same goal. The board has a great balance, and the administration and staff are all very dedicated. We believe SPAC and NYCB are synonymous, and both parties are very engaged. SPAC must tweak every revenue source, and NYCB must make sure they can get here. SPAC is a jewel in our hometown, and Saratoga and the region have to support it.190

  THE DANCE FANS ORGANIZE

  There have been several grass-roots efforts to “save” the summer residency of the New York City Ballet at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and to restore a four-week season. Two organizations have come together for this purpose.

  For Arts Sake was started in 1998 by Mae Banner and a small group of locals who loved the ballet and the arts. In addition to advocating for the New York City Ballet residency, this group was determined to educate and inform the public. At Mae Banner’s suggestion, it founded the summer dance publication Ballet Beat, a newsletter that celebrates the ballet season with articles about repertoire, choreographers, composers and the dancers.

  Dance enthusiasts Mary Ann Fantauzzi, Rhona Koretzky-Forman, Alisa Forman and Jay Rogoff are contributing writers for Ballet Beat. Artist Shawn Banner provides illustrations, and typeset and layout are donated by Paul Chessare. This volunteer publication is jointly funded by the Lyrical Ballad Bookstore, Total Body Trifecta Fitness Studio and the National Museum of Dance. Ballet Beat is dedicated to the memory of Mae G. Banner.191

  Save the Ballet has been in existence since 2004, when the entire summer ballet season was in jeopardy of being cancelled. This growing group of determined fans has worked tirelessly to communicate their mission of ensuring that the New York City Ballet remains in residence at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Many ideas have been discussed, generated by dance lovers who desperately want to save something they know is important to them and to Saratoga Springs.

  Countless people have voiced their opinions, but two particular local citizens have distinguished themselves by their words and deeds: former mayor of Saratoga Springs Raymond Watkin and the late Mae G. Banner.

  Mayor Raymond Watkin has always known that Saratoga Springs is a dance town. Before the days of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, he sold ballet and tap shoes at his Broadway shoe store, Raymond’s Bootery. He befriended and supported the city’s dance teachers and dance personalities. Watkin’s business funded an annual scholarship for local dance students to continue their training in Saratoga Springs.

  Mayor Watkin understood the impact the Saratoga Performing Arts Center had on the entire region. In the 1970s, he publicly celebrated the New York City Ballet, and he fought against shorteni
ng the four-week season.

  Now retired, the walls of his home are covered with dance posters and memorabilia from his days as a mayor who loved and supported the New York City Ballet in his town. Mayor Raymond Watkin declared recently, “We owe allegiance to New York City Ballet. People in Saratoga need to voice outrage at the current state of affairs, and we need to fight for this! The people should not be afraid to speak up.”192

  No one in Saratoga Springs has done more to support dance, to educate the public and to advocate for dance than Mae Banner. Ms. Banner came to Saratoga Springs in 1977 as a new faculty member at Skidmore College. She immediately began ushering, along with other schoolteachers and die-hard dance fans, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center while her young son Shawn played on the lawn.

  After leaving Skidmore, Mae Banner chose to remain in Saratoga and started writing for the Saratogian and Metroland. She insisted that the newspapers make space for dance reviews and articles, saying, “This is important, and we must include it. I want people to know how it feels—I want to put them in it.”

  According to Shawn Banner, “Mae lived and breathed dance, learning as she went and spending time with all the serious dance fans. She was a good friend of local celebrities Zachary Solov and John Martin, who educated her eye for dance and helped her with proper dance terminology.” She wrote about ballet and modern dance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Spa Little Theatre, the Egg, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the Kaatsbaan International Dance Centre. Ms. Banner also spoke on WAMC and served on state and local arts panels.

  Mae Banner’s first love was the “dance from the gut” of the modern dance pioneers, and she especially loved the work of Paul Taylor and Garth Fagan. She was a staunch supporter of the New York State Summer School of the Arts School of Dance and of Carolyn Adams’s and Julie Adams Strindberg’s work with the American Dance Legacy Institute. The Banner Award was established to honor the efforts of the hardest-working student in the annual Summer School of Dance.