Dance in Saratoga Springs

by Denise Warner Limoli

  Although Mae Banner was never a trained dancer, she was able to understand the intent of the dances. Shawn Banner explained:

  While watching her favorite ballets, she would catch her breath and hold it-feeling the thrill of the moment. She never tired of seeing ballets again and again, and she relished observing multiple casts in the same works. Among her favorites were Balanchine’s Serenade and Robbins’s Dances at a Gathering, and dancers Kyra Nichols and Bart Cook made her heart flutter.

  She was a true fan who absolutely believed that the Saratoga Performing Arts Center was meant to enrich the community through high art, not popular entertainment.193

  In July 2007, the New York City Ballet and Saratoga Performing Arts Center honored Mae Banner, dedicating a performance of Balanchine’s Jewels to her memory and naming her favorite seat in row W with an engraved plaque. Before that evening’s performance, first Marcia White and then Peter Martins paid tribute to Mae, speaking to the audience from the stage:

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

  Mae Banner was a true champion of the arts. As a writer and dance reviewer for the Saratogian, Mae believed very strongly that the critic’s role was one of both educator and advocate. Her articles inspired readers to take full advantage of this area’s rich cultural offerings and to open themselves to new artistic experiences.

  This tribute to Mae is a great opportunity to honor a woman who not only loved dance, but understood its importance as an art form. Mae had a remarkable ability in her reviews to interpret and describe the ballets with such richness and meaning, that it made even those of us in the company want to see the dance again through Mae’s unique lens. She will be greatly missed both personally and professionally, yet her contribution to dance and the arts community will continue to have an impact.194

  Mae Banner’s son Shawn grew up with his mother’s love of dance, music and language, which she passed on to her grandchildren. When they accompanied her to performances, she would ask the children for their responses and frequently used their words in her reviews and articles. Shawn Banner honors his mother’s legacy and tries to continue some of her work. He knows he is Saratoga’s connection back to Mae and that the people of Saratoga Springs loved her.

  Appendix 1

  SKIDMORE COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF DANCE FACULTY AND STAFF

  TENURED FACULTY

  Debra J. Fernandez, Professor and Chair of Dance

  Denise Warner Limoli, Associate Professor

  Mary DiSanto-Rose, Associate Professor

  Rubén Graciani, Associate Professor

  Mary Harney, Artist in Residence

  LECTURERS

  Antoinette Smith

  David Otto

  Debra Pigliavento

  Julie Gedalecia

  Megan Del Prete

  Sarah DiPasquale

  Veena Chandra

  DANCE MUSICIANS

  Carl Landa, Director of Music

  Carol Ann Elze Sussdorf

  Patricia Hadfield

  SKIDMORE DANCE THEATER

  Lori Dawson, Technical Director, Lighting Designer, Manager

  Peter Kobor, Assistant to the Technical Director and Stage Manager

  Debra Nichols, Administrative Assistant

  Appendix 2

  SKIDMORE COLLEGE DANCE FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES

  DEBRA J. FERNANDEZ, PROFESSOR

  Debra Fernandez is a director/choreographer and dance educator. She is classically trained, self-taught in jazz and has a sustaining interest in experimental theater.

  In 1990, she joined the dance faculty at Skidmore College, where she began teaching Ballet III, Contemporary Workshop, Choreography I and II and Performance Elements.

  She was invited to join the Williamstown Theater Festival in 1994 and remained a member for seven years. While there, she worked with several influential directors, especially director Phil Soltanoff. In 1999, she was choreographer for the Virginia Opera’s production of Orfeo and Euridice directed by Darko Tresjnak. Her collaboration with director David Pilot and composer Joseph Diebes, The Malleus Maleficarum, was presented at the Ontological Theater in New York.

  In 2000, the Tang Museum and Art Gallery opened at Skidmore College, and Debra established a close and lasting relationship with the museum. Since its opening, she has made four evening-length works that have allowed her to focus on the museum as an interactive performance space: TangO, BALLS, MAK 3 and Zero Point Zero.

  In the Arthur Zankel Music Center, Debra choreographed Swan Song to a score by Richard Danielpour in 2010 and Keeping Company with Cage, her third collaboration with David Porter and Margo Mensing, in 2012.

  Debra has received choreography fellowships to the Djerassi Resident Center for the Arts in California and the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico. She has served on the New York State Council for the Arts and the New York State Foundation for the Arts and as chair of the scholarship committee for the Saratoga City Ballet.

  DENISE WARNER LIMOLI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

  Denise Warner Limoli trained in Connecticut with Mme. Vera Nikitins of the Riga Opera Ballet. With a full scholarship, she attended both the Washington School of Ballet and, for three summers, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. In addition to classical ballet, her training included Graham and Limón modern dance, Bharatanatyam, Flamenco and character dance. She frequently studied in New York City at the Ballet Theatre School with the great teachers Valentina Pereyaslavec, Leon Danielian, Patricia Wilde and Yurek Lazowsky.

  Ms. Warner Limoli performed with the Hartford Ballet, the Connecticut Opera and the Norfolk Civic Ballet before moving to New York City in 1970. She immediately began performing with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) as a seasonal dancer and joined the company in 1972. With ABT, Ms. Warner Limoli performed all the great romantic and classical ballets, works of Tudor, MacMillan, Ashton, Robbins, Feld and others. She shared the Metropolitan Opera House stage and toured internationally with the greatest dancers of the day, such as Natalia Makarova, Cynthia Gregory, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Fernando Bujones. She taught company class regularly and was a substitute teacher in the Ballet Theatre School. She appeared in many PBS Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts and danced in the films The Turning Point and First Position.

  After retiring from performing, Ms. Warner Limoli was ballet master for the Nutmeg Ballet Company, the Minnesota Dance Theatre and the Nevada Dance Theatre. She was a faculty member of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Dance Division and the North Carolina School of the Arts.

  Denise Warner Limoli joined the Skidmore College dance faculty in 1992. She has worked to develop the curriculum and increase the rigor of the ballet program and has staged classical ballets and choreographed contemporary works for the Skidmore Ballet Workshop.

  In 2011, Professor Limoli collaborated with the conductor of the Skidmore Orchestra, Professor Anthony Holland, on a joint production of Swan Lake, Act II in the Zankel Music Center. In 2013, Skidmore dancers and the Skidmore Orchestra presented An Evening with the Ballets Russes, including Les Sylphides, L’Après Midi d’un Faune and Firebird.

  Ms. Warner Limoli has taught for the ABT Summer Intensives, the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center Extreme Ballet and the Nutmeg Conservatory International Summer Intensive. Locally, she has taught master classes and staged ballets for the Saratoga City Ballet and Ballet Regent. She is a member of the board of directors of the National Museum of Dance and is chair of the nominating committee for the Hall of Fame. She curated the exhibit “American Ballet Theatre: Then and Now” for the museum.

  Denise Warner Limoli is married to Michael Limoli, renowned clarinetist and dance pianist. They have worked together in the ballet studio for over thirty years.

  MARY DISANTO-ROSE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

  Mary DiSanto-Rose earned her MEd and EdD in dance from Temple University. She joined the Skidmore faculty in 1981
and served as director of the dance program from 1990 to 2005 and as chair of the newly formed Department of Dance from 2005 to 2009. She has taught modern dance technique, dance history, improvisation, modern dance Reconstruction Workshop, Dance for the Child, Senior Dance Capstone and a first-year Scribner Seminar. Earlier in her career, she performed with the Sybil Dance Company of Philadelphia and with Albany-area dance companies.

  Mary specializes in reconstructing classic modern dance works of the early twentieth century. She currently co-directs and performs as a guest artist with the Isadora Duncan International Institute Dancers of New York City.

  Mary has been an active board member of the Capital/Saratoga Dance Alliance for almost three decades and the co-coordinator of the Dance+ Festival for the past twenty-two years. She serves on the boards of Partners in Dance: A Consortium of Capital Region Dance Sponsors; NYS Dance Educators Association; and the NYS Council on the Arts Dance Panel.

  Professor DiSanto-Rose is recipient of the Honorary Certificate in Isadora Duncan Studies from IDII in 2005; the Exceptional Service and Scholarship from the National Dance Association in 2007; the Innovative Leadership in Dance Education & Legacy from the American Dance Legacy Institute at Brown University in 2008; and an honorary degree, doctor of arts, in 2012 from St. Lawrence University.

  RUBÉN GRACIANI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

  Rubén Graciani graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he majored in modern dance. After receiving his high school degree, Mr. Graciani was awarded a scholarship to attend the Juilliard School in New York City, where he also studied on scholarship with several major New York dance companies, including the Martha Graham Company and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Rubén completed his studies at the State University of New York–Purchase, receiving a bachelor of fine arts in dance. While attending Purchase, he was invited to perform in three International Festivals of Dance staged in Taiwan and China. He joined the Kevin Wynn Collection, a New York–based modern dance company while still a student at Purchase. After graduation, Rubén was invited to join the Mark Morris Dance Group. His five-year affiliation with the company resulted in national and international tours. Additionally, he has been a member of bopi’s black sheep/dances by kraig patterson since its inception. Rubén received his MFA from the University of Maryland–College Park, where he presented nine works of choreography for the Maryland Dance Ensemble. In September 2005, he joined the faculty at Ohio University as an assistant professor. In addition to his work at Ohio University, Rubén has been a member of the Joe Goode Performance Group for two seasons, as well as a guest artist with the Brian Brooks Moving Company and sbb-thegroup, a Paris-based modern dance company. He has recently launched his own dance company, RG DanceProject.

  MARY HARNEY, ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

  Mary Harney joined the Skidmore dance faculty in 2000. During her tenure at Skidmore, she has taught all levels of modern dance technique, Modern Performance Workshop, Ballet I, Choreography I, the Dance Experience and Senior Dance Capstone.

  Classically trained in upstate New York, Mary graduated with a BFA from SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance. While at Purchase, she performed the works of many top choreographers. During this period, she also danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

  Prior to her work at Skidmore, Mary served as a member of the dance faculty at Union College and the New York State Summer School of the Arts.

  In the spring of 2012, Mary directed Skidmore modern dance students who were invited by Janet Eilber, artistic director of the Martha Graham Dance Company, to participate in the first annual University Partners Showcase in New York City. The Skidmore dancers performed Martha Graham’s “Steps in the Street” from Martha Graham’s Chronicle at the Joyce Theater.

  Mary serves on the board of directors of the Capital Region Dance Alliance and is a site coordinator for the yearly Dance+ Festival at the National Museum of Dance. She is a member of the scholarship committees of both the Dance Alliance and the Saratoga City Ballet.

  Appendix 3

  SKIDMORE COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF DANCE GUEST ARTISTS IN BALLET (PARTIAL LIST)

  Dwight Rhoden, Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, Complexions

  John Meehan, American Ballet Theatre, Vassar College

  Lorin Johnson, American Ballet Theatre, CalState/Long Beach

  Martine Van Hamel, American Ballet Theatre

  Steven Hyde, American Ballet Theatre

  Susan Jones, American Ballet Theatre

  Gina Bugati, Ballet Hispanico

  Dariusz Hochman, Cannes, New York City

  Abi Stafford, New York City Ballet

  Alexandre Proia, Paris Opera, New York City Ballet

  Andrew Scordato, New York City Ballet

  David Otto, New York City Ballet

  Justin Peck, New York City Ballet

  Miranda Weese, New York City Ballet

  Violette Verdy, New York City Ballet

  William Otto, New York City Ballet

  Alexei Tchernichov, Kirov Academy, Nutmeg Conservatory

  Sharon Dante, Nutmeg Conservatory

  Victoria Mazzarelli, Frankfurt Ballet, Nutmeg Conservatory

  Kirsten Simone, Royal Danish Ballet

  Summer Lee Rhatigan, San Francisco Conservatory of the Arts

  Appendix 4

  SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER STAFF

  STAFF (PARTIAL LIST)

  Marcia White, President and Executive Director

  Sharon Walsh, Assistant to the President/Director of Artistic Administration

  Siobhan Dunham, Director Arts Education

  Linda Deschenes, Director Youth Arts Programs

  Lisa Hill, Public Relations/Development

  SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS, OFFICERS

  Mrs. Marylou Whitney, Honorary Chair

  Hon. Susan Read, Chair

  Marcia White, President and Executive Director

  Edward Lewy, Secretary

  John Nigro, Treasurer

  Appendix 5

  NEW YORK CITY BALLET STAFF

  ARTISTIC STAFF

  Founders: George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein

  Founding Choreographers: George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins

  Ballet Master in Chief: Peter Martins

  Ballet Mistress: Rosemary Dunleavy

  Ballet Masters: Karin von Aroldingen, Albert Evans, Jean-Pierre Frohlich,

  Susan Hendl, Glenn Keenan, Lisa Jackson, Sara Leland, Christine Redpath,

  Richard Tanner, Kathleen Tracey

  Guest Teachers: Arch Higgins, Darci Kistler, Andrei Kramarevsky

  Children’s Ballet Master: Dena Abergel

  Assistant Children’s Ballet Master: Kaitlyn Gilliland

  Personal Assistant to Mr. Martins: Deborah Koolish

  Administrative Assistant to Mr. Martins: Julianne Maeda

  THE GEORGE BALANCHINE TRUST

  Director: Ellen Sorrin

  Managing Trustee: Barbara Horgan

  Coordinator: Nicole Cornell

  Appendix 6

  REPERTOIRE PERFORMED BY THE NEW YORK CITY BALLET AT THE SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

  1966–2012, PARTIAL LIST

  Choreography by George Balanchine, ©The George Balanchine Trust

  Agon

  Allegro Brilliante

  Apollo

  Baiser de la Fée

  Ballet Imperial

  Ballo della Regina

  Brahms Quartet

  Chaconne

  Con Amore

  Concerto Barocco

  Coppélia

  Cortège Hongrois

  Duo Concertante

  Firebird

  Four Temperaments

  Harlequinade

  Irish Fantasy

  Ivesiana

  Jewels

  La Sonnambula

  La Valse

  Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

  A Midsummer Night’s Dream

  Mozartiana

  Nutcrackerr />
  Orpheus

  Prodigal Son

  Raymonda Variations

  Scotch Symphony

  Serenade

  Slaughter on 10th Ave.

  Square Dance

  Stars and Stripes

  Steadfast Tin Soldier

  Stravinsky Violin Concerto

  Suite No. 3

  Swan Lake

  Symphony in C (School of American Ballet)

  Symphony in 3 Movements

  Tarantella

  Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux

  Tchaikovsky Suite No. 2

  Theme and Variations

  Trois Valses Romantiques

  Union Jack

  Variations

  Vienna Waltzes

  Walpurgisnacht

  Western Symphony

  Who Cares?

  Choreography by Jerome Robbins

  2 and 3 Part Inventions

  Afternoon of a Faun

  Antique Epigraphs

  Brahms/Handel (w/ Twyla Tharp)

  Brandenburg

  Bugaku

  Circus Polka

  Dances at a Gathering

  Dybbuk Variations

  Eight Lines

  Fancy Free

  Fanfare

  Four Seasons

  Glass Pieces

  Goldberg Variations

  In G Major

  In Memory of…

  Interplay

  In the Night

  Ives Songs

  Les Noces

  Other Dances

  Piano Pieces

  The Concert

  West Side Story Suite

  Choreography by Peter Martins

  A Musical Offering

  Ash

  Beethoven Romance

  Calcium Night Light