by Jock Soto
I never would have even considered writing this book if my literary agent, Heather Mitchell, at Gelfman Schneider hadn’t talked me into it that hot day. I trust her and respect her opinion. She’s also sexy as hell! To Erin Arbuckle, for her generous help with research. To Bob Miller, who at the time planted the seed for the book. To Rakesh Satyal, who is my editor and believed in this book from the first day he read it, and I especially love that he moonlights as a performer!
Finally, I have to thank Leslie Marshall, whose writing and organizational skills surpass everything. She is my best friend, and Luis and I are proud to be godparents to her beautiful children; there are not enough thank-yous for what she had to do as I threw pages her way that I couldn’t even read. The endless texts and e-mails that, if I look back on them, make me sound like a lunatic. She knows me better than I know myself. When I said yes to this book, I couldn’t think of anyone else who could help me do this. The blood, sweat, and tears she had to endure, listen to, and read must have been enough for a call to a psychiatrist. When making dinner side by side in Bellport we would talk about stories of my past and she would remember every word I said. Meanwhile, I can’t remember what I ate yesterday for lunch.
She became me, and at one point when we were all getting ready for bed in Bellport I remember I ran to her bedroom and saw that we were wearing the same turquoise Calvin Klein underwear. I know—weird but true. Leslie, my godsend. My mother would have loved sitting and talking with you. My dreams see the two of you doing what you and I do now. Standing at a counter preparing meals for our families, having a gorgeous glass of wine from one of the bottles Luis has brought. Listening to the crackling of the perfect fire in the fireplace that your husband, Billy, has made. Watching all of our dogs lying around the fire waiting for a treat. The godchildren, Jo, Bea, and Marshall, laughing and playing some board game. Then we go to the beach and have a bonfire while everyone sings along to songs from our past while staring at the stars and the ocean. What could be better than that? Thank you, Leslie. I love you.
Photographic Insert
Papa Joe with Baby Jock (left) and Kiko (in hat) at the Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction, Arizona. Picture taken by Mama Jo. (Courtesy of Josephine Towne Soto)
Mama Jo in full regalia, ready to perform the traditional Navajo hoop dance at a powwow. Mama Jo made her costume, and her father, Grandpa Bud, made the hoops. (Courtesy of the Soto family)
Executing a passé as a student at the Phoenix School of Ballet. (Courtesy of Josephine Towne Soto)
Performing with a fellow student at the Phoenix School of Ballet in the annual Christmas show. (Courtesy of the Soto family)
With Papa Joe and Mama Jo on one of our rodeo tours. (Courtesy of the Soto family)
Papa Joe, definitely an “outsider” on the reservation. (Courtesy of the Soto family)
Papa Joe, Mama Jo, me, and Kiko (standing) in our famous Partridge Family–style portrait, taken at the local strip mall. I wore that vest for the next ten years. (Courtesy of the Soto family)
At age twelve, dancing the Spanish section of Yvonne Mounsey’s version of The Nutcracker at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica, California. (Courtesy of the Soto family)
School of American Ballet teacher Stanley Williams, choreographer and artistic director of New York City Ballet George Balanchine, Dagoberto Nieves, and me, during rehearsal of August Bournonville’s Jockey Dance for my first workshop as a student at SAB. (© Martha Swope)
Rehearsing The Magic Flute with Peter Martins and Katrina Killian for my second workshop at SAB in 1981. (© Steven Caras)
Performing the “Gigue” solo in Balanchine’s Mozartiana during my first year with the company. (© Steven Caras)
Dancing the role of Luke in the new company production of The Magic Flute in 1982. (© Steven Caras)
My debut in Mr. B’s Symphony in Three Movements, dancing the second movement pas de deux with Maria Calegari. (© 1983 Martha Swope)
Dancing with Heather Watts in Concerto for Two Solo Pianos, the first ballet that Peter Martins choreographed on the two of us. (© Martha Swope)
At a black-tie event in Paris, with Ulrik (center) and colleague John Bass, on my first European tour with the company in 1983.
A big thrill for me came when I danced the “Rubies” section of Balanchine’s Jewels—the very ballet that had inspired me at age four—with Heather Watts. (© 1983 Martha Swope)
Dancing the “Royal Navy” section of Balanchine’s Union Jack in 1986. Almost twenty years later, I would dance the same role in my retirement performance. (© Steven Caras)
Whooping it up with the inimitable Lourdes Lopez in the first movement of Balanchine’s Western Symphony. (© 1984 Martha Swope)
With Ray Charles, Heather Watts, and Peter Martins at the premiere of Martins’s A Fool for You at the American Music Festival in 1988. (© Paul Kolnik)
Performing Jerome Robbins’s Afternoon of a Faun with the sublime Darci Kistler. (© Paul Kolnik)
Heather and me in the second movement of Balanchine’s Bugaku—one of the ballets we would perform together at her retirement. (© Steven Caras)
An emotional end to a long partnership came when Heather retired in 1995. (© Steven Caras)
Back to my Native roots—sort of—afloat in a canoe on a lake in the Adirondacks with one of Bruce Weber’s handsome pups. (Courtesy of Bruce Weber)
Playing Bernardo in the fight scene of Jerome Robbins’s West Side Story Suite. (© Paul Kolnik)
Miranda Weese and I dance the second movement of Mercurial Manoeuvres, choreographed on us by Christopher Wheeldon. (© Paul Kolnik)
When Christopher Wheeldon choreographed Polyphonia on Wendy Whelan and me, it was the beginning of an exciting new collaboration for all of us. (© Paul Kolnik)
After the Rain was the last ballet Christopher Wheeldon choreographed on Wendy and me, about six months before I retired. (© Paul Kolnik)
Me and Luis, the year we met. (Courtesy of the author)
Teaching a pas de deux class at SAB—one of my favorite classes. (© Ellen Crane)
Bowing at my retirement performance, June 2005. (© Johanna Weber)
About the Author
JOCK SOTO joined the New York City Ballet in 1981. He was promoted to soloist in 1984 and to principal dancer in 1985. He has danced featured roles in countless ballets, many of which were created specifically for him. He has been a permanent member of the faculty at the School of American Ballet since 1996, and in 2007 he was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary Water Flowing Together. He lives in New York City with his partner, Luis Fuentes, a sommelier.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Praise
“JOCK SOTO’S STORY IS AS POIGNANT AS HIS DANCING. EVERY STEP YOU TAKE IS AN INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEY THAT REVEALS A LIFE ON AND BEYOND THE STAG E. A MUST-READ FOR ANY ARTIST WHO SACRIFICES FOR THEIR ART.”
—PADMA LAKSHMI,
author, actor, model, and cohost of the Emmy Award–winning show Top Chef
“SOTO OFFERS INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHTS INTO A DANCER’S CREATIVE PROCESS.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“A TRUE NOWHERE-TO-SOMEWHERE TALE… A POWERFUL STORY, AFFECTIONATELY TOLD, ABOUT THE DEMANDS AND DIMENSIONS OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
Credits
JACKET DESIGN BY RICHARD LJOENES
FRONT JACKET PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE CARAS
AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY LUIS FUENTES
Copyright
The names and identifying characteristics of some individuals discussed in this book have been changed to protect their privacy.
EVERY STEP YOU TAKE. Copyright © 2011 by Jock Soto.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No par
t of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Soto, Jock.
Every step you take : a memoir/Jock Soto.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-06-173238-6 (hardback) 1. Soto, Jock. 2. Ballet dancers—United States—Biography. I. Title.
GV1785.S645A3 2011
792.8028092—dc22
[B]
2011012725
EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062097989
11 12 13 14 15 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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