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Behind Nevada Ballet’s curtain, costumes are displayed before a subscriber preview of the company’s next season of performances. A dress for “Coco,” choreographed by Artistic Director James Canfield, is at center. Canfield’s new vision for the company is evident in the four programs he has planned.
Thursday, April 16, 2009 | 2 a.m.
The overhaul of the Nevada Ballet Theatre should come as no surprise. The dance company signaled its new direction when it hired Artistic Director James Canfield, who confirmed the change Wednesday by announcing a season bereft of sleepy productions past.
James Canfield
SEASON AT A GLANCE
Timeless Innovation
“Rubies,” choreography by George Balanchine, music by Igor Stravinsky; “Coco,” choreography by James Canfield, music by Edith Piaf; “Jungle,” choreography by Canfield, music by Future Sound of London; Oct. 17-18; Artemus Ham Hall, UNLV
“The Nutcracker”
New production of “The Nutcracker” with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; winter 2009, exact dates and location to be announced
A Choreographers’ Showcase
Presentation by Nevada Ballet Theatre and Cirque du Soleil; spring 2010; exact dates and location to be announced
A Brave New World
“Song of the Nightingale,” choreography by Gail Gilbert, music by Stravinsky; “Cyclical Night,” choreography by Canfield, music by Astor Piazzolla; and a new work by Thaddeus Davis; March 27-28; Artemus Ham Hall
Subscriptions: $20 and up, to go on sale at the end of April at the UNLV box office, 895-2787 or nevadaballet.com.
Sun Blogs
Sun Coverage
Sun Archives
- Ballet sheds a dozen more dancers (4-14-2009)
- Sorry to see this season end (4-13-2009)
- For 'Masters,' Nevada Ballet Theatre displaying some fancy footwork (4-7-2009)
- Drop in revenue explains cutbacks at Nevada Ballet (3-12-2009)
Beyond the Sun
Canfield likes his dancers athletic, his programs edgy and his company energetic — a merging of classical and contemporary.
“I wear my heart on my sleeve,” he says. “There’s no figuring me out. I’m in your face.”
He’ll throw Pink Floyd in with Tschaikovsky, collaborate with visual artists and street musicians, work within tight budgets and do what it takes to get audiences in the doors — like the time he sold tickets for a performance of the Oregon Ballet Theatre, his former company, in a Portland shopping mall with nothing more than a sign that said “Tickets $5,” encouraging curious passers-by to inquire.
Canfield says he’ll do anything, “within reason” to reach potential audiences.
Nevada Ballet Theatre’s next season is no exception: a new ensemble of dancers, all contemporary works, no traditional story ballets except for a new “Nutcracker” to replace the one that had been lagging in ticket sales. He’s adding open conversations after performances among the audience, dancers and choreographers. An introductory subscription series will be offered for $20 for the spring and fall shows — “A Brave New World” and “Timeless Innovation.”
Moreover, Canfield will bring the company into the community through “NBT 4x8,” a series of impromptu performances at public venues — restaurants, First Friday events, hotel lobbies — on a portable stage that is 4 by 8 feet and will disappear as mysteriously as it appears.
It’s pure Canfield, who’s developed such a reputation for envelope-pushing performances that an audience mistook an onstage injury (a severed Achilles tendon that ended his dance career) for an avant-garde ending.
Canfield, who was named artistic director in January, had several changes in mind for the company. Because of the sour economy, it happened sooner rather than later: new dancers, an ensemble format that unifies the company and gives everyone an equal chance to shine.
Budget cuts also mean a smaller season — four programs rather than six. There will be a fall program, a spring program, “The Nutcracker” and the company’s third annual choreographer collaboration with Cirque du Soleil dancers.
The fall program includes George Balanchine’s “Rubies” and Canfield’s “Coco” and “Jungle.”
“Coco” is Canfield’s evocative and emotional interpretation of the life and legacy of French fashion designer Gabrielle Coco Chanel. It’s set to the music of Edith Piaf. He choreographed the work while in a wheelchair post-Achilles injury, which explains the heavy dose of creative port de bras.
Canfield collaborated with visual artist Tom Cramer on “Jungle,” which has a survival-of-the-fittest feel in the urban and natural jungles and is set to the unconventional music of the Future Sound of London.
Nevada Ballet is not yet releasing the name of the choreographer of “The Nutcracker,” but says it will be a traditional presentation and not one of the subversive and humorous versions that pop up from time to time.
The spring program will be the company’s new Signature Series, featuring original works commissioned and owned by the company. Originally scheduled to end this season, it was postponed for lack of funding. The program includes “Song of the Nightingale” by Gail Gilbert, a performer from “Ka” with whom Canfield collaborated in Portland. The performance is inspired by and set to Stravinsky’s story song of the same name.
Canfield’s new “Cyclical Night’ is a tango-inspired ballet set to the music of Astor Piazzolla and is his first piece created for Nevada Ballet. The program also includes a new, yet-to-be-named work by choreographer Thaddeus Davis, co-director of Wideman/Davis Dance in New York City.
The company is keeping its successful and eye-opening collaboration with choreographers and dancers from Cirque du Soleil. The performance will be presented in the spring, rather than fall.
A new program, “NBT Unveiled,” is a “raw and unplugged” private studio performance for its highest donors.
Canfield hopes the innovative works will present the company — and ballet — in a new light, particularly to those who have stayed away because they feel no connection to the art form.
“Get ’em in the back door and I’ll teach you why they walk through the front door,” Canfield says. “I want people to take notice. People talking is people talking.”
He’d love to see that conversation be an energized discussion of what Nevada Ballet Theatre is capable of doing.
Canfield says he was unaware of its potential himself until he saw the company perform in a choreographer’s showcase with Cirque members. His reaction: “Oh, my God. The depth in that company is unbelievable. You would never know that from the performances at Ham Hall or Judy Bayley.” It made Canfield — who hadn’t even applied for the full-time artistic director’s job — want to stick around. His eventual selection to lead the company has resulted in its restructuring.
A tough and demanding artistic director, he says he has no time for complacency in a company.
He says he wants dancers “who have integrity and incredible work ethic, who will walk in that door every day, give their all and know that they might not walk in that door tomorrow. It’s not that long of a career. I want them to have the most while they’re doing it. I want them to love their time on stage.”
The economy almost ensured that Canfield would get what he wanted.
Layoffs and budget cuts at other companies brought in 61 dancers for auditions and an additional 50 resumes from solid dancers. He acknowledges the past year’s difficulties for Nevada Ballet’s dancers — working with an interim director, new demands and challenges, and auditioning five candidates for artistic director.
Dancers now with the company agree with the new vision and work ethic, Canfield says.
“I’m excited. I get excited every season,” Canfield says. “I know what choreographers are going to pull out of them. I can’t wait to see what (the dancers) bring to the role, steps emotion, artistry and all. I tell them, ‘Breathe new life into that. Let’s capitalize on what you can bring to that role.’ They can learn from each other.
“I don’t go to work. I go to life every day, asking, ‘How are we moving forward today? What are we doing to challenge each other?’ ”
There are some quotes from this guy that are disturbing:
"There's no figuring me out. I'm in your face."
"Get 'em in the back door and I'll teach you why they walk through the front door," Canfield says.
How can someone so abrasive be an artistic director of a classical ballet company?
Are you kidding??? I won't spend my time citing the long line of ballet directors over the past hundred years who were considered "abrasive" and produced legendary companies and performances.
This is typical of Las Vegas. NBT has been rubbish plain and simple. The dancers were undisciplined and the shows themselves were campy and, had it not been for the grown-ups on the stage, one would have thought they had stumbled into some kindergarten recital with people leaping out of their seats and clapping everytime one of their sweaty panting friends appeared on stage.
Las Vegas needs outsiders with talent to bring their skills to our city. The members of the so-called "arts community" are too busy stroking each other's egos to admit that they would be laughed out of town in any other city in America.
Bravo to Mr. Canfield. Perhaps he'll be the first professional to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It's called drive and imagination my dear. We need more of it if the city is going to survive.
A response to bbrummel:
Does anyone really think a director like Brigitte Lefevre or Dame Monica Mason would ever say, "I'm in your face."
I was a subscriber to Nevada Ballet until I saw this last "kindergarten recital" named American Masters! Of course, that is excluding the works of Christopher Wheeldon and Val Caniparoli, which are true American masterpieces.
I guess I will have to subscribe to San Francisco Ballet if I want to see those works again!
I have three words... google. James. Canfield. If you do not learn from the past, you are doomed to repeat it.
It is a shame that our board of directors let these people pull the wool over their eyes.
Our classical ballet company will suffer from this! Nothing was mentioned about what is going to happen to our famlies and their children who looks up to the role models who have been pushed out! Our company was put together with principals, soloists, and corps de ballet!!
What about the "Smith Center?" How embarrasing!
What is so sad is that the new regime is steering the company from being a ballet company into becoming a hodge-podge dance company, filled with its director's dated choreographic back list.
Fortunately, two of the ballet's most beloved role models (Yoomi Lee and Kyudong Kwak) are staying in Las Vegas and have opened a school: Kwak Ballet. They are Kirov trained and continue the classical tradition in their school.
Nevada Ballet Theater started life as Nevada DANCE Theater, with professional dancers from the strip who wanted to be able to dance with artistic vision, rather than the commercial work they were doing with their "day jobs" in the many Strip shows. Then we went from the Vassili Sulich era to the Bruce Steivel era and Nevada Ballet Theater...
There is so much talent in Las Vegas. Why NOT do more collaboration with LV Strip artists who would welcome some serious outlet for their choreography?
Classical ballet is delightful, but does the Philharmonic only play music from one era?
Have some fun with it, and perhaps a new era of brilliant dance can start in Las Vegas. Sometimes weird combinations spawn brilliance.
Reeses Peanut-butter Cup, anyone?
While it is true that NBT should avoid freeze-drying into a museum, it does need to keep its core message. The symphony does this by separating its programming into a Masterworks series and a Pops series.
And collaboration with LV Strip artists is a good thing. The Cirque/NBT programs have both been popular and artistic successes. However, if NBT goes along its new path, it will lose its classical framework. It is this framework that has made the company special in the context of our city.
What this city doesn't need is a regular diet of a watered down, lowered production value version of material that can already be found on the Strip.
Nevada Ballet takes more than a year to replace the Artistic Director, releases many of the better dancers, but keep the administrative staff whole? They have financial problems so they replace the product (the dancers) but not the people entrusted with generating the funding?
* The LV Symphony rattled the cage by shifting personnel and changing the board.
* The LV Art Museum closes to regroup and revamp.
* But, NBT fires the product, hires an Artistic Director (who may or may not be controversial), but leaves what seems to be a less than competent staff in place?
Sounds odd to me.
Did anyone know that there was already a professional Contemporary Dance Company in the city by the name of The Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater The Artistic Director was a former dancer from The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater I hear the company is amazing. They have been here for two years.
Actually, some of the above facts are wrong. Yes, they cut dancers, but several admin positions were also cut.
What a tragedy!
It is so sad to see one of the few representations of classical art in Nevada turn its back on the real classics! It is true that NBT originated as 'Nevada Dance Theatre' but they made a conscientious decision several years ago to make a commitment to furthering the appreciation of Classical Ballet in Nevada and therefore changed the name.
This is not a step forward for Nevada Ballet - it is a step back! If Mr. Canfield really wanted to further art in Nevada he too would commit to ensuring that our children are able to appreciate real art. He would find a way to show them the beauty of works like Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Sleeping Beauty ... the list could go on and on. Instead he has turned his back on the art form in favor of an artistically devoid season that amounts to nothing more than a Canfield ego-fest. I suspect were it not for the necessity of creating revenue we wouldn't even see the classical rendition of "The Nutcracker" - how long until we get a watered down Canfield version of that beloved piece?
And by the way Ms. Peterson, if the former repertoire was so 'sleepy' why is the company repeating "Rubies" - perhaps because despite the undue praise you give Mr. Canfield he wasn't able to qualify the company for any additional pieces from the Balanchine trust?
It is an embarrassment that the NBT board couldn't find a real artist to be the artistic director and it is a tragedy that we are losing our access to real ballet in Nevada.
A response to Dancer 678:
Actually you don't know the facts either:
**12 dancers and 2 resigned
**There were 3 administrative positions
There could be more to resign, yet!
A response to nvdancer:
You are exactly right!
There were some great directors that came here
for the job, but it is obvious that Mr. Canfield was the cheapest!
One does have to wonder about where the company and board are placing their focus when the Executive Director is paid $130,000+ per year and dancers being paid $250 per week for approximately 30 weeks are laid off because the company "cannot afford them"!!!
Not sure what all the negativity is about. The company, especially the corps and new dancers, look sharp, motivated and focused. Loved the live music for Balanchine and the variety of programs this year. It's a shame to see former dancers and competitors try to knock down our best performing arts group.
For redrocker:
Not everyone commenting here is a former dancer or a competitor. As an audience member, I heard much lobby grumbling this year about the ragged corps in Giselle and Nutcracker and the underchoreographed and gimmicky quality of the "Blue Moon" piece.
The problem with these audience mutterings is that they can translate into poor ticket sales, which will not serve the company well in the long run. After all, only so much for so long can be blamed on the economy. Eventually, the administration and artistic director have to accept responsibility.