BUJONES THINKS BIG IN ORLANDO.

FOR THE BENEFIT of dance in the state, Florida has reclaimed a native son. Miami-born Fernando Bujones, who followed up his distinguished career as a performer with international teaching and administrative posts, has just been named artistic director at Southern Ballet Theatre in Orlando, bringing expectations of creative growth and continued financial stability at the twenty-six-year-old company.

The transition into his position has been smooth, Bujones said. "My affiliation with SBT began over a year ago," he explained. "I was invited to choreograph a work, Jazz Swing, for a spring gala. It turned out to be a big success. So I returned as guest teacher for the summer program, where I did another choreography. I was able to meet some board members and developed a rapport with the dancers."

An offer from board president Tricia Earl soon formalized his relationship as artistic advisor and guest choreographer for the duration of this season. In that role, Bujones is overseeing the staging of Jazz Swing among other works in April and selections from the classics in May. The board elected him unanimously to start as director in September. American Ballet Theatre's Yan Chen--whose family already resides in Orlando--joins Bujones as resident guest artist while continuing to perform with her parent company.

Of his vision for SBT, Bujones said, "Primarily I would like to preserve the classical image of the company--it would be unwise not to use my strength." He will rely on expertise developed throughout nearly three decades of dancing in first-rank institutions, prominently at American Ballet Theatre, where he became a principal in 1974, the same year he won the gold medal at Varna.

A long-term goal for Bujones, then, is to mount full-length story ballets beyond the yearly Nutcracker; for fall, he's counting on the draw of exotic flavors in excerpts from La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, and Prince Igor. Still, the director is quick to add, "I also want to bring in works where all these talented dancers have the opportunity to show the audience a diversified look."

With that purpose, he plans to join the classics with works by himself and guest choreographers--"that's how you start putting weight into repertory," he asserted. "When I put a program together, it's important to balance out the energy--with an entertaining quality, some theatrical meaning, maybe an outstanding adagio."

For Bujones these artistic concerns tie in with his responsibility to the business side of dance, something he learned as director of Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico from 1995 to 1998. There, he cultivated a younger audience and doubled subscriptions. "To have a financially sound company," he said, "you have to think you're satisfying your audience's needs ... and they don't want to just see a one-dimensional evening today. I look forward to getting close to the community here--to understand where they would like to see their city go artistically. At the same time there will be an educational process, hopefully enthusiastic, for both sides."

To institute his plans Bujones will work with twenty-four full-time dancers on a thirty-two-week contract and a projected budget of nearly $2 million, with thirty-one percent coming from donations and the rest from earnings, according to board treasurer Martha Hartley. Programs such as youth concerts with the Orlando Philharmonic and state touring will continue, along with scholarship aid to provide dance education to disadvantaged children at the company school, where Bujones wants to continue the Vaganova method but also bring in guest teachers with a diverse approach. His own academic preference runs to what he calls a "United Nations style of teaching, using the resources of my background."

That includes the Vaganova-derived Cuban method along with the individual touches of the likes of Andre Eglevsky, Stanley Williams, and Zeida Cecilia Mendez, a personal coach. Bujones describes his classes as beginning with "very slow, basic academic barre work; then--as we move to center--speed combinations, more Balanchine or Bournonville style."

In choreographing, Bujones uses a dancer-friendly process. "I'm not dictatorial. I use the instruments in front of me, see what their strengths are, to enhance the form and style. Their looking good will make my work look better, too."

An attitude of mutual--and constructive --accommodation, in fact, should pervade the whole institution. "It all comes down to teamwork," Bujones emphasized, "that the dancers understand that they're as important to the organization as the director is, that the board understand that they are important in supporting the vision, in being part of that passion. If we're all on the same page, then the winner is the organization."