The Balanchine legacy.

The Balanchine Essays: Arabesque, Port de Bras and Epaulement, Passe and Attitude, Barre I, and Barre II should be issued with a warning label: The materials contained in these videos do not comprise a methodology, but represent Balanchine's aesthetic and choreographic preferences. May be injurious to the body unless an acknowledged methodology has been a basic part of your previous training.

Any attempt to substitute Balanchine's aesthetic choices, as shown in the videotapes, for a method or technique, without having mastered a science of study, would be much like trying to become a classical musician without being able to read music and learning to play an instrument only by imitating recordings.

Can these videos be misused? They might be, unless it is understood that this is a deviation from standard technique, not a replacement for one. Balanchine experimented and coached his company dancers in rhythmic accents and physical shapes different from the classic execution of ballet vocabulary in order to create a look, a style, an individual vision that became exciting, elegant, sensual, and specific. But his classes were not satisfying in the sense of providing a warm-up, or instrumental in developing a dancer's classical style. They became, however, Balanchine's classic style and, through his seminars, a way of teaching based upon his vivid imagination, rich internal life, and choreographic experimentation. It had nothing to do with training the body, only seeing how Many shapes, accents, and rhythms could be wrung from a standard basic exercise. Characteristic of the Balanchine style are sharp, quick movements upward, a slower placement of the working foot in return, fixed torso and arm placement, expressionless upper body and head, and tempos that make some movements (frappes, and ronds de jambes par terre, for instance) look spastic, frantic, mechanical, and immobilizing. But fun. When seen in choreography, the style is exciting and tantalizes the eye.

Cecchetti, Blasis, Vaganova, and others created a methodology. Cecchetti and Bournonville established specific accompaniment for classwork. Although Balanchine would have been capable of doing the same, his main interest was choreography. As Alexandra Danilova remembers, Balanchine always told his company members: "do what you want (to warm up), we'll do a little class, and then we'll get to the ballets." And to his teachers: "Do not do any invention. Teach them what I want so when they come to the company I don't have to train them." There is some allusion to these points in the videos.

Martha Graham and Bournonville incorporated bits of their dances into classwork to develop a methodology as they prepared their students for the repertoire, should they become company members. Their methodologies produced well-rounded, classically trained dancers capable of performing the works of other choreographers in other companies, as well. Although phrases from the Balanchine repertoire are seen as demonstration in the videos, these are not incorporated into the classroom as a methodology. Yet the style and aesthetic preferences are part of classwork at the New York City Ballet's School of American Ballet and they instill a technique that is reasonably true to the interpretation of Balanchine's works. Understandable. The result is a "Balanchine dancer," with strengths and weaknesses, who may or may not become a member of New York City Ballet.

On a superficial level, the photography is dark and static, the dancers look self-conscious and undirected--at one point Jeffrey Edwards, in confusion, assumes "B plus," a standing bow position preferred by Mr. B for women, and Suki Schorer uses a Cecchetti term for an arm position--the entire effect is home video by a team that should be producing an organized, authoritative, and professional-looking presentation of the aesthetic of an American genius.

Lest you think you have found the definitive training source in these videotapes, bear in mind what you already know:

1. There are no shortcuts in any methodology. A young dancer's body, mind, and emotions develop at a cumulative pace that cannot be hurried. Skipping basics does not produce a well-rounded, employable dancer. In other words, the Balanchine version of any step should not be executed unless you know the basic, classic, and earlier version that shapes and strengthens the body.

2. If flexible or loose ligaments are not naturally present, injuries can result when the safe workings of the skeleton and muscles are not carefully observed. Heels, for instance, must be on the floor in plies, especially at the barre. In fast, petite batterie, if the Achilles tendons have been fully stretched and warmed, several methods permit a no-heels execution provided the combination begins and ends with a heels-down demi-plie. Also, if the hips are not kept square and the side of the working leg is tilted upward, as in a Balanchine arabesque, there is an added strain on the supporting hip and leg.

3. Producing a technique for only one style is limiting even when acknowledged, and risks a great deal of time and money that will never be regained. Multiple turns and beats, performed on the right and left sides, even when not used extensively in choreography, increase balance and ballon when included in the syllabus and should not be omitted from daily work.

4. Every method passes port de bras through the forward, rounded diaphragm-level position (Russian First, Cecchetti Fifth en avant) in transit from first to second, to third, fourth, and fifth arabesques.

When dancer and teacher Frederic Franklin saw the videotape essay called Arabesque, he remarked: "That windmill port de bras as shown in the video when changing arabesque positions is purely choreographic and does not belong in the classroom." Enough. You know better.

Are the videotapes worth purchasing? Indeed they are, if only to help us redefine our basic principles and celebrate our differences as we search for the commonality that we all share in teaching through knowledge, insight, science, passion for movement, and utter dedication to perfecting the glorious instrument that is the human body.

Nonesuch videos are available in audio and video stores throughout the United States. If you are unable to find an outlet near you, call [phone].