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Julie Lincoln, repetiteur:
Inhabiting the bodies of others
In the last thirty years, the deaths of Anthony Tudor, George Balanchine, and Frederick Ashton- choreographers whose works are regarded as touchstones of twentieth-century ballet-have prompted attention toward the methods by which bodies of choreographic work are maintained in the absence of their creators. Conventional opinion declares dance to be the "most ephemeral" of the arts; that it happens only "in the moment" and then "vanishes." On the one hand, these canards imply that keeping such transitory artistry alive at all may be a meaningless exercise; on the other hand, they allude to the hybrid work of artists who strive to revive and maintain ballets by deceased choreographers. The controversies that have swirled around the health of Balanchine ballets have preoccupied dance critics in the United States, and have helped to advance a larger discussion about disparate standards of preservation. There are also difficulties with choreographic legacies that are being faced in Europe, especially with the dances left by Ashton and, in another instance, by Rudolf Nureyev. A welcome exception among all of these stories concerns the dances of Sir Kenneth MacMillan, whose estate has been farsighted in implementing a high standard of documentation and rehearsal oversight in respect to his choreography. Yet the work of any one of these choreographers provides a European context for looking at issues of rehearsal standards, preservation methods, and various strategies for archiving choreographic contributions to ballet. The current tribute to MacMillan illustrates how particular choreographers come to be identified with particular companies, dancers, choreographic genres, or social eras; in many ways, the tribute is as much about a particular period of British ballet history as it is a commemoration of the tenth anniversary of MacMillan's death. The generation of British dancers who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s now husbands the ballet heritage of that remarkable time. Many of the period's wonderful dancers remain very active in the profession-including Donald MacLeary, Lynne Seymour, Georgiana Parkinson, Patricia Ruanne, David Wall, and Monica Mason-and they are fluent in the language of the choreographers with whom they were associated. These artists are able to transmit that literacy, through instruction and coaching, to a new generation. They understand the particular ways of working that distinguished these choreographers, and they can provide insights into the nuances of phrasing or interpretation. They are able to join artistic intent to technique so that the choreographic visions are as fully articulated as possible when entered into by dancers for the first time. The MacMillan tribute also demonstrates how those who restage ballets have become increasingly important in transferring repertory from one generation to the next. These artists are known by various names: repetiteur, regisseur, or simply ballet mistress or ballet master. A repetiteur is not only a caretaker but a kind of creative alchemist-someone who connects various sources together to yield a stage production that is not only coherent theatrically but truthful to the original intentions of the choreographer. Ultimately, repertory revived by a repetiteur reflects the quality of information he or she brings to the process. The practical impact on the ballet repertory of those responsible for reviving choreography is enormous: efforts range from exhuming dances of the Diaghilev era, to the current initiative by the Kirov Ballet to mount "authentic" stagings of The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadere. Julie Lincoln is one of these artist alchemists. In the last decade this former ballerina has moved from training dancers to restaging ballets by Ashton and MacMillan. As a dancer, she trained at the Royal Ballet School, taking the Royal Academy of Dance's Adeline Genee Silver Medal upon graduating in 1968. Lincoln went on to perform with both the main company and the Royal Ballet Touring Company continuously from her graduation through the 1970s and into the 1980s. She left the company in 1984 to become ballet mistress for the Royal Ballet School, a post she held until 1996. Today, however, Julie Lincoln is on the road constantly, restaging dances on companies in Hong Kong, Japan, the United States and Canada, among other destinations. Lincoln's work with MacMillan's choreography is particularly noteworthy. Deborah MacMillan, head of the MacMillan Trust which operates as the licensing agency for the late choreographer's work, has been an encouraging influence on the development of Lincoln's career. |