© 2020, Christian Cassidy
(Jon Thordarson, Winnipeg Tribune, U of M Digital Collections)
Mikhail Baryshnikov shocked the dance world when he defected to the West in Toronto in 1974.
The Latvian-born, 26-year-old was already a superstar as lead dancer with the Kirov Ballet of Leningrad, (now Saint Petersburg). Due to his status he was chosen to be a guest dancer when the Bolshoi appeared in Toronto in June 1974.
After the last show on June 29, Baryshnikov decided to leave his hotel room and seek asylum in Canada. He later said that his reason for defecting was purely artistic, not political. He felt that at age 26 he was already reaching the pinnacle of what he could do in his home country: "When I was in Toronto I finally decided that if I let the opportunity of expanding my art in the West slip by it could haunt me always."
Over the summer, Baryshnikov went about setting his future in motion. He signed on to perform in La Sylphide with the National Ballet of Canada in a series of shows at Ontario Place in August 1974. He then signed a contract to dance with American Ballet Theatre in their December to February season.
Baryshnikov also called on Gelsey Kirkland, the 21-year-old principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, to ask her to be his new dance partner. He had previously seen her perform during a Russian tour by the NYCB.
Like Baryshnikov, Kirkland felt she had peaked at her company and was looking for new opportunities. When the Russian dancer called she jumped at the chance and left the NYCB in September to sign with him at the American Ballet Theatre.
October 5, 1974, Winnipeg Tribune
The pair needed time to work together on stage and any company in North America or Europe would have been happy to host their world premiere. In the end, was the Royal Winnipeg Ballet that signed them.
Jim Cameron, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's general manager, said that it took him three
weeks to put the deal together and involved him travelling to New York and Toronto. He
said negotiations were involved because "everyone was looking for him".
Cameron said that Baryshnikov wanted to work with Canadian companies during this time as a thank-you for allowing him to defect. He was aware of the RWB and their "western style" of ballet from a 1970 tour of Russia that included performances in Leningrad, Moscow and Odessa.
Baryshnikov and Kirland would do six performances with the Royal Winnipeg
ballet at its 1974 season opener from October 2 to 6. Their dance would be the pas-de-deux from Don Quixote, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus,
The RWB held off on
individual ticket sales until its season ticket campaign ended which allowed its regular patrons first dibs.
(Jon Thordarson, Winnipeg Tribune, U of M Digital Collections)
The dancers arrived in Winnipeg on September 30, 1974 to begin their final rehearsals. Their stay was not a media frenzy. In fact, it was quite muted.
Irene Walsh, a Free Press reporter who was granted an interview, later recalled that when she visited Baryshnikov in his hotel room on the top floor of a downtown hotel one morning, (presumably what is now the Fairmont), she found him watching the 1974 Summit Series between Canada and Russia. A fellow former Russian dancer now living in New York acted as his translator.
She noted that Baryshnikov was still laying low given the publicity of the defection. He stayed under an assumed name at the hotel and was careful where he went and who he met. He expressed some insecurities, wondering if the Western ballet world would, indeed, accept his style of dance in the long term. He knew that Winnipeg was his opportunity to get back into top dance form and show what was to come with his partnership with Kirkland.
In a sit-down interview with the Winnipeg Tribune's Rosalie Woloski, the
pair said they needed time to perfect working together and wanted the opportunity to
do it away from the additional pressures and media spotlight of a New York or
Toronto. Baryshnikov said, "Its not that we felt we could
perform here without any risk. There's risk whenever you perform. We had
to start somewhere and we are happy that it was here."
Opening night of what would be the company's 35th season had a couple of
special guests in the audience. Dr. Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally, co-founders of
the ballet who now worked in British Columbia, were on hand.
By all accounts the opening night and the six-performance run was a great success.
Casimir Carter, the Free Press' ballet critic, wrote: "The choreography contains all the flashiest steps in the choreographer's repertoire. To these, Mr. Baryshnikov has added a few personal touches to display his particular virtuosity.... The pas de deux was over before the audience could draw a second breath. The standing ovation indicated that an encore would have been welcomed."
Rosalie Woloski of the Tribune wrote: "It is difficult to describe or evaluate what happened without going into superlatives.... Precision marked every step, as one movement flowed into another."
Related:
Baryshnikov defects form Soviet Union CBC Archives
Baryshnikov - Present at the Defection Maclean's
Baryshnikov taking class with the National Ballet of Canada YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment