School of Dance Pre-Professional student Riley Putnal rehearses the piece “For the Trees” Wednesday in Carnahan-Jackson Dance Studios, in preparation for this weekend’s Student Gala.
School of Dance students will take the stage at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Amphitheater for the first Student Gala of the summer, and a chance to showcase their talents for all of Chautauqua
Sasha Janes, the Bonnefoux-McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance, is looking forward to showing the community the hard work and talent of the Pre-Professional and Festival dancers studying at the Institution this season.
The program includes six pieces, and Janes is particularly excited for a performance of Balanchine’s “Rubies,” which he described as being a Balanchine “masterwork” to be staged by Patricia McBride, director of ballet studies and Principal Repetiteur at Chautauqua, former distinguished prima ballerina with New York City Ballet. Ballet pioneer George Balanchine choreographed and staged “Rubies” on McBride herself.
“I think it’s super special to have Patti staging it, being that she’s the (original) in the role, so that’s pretty exciting,” Janes said.
Also included in the repertoire are two pieces choreographed by Janes, as well as a piece choreographed by Kara Wilkes, who was a faculty member in the School of Dance last year. The performance will also feature a piece choreographed by Michael Deeb, a Buffalo-based choreographer and dancer.
Sarkis Kaltakhtcian, the choreographer behind “Character,” said he’s happy to have had the opportunity to teach School of Dance students the character piece featured in the Gala’s repertoire.
“I love character dances,” Kaltakhtcian said. “When I was growing up, I always enjoyed dancing character, and (it) was a big part of my training.”
He’s especially excited about the music that accompanies the piece.
“The beginning is very mellow, it’s very lyrical,” Kaltakhtcian said. “And then, midway, it gets very exciting and very fast.”
Kaltakhtcian started his career as a dancer at the Institution and has been faculty at the School of Dance for many years now. He said Chautauqua is one of his favorite places to be; he feels inspired when he is surrounded by other artists and creative people.
“I really fell in love with the place and the energy and the people — not just dance, but in general — the culture of Chautauqua is amazing to me, and there’s something very special,” Kaltakhtcian said. “I get very relaxed when I’m there, very creative. The energy is very inspiring, so I really love being in Chautauqua. I love being there; I meet new artists every year, I meet very interesting people, generous people. It’s the best place to be.”
For the School of Dance Gala, most of the pieces are ensemble pieces, simply due to the nature of the program. Even so, Janes said that the dancers will have their moments to shine throughout the performance.
He added that the dancers have mastered a significant body of work over the course of the last few weeks and that he hopes audience members will see the accomplishments of the pre-professional and festival dancers through this Gala.
“I think what should be understood is how technically challenging the works are for these dancers, and we’re really pushing them to do some stuff that professionals have a hard time doing,” Janes said.
Janes hopes that Chautauquans will take the opportunity to see the accomplishments of the Pre-Professional and Festival dancers — 55 in total this summer, with Festival dancers in residency for six weeks, and the Pre-Professionals on grounds for their studies for seven weeks.
“It’s really a lot for them, and they’re really handling it very well,” Janes said.
For Kaltakhtcian, working with the School of Dance is a tremendous opportunity to work with students and faculty that he deeply admires.
“It’s great to work with very talented and committed students,” he said. “They really come there to work hard, to learn. They are eager to learn and the whole atmosphere is amazing. It’s an amazing place to work alongside icons like Patricia McBride, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Sasha Janes. It’s an amazing experience. They are icons, living icons.”
Kaltakhtcian just wants Chautauquans to hear the music and enjoy the moment — “dance is an art form that is in the moment; you really want to hear, and see, and enjoy,” he said. “I hope the audience will have a great time and the dancers will have a great time. For me, it’s most important to give the love of dance that I received from my teachers to the next generation and, hopefully, the audience who comes to watch it will go with joy.”
