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Cleveland Ballet has a wealthy and vibrant historical past spanning practically 100 years. In 2014, the corporate was reborn underneath the management of Gladisa Guadalupe and her husband, Michael Krasnyansky. Since then, Cleveland Ballet has turn out to be the quickest rising firm within the nation. Its eighth season will culminate with a efficiency alongside the newly shaped Cleveland Ballet Orchestra. Dance Informa had the privilege of talking with Guadalupe, Cleveland Ballet’s creative director; and Alexandra Preucil, Cleveland Ballet Orchestra’s concertmaster.
Both Guadalupe and Preucil had been launched to the humanities at a younger age. Preucil shares, “I’ve played the violin since I was three years old. I was never a dancer, but I did go to a Cleveland Orchestra concert of Swan Lake when I was a teenager. I was like, ‘Mom, why am I not taking ballet? This is such incredible music!’ I was so inspired that I started taking adult ballet at 14. When my little sister was born a few years later, I said, ‘She has to dance! And the only place she should go is School of Cleveland Ballet with Miss Guadalupe!’ Through the years, I became a member of the Cleveland Orchestra and kept my dance hobby going.”
Guadalupe provides, “I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. My father always wanted me to be a pianist. I never learned how to read music, and never practiced because I didn’t like it. One Saturday, my piano teacher had enough of me. She threw a tambourine and said, ‘You do whatever you want, but I’m going to play the song the way it’s supposed to be played!,’ and I started dancing. When my father came to pick me up, she said, ‘We’ve made a mistake, she’s not a pianist, she’s a dancer!’ So I started late, at age 13.”
Guadalupe educated at Ballets de San Juan, and obtained a full summer time scholarship to the School of American Ballet. She was invited to remain as a yearly scholar, and after graduating was provided a contract to bop with Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas in Venezuela, with whom she traveled all world wide. When she returned to the United States, she was accepted to NYU however determined to proceed her skilled dance profession and accepted a contract with the previous Cleveland Ballet in Cleveland. During this time, she was an artist with the corporate earlier than changing into Director of School of Cleveland Ballet.
With deep ties to the Cleveland arts scene, it solely made sense Guadalupe would proceed investing locally. Guadalupe says, “When the former Cleveland Ballet left, I decided to stay and founded the Cleveland School of Dance, now School of Cleveland Ballet, in 2000. We’re now celebrating 23 years of the school. My husband and I bought the Cleveland Ballet name and incorporated it eight years ago. We started with five dancers and now have 32 from nine different countries.”
Guadalupe and her husband are exceptionally conscious of the present instances, and have made intentional selections to encourage at the moment’s audiences. “I choreographed and condensed the ballet Carmen to one hour, as well as Swan Lake to an hour and 25 minutes. Social media has changed our attention span. We need to appeal to a four-year-old and a 94-year-old. I think that’s why we’ve been very successful. We’ve not compromised the story, technique or ability of the dancers. But we have compromised time and set. I believe a dancer should be able to show their artform wearing just their leotard and tights,” shares Guadalupe.
Not solely are shorter consideration spans in thoughts, however so is the necessity to present the viewers an escape. “I want people to be moved when they come to the theater,” Guadalupe says. “They need to forget what the reality is out there. They want to immerse themselves in your storytelling.”
When it got here to becoming a member of forces with Preucil, it was a no brainer given their long-standing relationship. Guadalupe informed Preucil that she’d all the time dreamed of getting a reside orchestra with Cleveland Ballet, and the remaining is historical past.
Preucil says, “Miss G and I collaborated on a few small-scale projects to coordinate music with dance, because we’re both passionate about that. When this opportunity came to do a full show with music, they were really excited to join forces with me and figure out the best route.”
Guadalupe provides, “It is important because it brings two art forms together. We could have possibly done this before, but I wanted to be sure we could do this and continue paying dancers. We pay them salaries, provide health insurance and now will be helping with their college education. I want to take care of these dancers. The orchestra was the next step to elevate things artistically.”
Talking with each Preucil and Guadalupe, it was obvious the respect they’ve for one another. “Miss G is so great because she’s always asking me, ‘What should it be? What’s the right thing musically? What recordings should we listen to for the right tempos?’ We have a dialogue that puts music on an equal playing field as dance,” says Preucil.
“I learn so much from her (Preucil). She understands movement and tempos,” provides Guadalupe. “Then we found Ilia Zhivoi to choreograph the new piece. We put people together, and they have worked beautifully coordinating this incredible piece with the music and choreography!”
Although Preucil isn’t a dancer by commerce, she and her father offered reside music to Cleveland Ballet’s manufacturing of Carmen the place Preucil wore pointe footwear whereas taking part in the violin! The alternative to mix her love for each artwork varieties is thrilling. “I’ve never danced to live music, but as a musician I know how I want to stretch phrases and create things within my body for the music. In my mind, if there was a live musician I could collaborate with, how incredible would that be? When I get to be the live musician who does that for a dancer, it’s magical!”
Cleveland Ballet’s subsequent season has not but been introduced, however Guadalupe shares there are thrilling issues on the horizon, “Out of the three major performances next year, two will have orchestra. We’re still figuring out details of the final performance, but once you experience the combination with live music, it’s hard to go back.”
Preucil shares within the enthusiasm. “We’re definitely not stopping here as far as I’m concerned! We’ve built a lot, and have been so careful in how we’ve gone about creating the orchestra. We’ve been very practical and methodical in the approach so that it can hopefully last forever.”
She continues, “My dream is to have an orchestra that is so flexible and passionate about being a part of dance that you see things on stage you’ve never been able to see before because the music supports it.”
Guadalupe and her husband have a shared imaginative and prescient that drives the corporate towards an thrilling future. The selections that Cleveland Ballet has made preserve the corporate related and thrilling to at the moment’s audiences. Guadalupe concludes, “I do take risks but calculated risks. You must take a chance and move forward.”
Cleveland Ballet’s firm premiere of George Balanchine’s Serenade with the world premiere of Symphony of Life with the Cleveland Ballet Orchestra shall be April 21 and 22, at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square.
To be taught extra, go to clevelandballet.org and alexandrapreucil.com. You may also comply with each on social media: @clevelandballet and @alexandrapreucil.
By Melody McTier of Dance Informa.
