BWW Blog: Stephen Campanella - Preserving and Changing StepsSeptember 3, 2013In my first blog, I spoke of the importance of preserving ballets as a part of the heritage of dance. I did not touch on what constitutes preservation, however, and I would like to remedy that by discussing a few of the problems inherent in preserving a ballet, especially in regards to changes made to the choreography. Before continuing, I must make two disclaimers. First, in no way is this an exhaustive discussion of the subject. It is a blog with a discussion of a few of the problems I have encountered. Second, although I will primarily discuss romantic and classical works of the 19th century, what I say holds increasingly true of early and even mid twentieth century work, and will eventually be the case for contemporary works.
BWW Blog: Stephen Campanella - An Open Mind and the Avant-GardeAugust 22, 2013In my last blog, I commented on variety in the repertory of a ballet company and placed a special emphasis on the preservation of older ballets and the importance of exposure to a variety of dance. I felt it appropriate to follow up this week with a double theme on the importance of having an open mind when watching dance and on the nature of the avant-garde.
BWW Blog: Meet Stephen Campanella of American Repertory Ballet - On Varied RepertoryAugust 14, 2013I have often heard the statement that 'a ballet company should not be a museum,' or words to that effect, whenever dancers or directors are discussing the repertory that should be performed, particularly in regional companies. It has always made me vaguely uneasy so I thought I would take this chance to work through some of the implications. I certainly understand and approve the philosophy of creation that underpins it; a museum is generally responsible solely for the display and maintenance of existing work, not for the creation of new work, whereas a ballet company not only performs the existing but is constantly involved in the creation of the new. My concerns about the statement come more from its tone, which generally implies two things: first, that work being produced now is by definition superior to, or at least more interesting than, work that was produced a century ago, and second, that audiences are uninterested in seeing those supposedly dry old dinosaurs.