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Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 001. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) 002a. letter Sue Vogelsinger to Bobbie re: address and phone number [partial] (1 12/09/1997 P6/b(6) page) 002b. letter Lucy Jarvis to Sue Vogelsinger re: fax number [partial] (2 pages) 12/08/1997 P6/b(6) 003a. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) 003b. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) 003c. note Bobbie to Lucy [partial] (1 page) 01/26/1998 P6/b(6) 003d. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) 003e. note Bobbie to Lucy [partial] (1 page) 01/26/1998 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA] b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA| P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office |(a)(2) of the PRA] b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA] an agency |(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information |(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA] b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA] b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. Noa- - Pls prepare + Jarvis" file" Lucy Thay - Lucy Harvis /14/98 Women's Form - founded 1976, Exee. Women at the top - - help younger wine in their way(network) - int'l Cuban Serverl and Athcia Alomzo Ballerina = intermediary Ballet Hispanica - hipanic in origin/but level primarily Americans. 2 Jannes - \ defector (2yrs. ago) came out w family legally (12 yora They will lead the town - Aage + off - out of Nat'l mg Theater Talked to Cultural Attache - - who Sand he'd thegood 56 the office Form of 48 has planning wom she had a license In the first trip Now his Signed does. that taller then to proceed WNET (ch. 13/NY) will spmson-- will open this has Sreat Perf Shies in Sept : - will bring 80 in April For actual filmin - dn March, she'll so for 7 tech. Survey x expects to get license, etc wat. ufficulty Af there are difficultie "I'm 80mg my to call on you Smp." Alicia Alonso will open 1 NY in Jan in first such perf - - into LA- - beg. of cultural exchapes Ks Cubans had licated can interest in. Her first such appearance in 10 yrs. Wants this to Re have positive influence beyond cultural epch, K said that, Wints Sin Dodd is helping AZinden Hetins HRCto Run eyee. Burtn order can hum license anitarian and Pharmacutical industry could help. Has Rooswelt: Snt HRC 4.books on $pleanor Iris Cantait $ 400,000 to finigh Spenise Rich BOBBIE GREENE 1/21/98 Dear left AHachey i the letter l received today 4arvis like fine Lucy Shot rito to for For the Ballet Hispanico T-Shirts, but Hawise will leave. your jook Rand Please lit 1 know of there's (soen anyth. Lean 11 Should to to Be. of a sist --cl. Airbest Robb Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 001. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA] b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA| b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute |(a)(3) of the PRA| an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information |(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA| b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy |(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA] b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes |(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells |(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. JARVIS THEATRE & FILM PROJECTS LTD. 171 West 57th Street NYC 10019 Tel: (212) 541-7776 FAX: (212) 397-0864 January 16, 1998 Ms. Bobbie Greene Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady The White House Executive Office Building Room 100 Washington, DC 20500 Dear Bobbie, It was a joy and a delight for Scott McArthur and me to come and visit you to share our hopes and plans with you. For me, it was very nostalgic, like the old Kennedy days. We are forging ahead and we are looking forward to the same success with this ballet television project as we had with our other Jarvis "classics." I am happy to alert you that Ballet Hispanico will be performing in Washington at The Lisner Auditorium presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society on Friday, February 13 and Saturday February 14. Both performances begin at 8 PM. Please let us know, as soon as possible, which performance you would like to attend so that we can arrange for your tickets. We would like to invite the First Lady, please advise us whether and how we can do this. We are both looking forward to seeing you again in the near future. Warmest personal best wishes. Sincerely, Lucy Lucy Jarvis Jasvis P.S. Should anyone in the White House need any information, please don't hesitate to ask. P.P.S. P6/(b)(6) [001] BOBBIE GREENE 1/11/98 4eff - Attached are he letters from + about Lucy Jarvis + Fee upcoming focumentancy on Cuba I'm Sorry that & Confused you this maning By Saying that it's a Book project - 1 It had been awhile Since let had looked at the material what to expect I'm not certain from my meety with then - wednesday, But if your Schedule allows, & welcome you facticipation. Please let he knw whether you need more information - and whether I can expect you to join me at 11:30. Thanks. Robbie Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 002a. letter Sue Vogelsinger to Bobbie re: address and phone number [partial] (1 12/09/1997 P6/b(6) page) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information |(a)(1) of the PRA| b(1) National security classified information |(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office |(a)(2) of the PRA b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA] an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute |(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information |(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA| b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA| b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. 01/12/1998 10:35 P6/(b)(6) PAGE 01 SUR VOGRI SINGER [002a] P6/(b)(6) Date 1/11 # of Post-it Fax Note 7671 pages 3 December 9, 1997 To noa From Co./Dept. Co. Phone # Phone w Bobbie - Fax , Fax # First of all, excuse the typewriter = my computer is on the fritz. Lucy Jarvis is a long time friend who I first met when I was working in the White House Press Office during the Kennedy Administration. The attached letter describes her plans to produce a documentary in Cuba which will feature the American dance company, Ballet Hispanico. As you will see, she has received all the necessary approvals from Cuba as well as cooperation from the U.S. Treasury Department. When I first met Lucy she was the producer for NBC's award-winning White Paper series. She went from there to become Barbara Walter's executive producer for ABC and now has her own company. Pierre Salinger in his first book on Kennedy documented some of her activities to bring the U.S. and Russia to better understanding. She introduced Pierre to Krushchev's son-in-law and featured both in a debate for an NBC special. President Kennedy wrote to NBC's president inviting Lucy to join his tour to Paris, Vienna and London. During that trip she was introduced to Krushchev and his staff and received permission to produce a film on the Kremlin - a first which has not been repeated by anyone since. Lucy was in the Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis working on that NBC special. President Kennedy later said, "I promised Khrushchev that if he got the missiles out of Cuba, he would get Lucy out of the Kremlin." Lucy would like 20 minutes with Melanne to describe the project. She is not asking for any particular help, but would like to encourage the same positive attitude from this White House on her Cuba project that she received from the Kennedy White House during the Kremlin project. She can come to Washington at any time. Thanks. Sue Enclosure Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 002b. letter Lucy Jarvis to Sue Vogelsinger re: fax number [partial] (2 pages) 12/08/1997 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRAJ b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA] b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA] an agency |(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute |(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information [(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA] b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA] b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells |(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. 01/12/1998 10:35 P6/(b)(6), C0026] PAGE 03 JARVIS THEATRE & FILM PROJECTS LTD. 171 West 57th Street NYC 10019 Teli (212)541.7776 FAX: (212) 397-0864 December S, 1997 Sue Vogelainger Washington, DC P6/(b)(6) Dear Sue, My collegue, Scott McArthur and I recently returned from a very exciting and successful trip to Havana, Cuba where we won a pledge of cooperation and the necessary approvals from the Cubon Ministry of Culture for us to bring an American dance company to Cuba and create a television show documenting this ground breaking lour. The United States Treasury Department was very cooperative in rapidly arranging the license for our trip to Cuba. In fact 11 is the first time in 38 years that both the United States and Cuba are allowing such a project. Only ninety miles off the coast of Florida, Cuba remains an island shrouded in mystery and misconception. Most Americans know little about this island or the Cubans themselves, a proud people with a colorful passionate heritage. As the post-cold was world continues to evolve, it seems an appropriate time to take a closer look at this island nation, its people and its vibrant enduring culture. Jarvis Theatre & Film Projects, Ltd. is an innovator in cultural programming with a long history of identifying ideas and creating experiences that meril the attention of wide audiences. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy opened the door for me to make a deal with Nikite Khrushehev 10 film inside the great halls of Soviet power. The result was an Smmy Award winning television special called "The Kromlin," which presented the era of detente to the American people. I then won the exclusive right from the French Ministry of Culture to film inside the Louvee. I was awarded the "Chevaliere de L'Ordre des Artes et des Lettres" for my clloris there. Ten years later, I anticipated the normalization of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and won permission to film inside that country. This spectacular coup resulted in another Emmy Award winning television special, "The Forbidden City." Again in 1988, I created the first ever Amcrican/Soviet joint venture of a Broadway musical, sponsored by American Express, Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Ladien." which received worldwide soclaim. Now, we are bringing this expertise in outfusal film making to Cuba. We will bring Ballet Hispanico, America's premier interpreter of Hispanic culture in dance, to Cuba for a three city lour and film their activities while there. We will record not only what is happening on stage, but what happens hehind the accries. The interaction between our dancers, some of whom are Cuban, will oreale wonderful and moving stories of artistic exchange and friendship between peoples of 01/12/1998 10:35 PAGE 02 P6/(b)(6) 2. similar cultures but of different origins and circumstances By having our dancers participate in the cultural life of this vibrant and colorful inland nation we will create a fest paced, informational and entertaining television program depicting Cuba today, 4 shire that will appeal to both American and international audiences. The completed television program will he distributed throughout the United States and worldwide, we have already received the support of THIRTEEN.WNET, New York's PBS affiliate, to act as the flagship station. By communicating our stories powerfully and compellingly, our past projects have resulted in award-winning films recognized world.wide for their insightful and tisacly portrayal of countries and cultures not easily accessible to American film makers. While THIRTEEN.WNET is providing a major dollar contribution and six-time on their sward-winning surius, "Great Performances" we must raise the remainder of the $800,000 budget. Our tour and television program will bring Cuba to the allention of the American people and the world by showing a broad spectrum of Cuban life. This project will serve as a catalyst for a rethinking by the American public about US.Cuban relations in a non-confrontational manner. Warmest best personal wishes. Sincerely, Lucy Jarvis ** TOTAL PAGE.003 ** Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 003a. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information |(a)(1) of the PRA] b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA| b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA] an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information [(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA] b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy |(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA| b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions |(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. JARVIS THEATRE & FILM PROJECTS LTD. 171 West 57th Street NYC 10019 Tel: (212) 541-7776 FAX: (212) 397-0864 January 16, 1998 Ms. Bobbie Greene Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady The White House Executive Office Building Room 100 Washington, DC 20500 Dear Bobbie, It was a joy and a delight for Scott McArthur and me to come and visit you to share our hopes and plans with you. For me, it was very nostalgic, like the old Kennedy days. We are forging ahead and we are looking forward to the same success with this ballet television project as we had with our other Jarvis "classics." I am happy to alert you that Ballet Hispanico will be performing in Washington at The Lisner Auditorium presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society on Friday, February 13 and Saturday February 14. Both performances begin at 8 PM. Please let us know, as soon as possible, which performance you would like to attend so that we can arrange for your tickets. We would like to invite the First Lady, please advise us whether and how we can do this. We are both looking forward to seeing you again in the near future. Warmest personal best wishes. Sincerely, Lucy Lucy Jarvis Jasvis P.S. Should anyone in the White House need any information, please don't hesitate to ask. P.P.S. P6/(b)(6) [003a] Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 003b. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information |(a)(1) of the PRA] b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA| b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA] an agency |(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRAJ b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information [(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA] b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRAJ b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes |(b)(7) of the FOIA| C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells |(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. JARVIS THEATRE & FILM PROJECTS LTD. 171 West 57th Street NYC 10019 Tel: (212) 541-7776 FAX: (212) 397-0864 January 16, 1998 Ms. Bobbie Greene Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady The White House Executive Office Building Room 100 Washington, DC 20500 Dear Bobbie, It was a joy and a delight for Scott McArthur and me to come and visit you to share our hopes and plans with you. For me, it was very nostalgic, like the old Kennedy days. We are forging ahead and we are looking forward to the same success with this ballet television project as we had with our other Jarvis "classics." I am happy to alert you that Ballet Hispanico will be performing in Washington at The Lisner Auditorium presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society on Friday, February 13 and Saturday February 14. Both performances begin at 8 PM. Please let us know, as soon as possible, which performance you would like to attend so that we can arrange for your tickets. We would like to invite the First Lady, please advise us whether and how we can do this. We are both looking forward to seeing you again in the near future. Warmest personal best wishes. Sincerely, Jucy Jarvis Jasvis P.S. Should anyone in the White House need any information, please don't hesitate to ask. P.P.S. [0036] P6/(b)(6) Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 003c. note Bobbie to Lucy [partial] (1 page) 01/26/1998 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA] b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA] b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute |(a)(3) of the PRAJ an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA| b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information |(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA| personal privacy |(a)(6) of the PRA] b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells |(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. THE WHITE HOUSE January WASHINGTON 26, 1998 Dear Lucy- Thanks fu your attractive tee-shirts - nice note and very [003c] P6/(b)(6) Jeff 00 of enjoyed our with you and ScSH. Tome empanked on a terrific project and, with fine hit, the timen couldn't Pope's visit such a Better Thanks for the invitation to the Ballet Hispanico's Washington performances. l would love to have 2 or, if possible, 4 ticket for Saturfay evening. of will let the First Lady know about your invitate, But of think you know that she probably wan't be able to make it. Thanks again fn the visit and the T- Thirts. Anf, good luck with your exciting project. All Rest, Bysbbie Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 003d. letter Lucy Jarvis to Bobbie Greene [partial] (1 page) 01/16/1998 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act- - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - 15 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRAJ b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office |(a)(2) of the PRAJ b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA] an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute |(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information [(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRAJ b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA] b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. JARVIS THEATRE & FILM PROJECTS LTD. 171 West 57th Street NYC 10019 Tel: (212) 541-7776 FAX: (212) 397-0864 January 16, 1998 Ms. Bobbie Greene Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady The White House Executive Office Building Room 100 Washington, DC 20500 Dear Bobbie, It was a joy and a delight for Scott McArthur and me to come and visit you to share our hopes and plans with you. For me, it was very nostalgic, like the old Kennedy days. We are forging ahead and we are looking forward to the same success with this ballet television project as we had with our other Jarvis "classics." I am happy to alert you that Ballet Hispanico will be performing in Washington at The Lisner Auditorium presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society on Friday, February 13 and Saturday February 14. Both performances begin at 8 PM. Please let us know, as soon as possible, which performance you would like to attend so that we can arrange for your tickets. We would like to invite the First Lady, please advise us whether and how we can do this. We are both looking forward to seeing you again in the near future. Warmest personal best wishes. Sincerely, Lucy Jarvis Jasvis P.S. Should anyone in the White House need any information, please don't hesitate to ask. P.P.S. [003d] P6/(b)(6) Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 003e. note Bobbie to Lucy [partial] (1 page) 01/26/1998 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records First Lady's Office Bobbie Greene OA/Box Number: 15627 FOLDER TITLE: Lucy Jarvis 2012-0872-S rc951 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)] Freedom of Information Act - |5 U.S.C. 552(b)] P1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA] b(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA] b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of P3 Release would violate a Federal statute |(a)(3) of the PRA] an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA] P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA] financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information [(b)(4) of the FOIA] and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA] b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy |(b)(6) of the FOIA] personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA] b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA] C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of of gift. financial institutions |(b)(8) of the FOIA] PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information 2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA] RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. THE WHITE HOUSE January WASHINGTON 26,1998 Dear Lucy - Thanks fu your attractive tee-shirts - - nice note and very [003e] P6/(b)(6) Jeff 0 $ & of enjoyed our with you and ScSH. Tome emparked on a terrific project and, with fine hit, the timey couldn't Pope's visit suck a Better Thanks for Khe invitation to the Ballet Hispanico's Washington performances. l would love to have 2 or, if possible, 4 ticket for Saturfay evening. of will let the First Lady know about your invitate, But of think you know that she probably wan't be able to male it. Thanks again fn the visit and the T- Thirts. Anf, good luck with your exciting project. All Rest, Bybbie Ballet Hispanico of New York 167 WEST 89 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 (212) 362-6710 FAX (212) 362-7809 ABOUT BALLET HISPANICO Ballet Hispanico has been recognized around the world as the foremost dance interpreter of Hispanic culture in the United States. Founded in 1970 by Artistic Director Tina Ramirez, Ballet Hispanico's innovative repertory blends ballet and ethnic dance forms into a spirited image of contemporary Hispanic-American culture. The company has appeared in major venues throughout the United States, including The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York City, the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, Houston's Wortham Center and the Bob Hope Cultural Center in Palm Springs. The company has also performed in major dance festivals such as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and the DanceAspen Festival and at venues throughout Europe and South America. The company also performs internationally, most recently in South America, where a three-week tour in July 1993 took them to Panama City, Panama, Caracas, Venezuela, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay. While in Buenos Aires, they were the guests at a private reception with President Carlos Menem. Ballet Hispanico represented the United States at Expo '92 in Seville, Spain, where they were featured at a special Independence Day Celebration at the invitation of the United States Pavilion. Just prior to that engagement, the company performed for President and Mrs. Bush at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Over 50 new works have been commissioned by Ms. Ramirez for Ballet Hispanico's repertory from choreographers of international stature such as Alberto Alonso, Talley Beatty, Graciela Daniele, Vicente Nebrada, Ramon Oller and Ann Reinking and such innovative artists as George Faison, Susan Marshall, Amanda Miller, David Roussève, Maria Rovira and William Whitener. Through movement, music, theme and style, these commissions create a theatrical, contemporary vision of dance that appeals to audiences everywhere. As part of the company's commitment to new work, Ballet Hispanico conducts bi-annual choreographer's workshops which have included a wide range of emerging artists, among them Daniel Duell, Luis Fuente and Lynne Taylor- Corbett. The company's 1997-98 national touring schedule includes major engagements with the Washington Performing Arts Society in Washington D.C., the BankBoston Celebrity Series, Cal State University's Luckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angeles, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. The 15-state tour will encompass not only concert performances in 21 cities, but also numerous residency activities ranging from teacher orientations and student workshops to Latin social dance classes for the general public. A highlight of the performance season will be the premieres of new works by Tony-award winning choreographer Ann Reinking and internationally-renowned Spanish choreographer Maria Rovira. Ballet Hispanico also includes a year-round school of dance unique in its emphasis on ballet and Spanish dance as its core curriculum, and extensive educational programming, both in New York and around the country, entitled "Primeros Pasos." Ballet Hispanico is housed in its own $2 million facility in Manhattan renovated especially for dance. Tina Ramirez, Artistic Director 7/97 Ballet Hispanico of New York 167 WEST 89 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 (212) 362-6710 FAX (212) 362-7809 ABOUT TINA RAMIREZ Founder and Artistic Director of Ballet Hispanico Tina Ramirez has combined her incomparable artistic vision with years of performance and teaching experience to create and sustain the nation's preeminent Hispanic-American dance company and school, Ballet Hispanico. Born in Venezuela, Ms. Ramirez came at the age of seven to the United States, where she studied dance under New York's grande dame of Spanish dance, Lola Bravo, as well as with such noted teachers as Alexandra Danilova and Anna Sokolow. Her first professional performing experience took her on a tour of the United States, Canada and Cuba with the Federico Rey Dance Company. Subsequent appearances included extensive touring in Spain, Spoleto's Festival of Two Worlds with John Butler, the Broadway productions of Kismet and Lute Song and the television version of "Man of La Mancha." In 1963, Ms. Ramirez returned to New York, the city of her childhood, to fulfill a promise to take over her retiring Spanish dance teacher's studio. In 1967, she conceived and directed Operation High Hopes, a professional dance training program for minority and economically disadvantaged youth. In addition to teaching, she arranged performances for her young students as the Tina Ramirez Dancers. Encouraged by the skill of her pupils and increasing requests for performances, Ms. Ramirez formally established Ballet Hispanico in 1970. In five short years, Ballet Hispanico's company had begun to tour nationally and, at present, has performed for over 1.5 million people on three continents. Of equal importance has been the growth and expansion of the Ballet Hispanico School of Dance. Under Ms. Ramirez' direction, the school now offers year-round professional training in ballet and Spanish dance for an enrollment of over 750 students. In addition to performing with Ballet Hispanico's own company, alumni of the school have gone on to successful careers in theater, film and television, as well as with other leading dance companies. In June 1987, Governor Mario Cuomo presented Ms. Ramirez with a coveted Governor's Arts Award in recognition of Ballet Hispanico's outstanding contribution to the quality of New York's cultural life. Among her numerous other achievements are the Mayor's Award of Honor for Arts and Culture (1983) and the Mayor's Ethnic New Yorker Award (1986), both presented by Mayor Edward I. Koch, and the Manhattan Borough President's Award (1988), presented by David N. Dinkins. She received citations of honor at the 1995 New York Dance and Performance Awards (the "Bessies") and at the 1992 Capezio Dance Awards. She has been the recipient of two choreography grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Ms. Ramirez currently serves on the board of The New 42nd Street, Inc.. She has also served on the New York City Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs, numerous panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, the selection panel for The Rockefeller Foundation's Choreographers Awards and the board of the Association of Hispanic Arts. Tina Ramirez, Artistic Director 7/97 Ballet Hispanico of New York 167 WEST 89 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 (212) 362-6710 FAX (212) 362-7809 THE CRITICS' COMMENTS ABOUT THE COMPANY "Sunday's performance by Ballet Hispanico proved beyond a doubt that this American/Hispanic dance group deserves its reputation as an award-winning world-class company. For your own sake, please see these dancers, Jennifer Noyer Albuquerque Journal, April 22, 1997 "Nowadays, a Ballet Hispanico program guarantees top production values, costumes by some of the best Broadway and dance designers in the country, and choreographers from veterans like Talley Beatty to experimentalists like William Whitener. Above all, it has a polished group of performers exuding the sheer joy of dancing one attends Ballet Hispanico to share the kinesthetic excitement of its dancers in all their energy and exuberant sophistication." Anna Kisselgoff The New York Times, October 31, 1991 "Ballet Hispanico is hands down the leading Hispanic-American dance company in North America and to miss one of their performances is to miss a great treasure in the dance world." Buenos Aires Herald, July 1, 1993 "Ballet Hispanico set fires all over the stage With impressive technique and stunning spectacle, the troupe sizzled its way through three ballets demonstrating why it's one of the most exciting small companies around. Choreography was eye-grabbing. Movement ranged from high-voltage hip to serenely reflective and was characterized by charisma fused with artistic integrity. The 12- member company executed flamenco, tango, jazz and salsa alongside classical ballet - with precision and style. Energy, personality and good looks abounded Jane Shaw The Island Packet, November 1, 1996 Hilton Head Island, SC "Ballet Hispanico brought its flash, beauty and sparkling technique to Stephens Auditorium The crowd of 1,398 was awed by the special melding of classical ballet with ethnic and modern dance that has become this world-class company's trademark." Phyllis Wolfe The Des Moines Register, October 16, 1996 " in a four-part program at Occidental College on Thursday the company again proved itself a treasure." Lewis Segal The Los Angeles Times, April 1, 1995 Tina Ramirez, Artistic Director "Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Tina Ramirez's Ballet Hispanico is a stunning ensemble." Elizabeth Zimmer The Village Voice, December 12, 1995 "[Ballet Hispanico's] 13 glamorous members perform works as diverse as the civilizations they represent, dancing a program that elicits every emotion." Valerie Gladstone New York Newsday, November 30, 1995 "The company's combination of balletic lines and the folkloric and movement styles of South and Central America, Spain and the Caribbean is one of the revelations of dance today." Valerie Gladstone Dance Magazine, December 1994 " Ballet Hispanico has turned a corner, complementing its mainstream repertory with a challenging innovative wing that its admirable dancers introduce with stylishness and gusto." Anna Kisselgoff The New York Times, December 1, 1994 " this company's dancers are uniformly excellent - graceful, flawless in their execution, and teeming with high-voltage energy. Nadine Goff Wisconsin State Journal, October 22, 1993 "Ballet Hispanico's performance Friday at the Lila Cockrell Theater before a near-capacity crowd combined fresh choreography and impressive technique to create a dance form with multi-cultural appeal." Jennifer Scott San Antonio Express News, May 15, 1993 "The mixed program of sizzle and tragedy that Ballet Hispanico of New York performed Tuesday at Agnes Scott College was a winner all around. This powerful, modern troupe with the Spanish flair may be unique in the nation. The company's choreography often combines traditional flamenco technique with a modern vocabulary redolent of Martha Graham." " Helen Smith Atlanta Journal, October 18, 1992 "Without a doubt the Ballet Hispanico, directed by Tina Ramirez, occupies a distinct place in American dance. Using themes of particular Hispanic interest, the company of a baker's dozen is a bridge for Hispanic culture - both historical and current." Glenn Giffin The Denver Post, April 17, 1992 "It is rare to see such intense and complete eye contact with the audience - and each other - to the point where everything was intimately shared. No matter the material, Ballet Hispanico was hypnotic. Ballet Hispanico Artistic Director Tina Ramirez has put together a dazzling package of smoldering, sensitive artistry that explodes like a volcano and completely entertains. And that is what art is all about." Beti Trauth Times-Standard, Eureka, CA, April 10, 1992 "A hot pride burns in Ramirez's dancers, both men and women, as they cross a stage. It is always there, in the carriage of their shoulders, the confident way they take each step. It is a pride that has jumped the Atlantic Ocean and spanned the centuries. Their art is not a matter of style, but of heart. Every serious dancer and lover of dance needs to see Ballet Hispanico. Ramirez is creating a new dance form, not ethnic nor modern nor classical, that can not be seen in any other company." Chuck Graham Tucson Citizen, March 18, 1991 "The company has nothing but first-class dancers. Tina Ramirez has built a company over 20 years she can be proud of. It has always been good. Now it's exceptional." Hilary Ostlere The Westsider, December 6, 1990 " the evening was peak after peak of eye-popping colors, exciting music, great choreography and championship individual efforts by the dancers. Besides its artistic content, which was high, Ballet Hispanico's concert was some of the best pure entertainment of the season." John Eldridge The Palm Beach Post, March 4, 1990 "The Ballet Hispanico of New York dancers are incredibly well-disciplined. They work well as an ensemble, impress with individual strengths, boast gorgeous lines, and time and time again, make the most complex choreography appear effortless. Theirs was a physical performance which managed to simultaneously entertain and challenge, an incredibly rare evening of dance which will not soon be forgotten." William D. Kerns Lubbock Avalanche Journal, September 18, 1988 "There will be no energy crisis in the dance world as long as Ballet Hispanico keeps moving." Jack Anderson The New York Times, November 7, 1985 "Imagine a classical pas de deux with a Latin beat Ballet Hispanico of New York did all that and more..." Betty Ligon El Paso Herald-Post, October 31, 1984 7/97 Ballet Hispanico of New York 167 WEST 89 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 (212) 362-6710 FAX (212) 362-7809 COMPANY REPERTORY Title Choreographer Composer Year BATUCADA FANTASTICA Vicente Nebrada Perrone 1982 CADA NOCHE...TANGO Graciela Daniele Piazzolla 1988 CAFE AMERICA George Faison Blades 1990 EL NUEVO MUNDO Graciela Daniele de Lucia 1991 GOOD NIGHT PARADISE Ramon Oller Villavecchia/Rossell 1994 IDOL OBSESSION George Faison Selena/Palmieri 1996 INEZ DE CASTRO Vicente Nebrada Cervetti 1988 LLAMADA William Whitener Sor-Romero/Torroba 1982 ¡SI, SENOR! ¡ES MI SON! Alberto Alonso Estefan 1994 SOLO Susan Marshall Cavini 1993 TEARS FOR VIOLETA Ramon Oller folk melodies 1995 TIERRA DE NADIE María Rovira Amargós/Nieblas 1996 TWO BY AN ERROR Amanda Miller collage 1993 UNTITLED Ann Reinking Hamilton/Ralph 1997 UNTITLED María Rovira TBA 1997 WHEN DREAMS EXPLODE David Roussève collage 1996 Tina Ramirez, Artistic Director 7/97 Ballet Hispanico of New York 167 WEST 89 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 (212) 362-6710 FAX (212) 362-7809 THE CRITICS' COMMENTS ABOUT THE REPERTORY IDOL OBSESSION "There was fabulous spectacle from George Faison, Tony Award winner, in his Idol Obsession. Mr. Faison's dance takes a long, exuberant look at the life and death of Selena, the young Tejano pop star who was killed by an obsessed fan two years ago. Idol Obsession plunges the viewer into the chaotic whirl of that life." Jennifer Dunning The New York Times, December 7, 1996 IDOL OBSESSION "Idol Obsession choreographed by George Faison was a modern morality tale in which death and Our Lady of Guadalupe struggled for the soul of Yolanda, Selena's obsessed fan. Faison's choreography moves at fever pitch throughout, with good humored fun poked at the glitzy acts seen from Nashville to Austin." Jennifer Noyer Albuquerque Journal, April 22, 1997 TIERRA DE NADIE "Tuesday's outstanding work was the company premiere of Maria Rovira's remarkable Tierra de Nadie, boasting a Spanish title, a Spanish choreographer and Spanish music. Yet the ballet itself, a vibrant and gritty study of urban angst, could suggest any young people anywhere the choreography, with its hurtling, twisting bodies, taut grimaces and intense interactions, is danced with a lithe control Clive Barnes New York Post, Decemebr 5, 1996 WHEN DREAMS EXPLODE "In a mix of chanting and dialogue, it told the story of Hispanic life in this country. It dealt with the difficulties of leaving behind the warmth and fire of Latin America with only dreams, to pursue life in a foreign place where language and customs are different and dreams are rarely realized The dynamic choreography coupled with the real life stories made this one of the best of the evening." Marty Shuter Savannah News-Press, November 1, 1996 GOOD NIGHT PARADISE Ramon Oller, a young Catalan choreographer, has created one of the most riveting dance pieces of the year. Anna Kisselgoff The New York Times, December 1, 1994 GOOD NIGHT PARADISE "An expressive, moody work that explored shifting relationships, it created an intense world of dangerous passions. The steps and movements leading to the stunning final moment reflected complex, challenging choreography that revealed the naked soul." Tony Angarano Tina Ramirez Artistic Director The Hartford Courant, March 2, 1996 BATUCADA FANTASTICA "The concert sprinted to a close with Batucada Fantastica, a series of solo dances that gave the near-capacity audience at the Civic Center's Oscar Mayer Theatre a chance to see each dancer as an individual in love with life and dance." Kevin Lynch The Capital Times, Madison, WI, April 21, 1990 "¡SI, SENOR! ¡ES MI SON! "¡Si, Señor! ¡Es Mi Son! makes a colorful curtain-raiser with its Mardi Gras of animals and marchers of a Revel, with gay costumes and pantomime. Energized parades of celebrants move to the popular songs of Gloria Estefan's popular album, "Mi Tierra". This whimsical and beautifully performed whirl of movement allows the Latin shadings to infiltrate perfectly executed balletic technique." Daphne Craft Herald and News, December 8, 1996 North New Jersey ¡SI SEÑOR! ¡ES MI SON! "The piece de resistance was the concluding ballet titled ¡Si Señor! ¡Es Mi Son! The Estefan music adapted for Ballet Hispanico has a persistent, liquid, haunting tempo. It engages the full ballet company in a festive motif as it celebrates the "son" of the ballet's title." Bill Von Maurer Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 7, 1995 TEARS FOR VIOLETA "Tears for Violeta is rich with the imagery of longing and separation, infused with references to Sephardic Jewish existence. The dancing reaches back and touches something virtually indescribable, yet real and vital. The eight dancers moved seamlessly in and out of the various frames. It closes with a luscious arch. Andrew Adler The Courier-Journal, October 30, 1995 EL BAQUINÉ "Venezuelan ballet choreographer Vicente Nebrada's revel, El Baquiné, set the stage with fine dancing and good production values. It also was loaded with sex appeal and color." Terry Morris Dayton Daily News, October 17, 1994 SOLO " Solo, a marvelously witty premiere that Susan Marshall choreographed for Ballet Hispanico is an exploration in risk and concentration, elements faced by both a bullfighter and Mr. Costas Simplicity is made complex here. Every aspect looks right: the choreography and Mr. Costas's brilliant performance, Chris Barreca's polished ramp, Lynne Steincamp's black and white costume and Donald Holder's lighting, which focused on the loneliness of the short distance flamenco dancer Mr. Costas's triumph was no less real than that of a bullfighter's. The crowd went wild." Anna Kisselgoff The New York Times, December 5, 1994 INEZ DE CASTRO " a beautifully crafted story dance of a kind they just don't make any more." Jordan Levin The Miami Herald, October 19, 1992 TWO BY AN ERROR "Amanda Miller's Two By An Error layered cultural and physical references in an intriguing, wonderful way. Miller's vocabulary was fluid post-post-modern, a constant stream in which each whipping arm and arabesqueing leg flows seamlessly into the next movement, beautifully danced by its five dancers." Jordan Levin The Miami Herald, March 6, 1995 EL NUEVO MUNDO "Dramatic intensity and sharply etched dancing likewise infused the other works on the program. El Nuevo Mundo, by Graciela Daniele with throaty music by Paco de Lucia, treats Columbus's voyage from the perspective of street kids, with enough sizzle to steam the Atlantic." Sarah Kaufman The Washington Post, April 19, 1993 CAFE AMERICA "George Faison's timely new Cafe America is a bittersweet depiction of immigrants to the United States. Danced to music by Ruben Blades and Julio Iglesias, Cafe America takes place on a stage that is empty but for a bright and battered car with flashing headlights, wittily designed by Pepon Osorio Best of all were the performances of Jose Costas as the new immigrant, and Pedro Ruiz and Eduardo Vilaro as his friends. Mr. Faison's tight-sprung, lyrical dance flowed authoritatively through their bodies." Jennifer Dunning The New York Times, November 29, 1990 CADA NOCHE TANGO " in Cada Noche Tango, the Ballet Hispanico dancers plunge into the atmosphere with relish and astoundingly professional dramatic detail. The men strut marvelously, chests out, hips tight, hands in pockets. The swagger is contrasted with the deliberate vulgarity of the women " Anna Kisselgoff The New York Times, October 20, 1988 CADA NOCHE TANGO "Now that's dirty dancing. Broadway choreographer Graciela Daniele's Cada Noche Tango is an imaginative attempt to blend tango dancing and theatrical dancing, as well as to blend dance and theater. It echoes the sentimentality, the violence, and the passion of the tango itself, and that is no slight achievement." Joseph H. Mazo The Bergen Record, Bergen, NJ, October 20, 1988 LLAMADA "Llamada, William Whitener's solo for Donna Matthews, evokes the proud bearing and curbed power of the Spanish dancer without using traditional steps. The music of Sor and Torroba spreads a dark but buoyant carpet for Matthews to journey on." Deborah Jowitt The Village Voice, October 25, 1983 7/97 Ballet Hispanico of New York 167 WEST 89 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 (212) 362-6710 FAX (212) 362-7809 COMPANY PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE FOR THE 1997-98 SEASON October 8-10, 1997 Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture Bronx, NY October 14-19 The New Victory Theater New York, NY October 24 & 25 The Byham Theater Pittsburgh, PA October 26 Shafer Auditorium - Allegheny College Meadville, PA November 16 & 17 Kravis Center for the Performing Arts West Palm Beach, FL November 19 Wright Auditorium - East Carolina University Greenville, NC November 22 Saey Theater - University of the Ozarks Clarksville, AR January 13-18, 1998 Broward Center for the Performing Arts Fort Lauderdale, FL January 31 Paul Creative Arts Center Durham, NH February 6-8 Emerson-Majestic Theater Boston, MA February 11 Shippensburg University Shippensburg, PA February 13 & 14 Washington Performing Arts Society Washington D.C. March 6 & 7 The Bushnell Theater Hartford, CT March 10 Maggofin Auditorium - University of Texas/El Paso El Paso, TX March 12 Allen Theater - Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX March 14 Macky Auditorium - University of Colorado Boulder, CO March 18 & 19 Scottsdale Center for the Arts Scottsdale, AZ March 21 Luckman Fine Arts Complex Los Angeles, CA March 24 & 25 New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ March 28 Clark State Performing Arts Center Springfield, OH March 31 & April 1 New Brunswick Cultural Center New Brunswick, NJ April 4 John Harms Center for the Performing Arts Engelwood, NJ May 18-29 Tribeca Performing Arts Center New York, NY Tina Ramirez, Artistic Director 7/97 Nov/Dec 1988 $4.00 HOR N the Arts A Moveable Feast: Spanish Dance in America Yolla Bolly Press Recreates an Age-old Craft Arts in the Heart of Alabama Manhattan Sampler: A Palette of the World Gifts for the Imagination Nancy Turano and Jose Costas of Ballet Hispanico of New York Opposite: Tina Ramirez, artistic PAST MEETS PRESENT director and founder of Ballet Hispanico of New York, the nation's pre-eminent Hispanic- American dance company and school. Under Ramirez's direction, Inside Ballet Hispanico of New dance movements with modern the company melds Hispanic dance York's two-story building on West forms. Ramirez is one of the most forms, such as flamenco, with Eightieth Street, artistic director dynamic forces shaping Hispanic ballet and modern techniques. Left: Tina Ramirez is hard at work with dance today. A mover and a Ballet Hispanico performs Cada her dancers. Golden sunlight pours shaker, she is confined to neither Noche Tango, choreographed through a wall of windows onto past nor present. Instead, she uses by Graciela Daniele with music the hardwood floors of the second- both to break new ground and by Astor Piazzolla. floor studio. Ten dancers in multi- strike out in exciting directions colored tights look like twenty in with Hispanic dance. Tina Ramirez, the inspiration be- the mirror-lined front wall. The The results have been stunning. hind this training, was entrusted two other walls are white brick The company sold out the Joyce with the school when her own with a barre running their length. Theater in New York in its last teacher, Lola Bravo, retired. But Ramirez, diminutive and ener- week-long performance there. To Ramirez took it one step further getic, with greying hair and an Photoby Bruce Laurance meet the demand for tickets, it and established Ballet Hispanico in easy manner, claps her hands will perform there again for two 1970. Despite the success of the gently and the dancers take their weeks this year. dance company, the school re- positions to practice a newly re- The popularity of Ballet Hispan- mained paramount. Says Ramirez, mounted creation, Tres Cantos ico is due to the company's energy "People told me "Take stars and go ("three songs"). and skill but also to an increas- fast,' but if I take stars, how can I Four male and four female danc- Tina Ramirez uses both ingly interested North American make dancers?" ers slide toward each other as the taped music begins, while Talley the past and the public. Verdery Roosevelt, execu- Ramirez sees herself as "pan- tive director of the company. says, Hispanic." Born in Venezuela, Beatty, the choreographer, sits present to break new "I see a society-wide acceptance of Ramirez came to the United States cross-legged on the floor, uttering Hispanic culture, both because when she was seven. Her mother a direction now and then. Watch- ground and strike out Hispanics are a greater and greater was Puerto Rican and her father a ing the dancers, Ramirez takes portion of the population and Mexican bullfighter. "I am proud notes on a steno pad. in exciting directions because people don't look down on to be Hispanic," says Ramirez. This dance is a story of the ethnicity the way they used to. Her pan-Hispanic consciousness Mexican people before the arrival with Hispanic dance. More and more, ethnics are seen is evident in the artistic direction As we near the five-hundredth of the Europeans, and the tragedy as people who contribute across she has forged for the company. In anniversary of Christopher brought about by the conquest of the board." Tres Cantos, the dance she is re- Columbus's famous voyage, the people by the newcomers. The Ballet Hispanico attracts an hearsing this morning, she uses HORIZON Magazine has undertaken first part of the dance is gay and audience from all ethnic groups Mexican folk dance, adding ele- an examination of the long-lasting light, as the Indians are depicted and walks of life. The company ments of Spanish and modern effects of Spanish culture on the on their native soil. "Quick, need ten years of rehearsal for performs all over the United dance. "I believe in unity," Americas. This article, written by quick, quick!" shouts Ramirez, this." In fact, the company's first States, particularly in the North- Ramirez says, "Why not draw Richard Thompson, appeared as clapping her hands to the rhythm. performance of the season is only east, California, Texas, and from twenty-one nations instead of part of The Spanish Influence: The second part of the dance, a few days away. Florida. Abroad, the company has two? One of the things that influ- The Dance Legacy, which explored set to another song, depicts the Ballet Hispanico of New York is performed in France, Italy, Vene- enced me greatly is the fact that I the rich and varied world of defeat of the Indians, their struggle one of the most successful com- zuela, and the Caribbean. dislike the separation of ballet and Hispanic dance. and sorrow as the land of their an- panies in the United States and is Ballet Hispanico is a school as other forms of dance. I took cestors is taken from them. Their acknowledged as the nation's pre- well. "The company is the tip of ballet, modern, and flamenco, and Cover: Nancy Turano and Jose proud symbol, the eagle, carried eminent Hispanic-American dance the iceberg," says Roosevelt. I like all of them." Costas of Ballet Hispanico of New by a male dancer, is draped in company and school. It is in- Though the company is nationally When asked about the dance York perform Cada black. Women, "seers" of the novative and eclectic, incorporating known, she feels that "the school pros who have influenced her most Noche Tango. village, cross the floor mournfully flamenco, classical Spanish, and the training is the bedrock of she answers, "Anna Sokalova, Photo by Bruce Laurance. in black shawls, lamenting the popular Latin American, and tradi- Ballet Hispanico." Marachi Carmelita, and Bob pain of women and of all people tional Caribbean dances with ballet That training seeks to promote Fosse." She recalls with admira- Reprinted by permission. in time of war and sadness. By and modern techniques. an appreciation of North America's tion the dancing of Carmen Amaya now the dancers are covered with Under the artistic direction of Hispanic population and strengthen and of Rosario and Antonio. For further information: sweat. The finale of the dance Tina Ramirez, three choreogra- pride in its cultural heritage. It "They used to play the Roxy and BALLET HISPANICO evokes a sort of rebirth. The spirit phers-Vicente Nebrada, Graciela also seeks to provide opportunities 167 West 89 Street Daniele, and Talley Beatty-have Photoby Bruce Laurance they were favorites of mine." of the Indians has not been beaten. for young people who would not Ramirez says. "But I always feel New York, New York 10024 "Dancers, very good!" Ramirez created dramatic new dances syn- otherwise have had the chance to that we have to grow from past to 212/362-6710 says with a smile. "You won't thesizing traditional Hispanic develop their full potential. present." -R.T. The New York Times NEW YORK, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 5, 1996 DANCE REVIEW Feeling Adrift In a Land Inspiring Longings, Anxieties And Hope Donald Roman Lopez and Maria- Angeles Llamas of Ballet Hispánico in the premiere of David Roussève's "When Dreams Explode" on Tuesday night at the Joyce Theater. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times were inevitably lonely ones. By JACK ANDERSON Ms. Rovira, a Barcelona-based modern dancer. failed to avoid mo- Ballet Hispánico grows stronger season by From Ballet Hispánico, notony in her choreography. But she season. That was clear on Tuesday night did believably evoke states of es- when the company. now in its 25th year under a collage of trangement, and the dancers' quiet the direction of Tina Ramirez. opened a two- intensity was admirable. week engagement at the Joyce Theater Two immigrants' false steps Jollity and boisterousness pre- new productions showed the troupe's in. vailed in a revival of Vicente Nebra- creased choreographic sophistication. and and fresh starts. da's "Batucada Fantastica,' a work the entire evening revealed that the dancers of 1982 inspired by carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Choreographers the world had acquired fine stage presences. David Rousseve's "When Dreams Ex- over have depicted carnivals of plude." in its world premiere, was often many locales and historical periods. scene 111 which the cast chattered manically dreamlike in manner, and a figure who sym- but what made this one special ordi- in several languages, one dancer reciting the bolized a vision of the Virgin Mary entered at nary was its formal structure. It English tongue twister that begins, "Betty the beginning and end. But the piece as a began with solos for eight dancers, Botter bought a bit of butter." All the bab- whole concerned the very real if sometimes then brought them and four other nightmarish problems of immigrants. For- blings sounded equally nonsensical. performers together for a revel to Although Mr. Roussève's panoramic chor- mally. it was a choreographic collage of brief recorded percussion music by Lu- cography made it impossible to have deep ciano Perrone. scenes, and the accompaniment included re- concern for any specific character. the over- corded songs by Selena and texts by Mr. The giddy and apparently unstop- Rousseve that were both heard on tape and all energy of his production made it spell- pable wigglings of Shedrack Ander- binding. And when the 11 dancers repeatedly son 3d and the way Lisa Nafegar spoken and chanted by the dancers. rose and fell and rose again, the actions The dream of the Virgin Mary gave way to suggested that she was someone pos- became signs of immigrants' aspirations. hard-edged sequences :i: which dancers sessed by benevolent spirits made disappointments. false steps and fresh starts two solos especially notable. But the pounded a drun: with their hands and the Uproctednesss and uncertainty also pre- other solos had their own charms. floor with their feel 10 reveal the intensity of vailed in another work for 11 dancers, Maria Hector Montero seemed to be sum- immigrants longings. hopes and fears. The Rovira's "Tierra de Nadie," which received moning merrymakers to join the fes- emotions they expressed led to frantic activi- its company premiere. The cast assembled tivities. Veronica Ruiz looked volup- ty. on a tiered platform and sometimes descend- tuous, Alessandra Corona was care- A new land may have aroused new hopes III ed from I! 10 dance to accompanying raped free, both Christina Gonzales and Mr Roussève's characters. Yet there were music by Joan Albert Amargos, Salvador Donald Roman Lopez were forceful also many episodes in which dancers ex- Nieblas and Ms. Rovira that ranged from and Pedro Ruiz danced a choreo- pressed anxiety. When one person asked an- melancholy accordion waltzes to electronic graphic crescendo that beganquierly other. "Where are you from?" that simple rumblings. Everyone looked alienated from and ended wildly. question led 10 frenzied outbursts of move- everyone else. and the choreographic crowds Ballet Hispánico continues ment. Linguistic confusion dominated a through Dec. 15 at the Joyce, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street. Chel- The New York Times NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1996 DANCE REVIEW A Ballet Recreates True-Life Obsession and Murder By JENNIFER DUNNING ter stage. Then "Idol Obsession" The dancers rise to every occa- tells its story proper in scenes of sion. But it is Patricia Zipprodt's Tina Ramirez cannily touched all Selena performing and dressing and delicious costumes that save the the bases in her choice of three new undressing behind a costume rack piece, some of them modeled on dances for her Ballet Hispánico in its that is pushed across the stage from those actually worn by Selena. Ms. winter season at the Joyce Theater. time to time by a mousy little minion Zipprodt's use of vivid color and The company has already presented who gazes longingly at her idol. In wildly different fabrics is wittily a dramatic narrative piece by David the two final sections, the woman over the top, though the wafting tur- Roussève and some stylish Euro- shoots Selena and then repents. quoise Guadalupe costume looks jar- pean modern dance by Maria Ro- Mr. Faison is a master at setting ringly out of place, an attempt, per- vira. On Thursday, there was fabu- and changing scenes with flowing -haps, to evoke Hispanic religious tra- lous spectacle from George Faison, a bursts of dancers, and one of the best dition in an otherwise stylized set- Tony Award winner, in his "Idol Ob- things about "Idol Obsession" is the ting. Tom Sturge designed appropri- session," seen in its world premiere. seamless way he shifts from stage to ately showy light.ing. The program Mr. Faison's dance takes a long, backstage to audience. But the new also included the season's first per- exuberant look at the life and death piece is otherwise not up to his usual formance of Alberto Alonso's 1994 of Selena, the young Tejano pop star level of invention. There is no way of "!Si, Señor! !Es Mi Son!." Set to who was killed by an obsessed fan making this story subtle, and Mr. music by Gloria Estefan, the suite of two years ago. Set to music by Eddie Faison does not. At the same time, dances is ambitious in a quieter way Palmieri and Selena and the Barrio his characteristic warmth and exu- than the Faison piece, but both ap- Boyzz, "Idol Obsession" plunges the berance are missing. "Idol Obses- pear to be part of Ms. Ramirez's plan viewer into the chaotic whirl of that sion" has a chill heart. to depict and celebrate Hispanic life life. The murder gets lost in the flow, and culture in their every facet. A prelude suggests the context of though a few moments of contrition Mr. Alonso's hand:some piece, the singer's life, posing Selena in the final scene, set poignantly to based on a dance form popular in the Emanuela Lattanzi), her fan Yo- the song "Y Eres Tu," give the trage- 1920's and 30's, is intende d to portray landa (Veronica Ruiz), La Morte- dy a needed feel of catharsis. But Cuban society, for instance, but the The Promoter (Pedro Ruiz) and Our there are glimpses of Mr. Faison at piece also suggests some forces at Lady of Guadalupe (Alessandra Co- his funny best, as in a snazzy, slightly play in Hispanic tradition. It. is a nona) in shifting configurations cen- teasing little quartet for the singer's perfect showpiece for this sleek, backup group, Los Dinos, which beautifully trained company of "radi- gives the men the look of pop gau- ant young dancers, a company that is chos. But there are also a few too thoroughly of its time but has not lost many show numbers, set pieces that the humanity that distinguish ed it at do not even reiterate the theme. The the start of its 26-year history razzle-dazzle becomes numbing. NEWMEXICO'S LEADING NEWSPAPER ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL Tuesday, April 22, 1997 Troupe blends classical clarity, modern technique BY JENNIFER NOYER For the Journal Sunday's performance by Ballet Hispani- "When Dreams Explode," by David Rous- CO proved beyond doubt that this Ameri- seve, dealt with the overpowering needs can/Hispanic dance group deserves its rep- which motivate immigration, as well as utation as an award-winning world-class with what is left behind in the homeland. company. For your own sake, please see these dancers tonight. His piece used an excruciatingly emo- The clarity of classical ballet line is com- tional text, also by Rousseve, that followed bined here with the weightedness of mod- the dreams, struggles, and failures of a ern dance technique to present both 20th- woman who sneaked across the southern century ideas and the social and emotional border with her baby. realities of contemporary American life. "Idol Obsession," choreographed by All of the choreography has been created George Faison, reveals Selena, the cross- within the last 30 years. over artist whose first language was Eng- Tina Ramirez has been artistic director of lish, struggling through a myriad tacky Ballet Hispanico for the 25 years of its exis- State Fairs to gain mainstream American tence in New York City. recognition. She describes the company's work as a Danced to music by Eddie Palmieri, Sele- fusion of contemporary dance and the His- na and the Barrio Boyz, the piece was a panic culture existing in New York City, modern morality tale in which Death and stressing the diversity of the dancers' back- Our Lady of Guadalupe struggled for the grounds. In this production the dancers soul of Yolanda, Selena's obsessed fan. come from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Pedro Ruiz danced the roles of both Death Italy, Israel, Puerto Rico, Alabama, Texas and the Promoter. In each role he tried 10 and California. seduce Lisa Nafegar, as Selena, and Veroni- The three long works presented Sunday ca Ruiz, as Yolanda. with the intoxicating revealed three different worlds of experi- sound and moves of Tex Mex glitz. ence, but all dealt with the idea of people struggling to fulfill their dreams. Faison's choreography moves at fever "Tierra de Nadie," or No One's Land, pitch throughout, with good humored fun choreographed by Maria Rovira, described poked at the glitzy acts seen from Nashville to Austin. Selena had to travel all over the an emotional landscape. People come, inter- act and leave with brief interactions and country, performing constantly at these minimum communication. places. Rovira's piece opened with a female solo The third song. La Carcacha. brought out figure at downstage center with her back to Los Dinos, three dynamic young men in the audience. She presented the rolling cowboy outfits with ruffled 'sleeves anc head. and side slashing rocks of the upper black Stetson hats. Donald Roman Lopez. torso that became the basic thematic mate- Hector Montero and Shadrack Anderson ID rial for the ballet. danced the horseback-riding patterns with Each subsequent dancer, entering one by all the audience-grabbing self promotion one, introduced a particular take on his or typical of these acts. her ethnic relationship to the North Ameri- The ballet ends with Death triumphant. can environment with hand gestures. They Yolanda has fallen into his arms. and she then moved to bleachers upstage to watch and then respond to others' movements. destroys Selena. Flamenco canta melodies emerged dri- An apotheosis follows in which Selena ving the strongly athletic and angry move- reappears in flowing white. She raises her ment. as the dancers ranged up and down arms, and lifts her leg in a side extension the bleachers. There was total torso that doesn't want to end. When Death and involvement as the dancers swung into con- the Virgin drape a yellow chiffon cloth over tractions, rolls, leaps and falls; all joined her she is enshrined. together with jazzy urban struts. THE DAILY GAZETTE Albany, New York Saturday, May 10, 1997 Latin passion burns for Ballet Hispanico By WENDY LIBERATORE For The Daily Gazette REVIEW ALBANY - Fire and passion race So many sections of this dark and through the minds and muscles of Bal- haunting work resonate. At one point, let Hispanico. the dancers move from one side of the The 11-member contemporary stage to the other as if on a conveyor belt. There is a sense that their land dance ensemble. consequently. en- gaged kinetically with its high energy manufactures these youngsters and and high drama program Thursday there is really no alternative to this night at The Empire Center at the Egg. endless cycle. Ballet Hispanico was a wonderful The men's variation was. as ex- choice as the dance series finale in pected. dynamic and restless. full of the Egg's 1996-97 season because its punches in the sky and sudden tours appearance can keep the excitement en air. The women's variation was for next season on a high. Directed by most hypnotic as they rolled their Tina Ramirez. the dancers are an at- hips. swaying their skirts in a sinewy. tractive and technically refined group pas de six. that presented a triple bill of theatri- "When Dreams Explode." choreog- cal works. raphed by David Rousseve. was anoth- No ballet here. er potent and woeful work. But this one. at least. held a dim glimmer of Contrary to its name. Ballet Hispan- hope for its players. The work. set to 100 combines modern. jazz. flamenco. text. percussion generated by the pop and Latin dance into a hybrid that dancers and music by Selena. told the reflects its Hispanic roots. stories of those who left their beloved. The strongest work of the evening. but impoverished homes in pursuit of Tierra de Nadie" (No Man's Land"). dreams. Those who emigrated. how- was the one created by the least estab- ever. did not always discover their lished choreographer. Maria Rovira. dreams. Instead. they suffered further In the piece. Rovira paints a disturb- hardships and homesickness. ing portrait of lost youths - those who traded the warmth of humanity for a Though deeply moving. (the story of the woman's child being gunned down cold gang mentality. on the barrio streets drew tears from Lisa Nefegar mesmerized in the the audience) Rousseve's epic was a opening solo of "Tierra de Nadie" to a bit too long. Also the text often over- sorrowful accordion melody. She shadowed what the captivating slowly weaves her arms and flops dancers were doing on stage. about like a rag doll. her vulnerability prevalent. As the music picks up its The evening closed with the flashy pace. almost to a polka tempo. she "Idol Obsession." Choreographed by frantically flies through her variation. George Faison. it retoid the tragic sto- only to be resigned to her loose-lim- ry of pop singer Selena. Set to Selena bed lament as the accordion returns songs. the true star of this work was to a mournful wail. Selena's dresser. Yolanda. danced with vigor by Veronica Ruiz. As Sele- She fades and the lights are lifted to na's star rises. Yolanda melds her the next scene. With bleachers as the pure religious beliefs with the seduc- backdrop. cast members one by one tive allure of death. strut and swagger out, "West Side Sto- ry" style. The men flex their muscles The only problem with the last work and furrow their brows. The women was the volume of the music. It seem- huffily flip their skirts and heads. ed the whole theater vibrated like a They all move to sit on the bleachers. rock-concert hall. thus detracting each establishing the group's turf to a from the clearly structured story Fai- screeching. electric soundscape. son told. The Arizona Daily Star Serving Tucson and Southern Arizona Final Edition, Tucson, Sunday, April 27, 1997 'Selena' tale The character Yolanda got a rather sympathetic treatment here, though. She came off as a fitting for a pitiful "All About Eve" type, over whom the forces of good and evil actually do battle. mini-ballet Struggling for power over Yo- landa's soul were Our Lady of Guadalupe (Alessandra Corona) By Gene Armstrong and the devilish La Morte (Pedro The Arizona Daily Star Ruiz, who significantly also por- The short, trays a concert promoter). tragic life of The score combined Selena's Tejano singer LATE recordings with some funky stuff Selena is the REVIEW by the Barrio Boyzz and Eddie perfect subject Palmieri's scintillating salsa, for a mini-bal- which enhanced the dramatic ten- let because the sion at the piece's finish. story already David Roussève, whose com- has become pany Reality performed here ear- part of modern lier this season, choreographed folklore. "When Dreams Explode." Even if dance fans haven't seen the re- A challenging, postmodern cent bio-pic "Selena," most of us dance-theater piece, it. incorpo- remember the much-publicized 2- rated the stories and voices of year-old case in which the former Ballet Hispanico's dancers, who president of Selena's fan club come from all over the world. murdered her friend and idol. Primary were expressions of dis- And through choreographer enfranchisement and poverty. George Faison's "Idol Obses- Roussève also used dialogue, sion, Ballet Hispanico of New chanting, clapping and rhythmic York last night recounted the sto- foot-stomping, as well as one ry in succinet, kinetic fashion. Selena number. Some of the sto- The fierce, beautiful dancers ries were quite affecting, but the of Ballet Hispanico returned to piece could have used an editor. Tucson after more than six years Its length inspired much restless to perform "Idol Obsession" and squirming in the audience. two other pieces in the University It's a shame that the concert's of Arizona's Centennial Hall. opener, "Tierra de Nadie" by The company will present an Spanish choreographer María abbreviated performance today. Rovira, won't be repeated today. specially designed for families. It The finest work on the bill. it will include the Selena ballet. combined unique, stylized gesture Only a few months old. Fai- with touches of flamenco. jazz. son's piece integrated ballet tech- ballet and modern dance. nique and jazz-dance soft-shoe The dancers displayed their vi- clichés - showing off the obliga- brant, boundless energy in a plot- tory Jerome Robbins influences - less work that nevertheless boast- with a little folklorico and even ed much drama. some quebradita-style dancing. Nafegar began with a wonder- Although Lisa Nafegar showed ful solo, her arms and torso incredible poise and personality seemingly manipulated by mario- as Selena, the explosive Veronica nette strings. When the unseen Ruiz performed as well as the hand let her drop, she bent back- jealous, fixated Yolanda Saldivar. ward well beyond what seemed to be human limitations. Convicted of killing Selena 111 October, 1995, Saldivar was sen- tenced to life in prison. MILWAUKEE JOURNAL 1996 SENTINEL FINAL EDITION - A stunning, athletic look at ethnic identity The strength of the dancers of ourselves for the cliched, accusa- Ballet Hispanico was. evident tory protest; instead, the anger three years ago, when the New gradually, inexplicably, turns to York troupe toured the state joy as the rhythms of chant and with repertoire that was, for the clap turn richer and, well, more most part, weak. Latin. The transition is transcen- The company returned Thurs- dent: People will have joy. day night, presented by Latino Arts Inc. and the United Com- Ballet Hispanico's munity Center. The Pabst The- magnificent dancers take ater was sold out. on serious themes With the benefit of intriguing dances by Alberto Alonso, David Rousseve made a dark dance Rousseve and Vicente Nebrada, with a redeeming moment. Ballet Hispanico's dancers are Alonso's "Si, Senor! Es Mi Son!" nothing short of magnificent. is a bright dance with an omi- They are astoundingly athletic. nous undertow. They are musical from the fin- gers and the toes down into the Alonso glosses the ballroom hips (where it counts). All 13 of and street dancing of Cuba, them crackle with style and cha- demonstrating the former in an risma. They are alert to the more elegantly flirtatious white-on- profound aspects of the dances. white Guaracha. Never mind These choreographers have you could fit a Bible into the serious ambitions. All of them, to space between their bodies; sex various degrees and in different percolates palpably beneath the wavs, examine ethnic identity. high society manners. Rousseve's "When Dreams Throughout, Alonso seeks to Explode" is the most explicit. A reveal the hidden influences be- voice-over tells the tragic tale of hind urban, civilized Cuba, the an immigrant Mexican woman. African spirit dancer lurking on Another voice intones a recur- the edges of the ballroom, the ring chant: What do you have? Indian ritual behind the masked What do you dream? What do you street revelers. In one shocking want inside your life? scene, a woman is singled out, The dance is like a dream. It ostracized and, apparently, sacri- unfolds in semi-darkness, in epi- ficed. BENNY SIEUATARY PHOTOGRAPHER sodes with little stylistic relation Nebrada's "Batuiada Fantasti- Emanuela Lattanzi and Pedro Ruiz of Ballet Hispanico perform at the to one another. A fairly conven- Pabst Theater, part of the 11th annual Slice of Mexico. The performance tional waltz, for example, butts ca" comprises eight solo varia- was sponsored by Latino Arts Inc. and the United Community Center. up against what might be a bi- tions and an ensemble coda. zarre rhythmic therapy session, Each is to a different Afro-Brazil- with the dancers confined within ian rhythm, and each takes a a ring of chairs. That session be- form of Brazilian Carnaval danc- gins with fierce, lockstep rhyth- ing to dizzying virtuoso heights. mic chanting and pounding of The dancers soared high above hands upon the floor. We ready them. By ToM STRINI Journal Sentinel dance critic The Hartford Courant Saturday, March 2, 1996 Troupe brings contemporary flair to Spanish dance By TONY ANGARANO Courant Dance Critic quartet of Linda Caceres and Pedro B allet Hispanico, the 12-mem- Ruiz, Veronica Ruiz and Lopez, one ber company performing at woman wearing high-heeled danc- The Bushnell this weekend, ing pumps, the other in ballet raised the temperature in unexpect- slippers. ed ways. Spanish dance uses gravi- Alonso's choreography frequent- ty to ground the intricate steps and ly uses leg extensions of ballet and undulating body rhythms emanat- majestic shoulder/arm/hand move- ing from the torso; classical ballet ments associated with traditional defies gravity to create light, airy Spanish dance; the Ballet Hispanico movements. Ballet Hispanico ac- artists integrated both in beautifully complishes both, fusing balletic coordinated gestures. grace and Spanish style in a com- Oller's "Good Night Paradise," pletely contemporary idiom. set to sultry music by Rodriguez, Performing recent works by such Rossell and Villavecchia, presented diverse choreographers as Alberto three men and four women (Morris- Alonso, Ramon Oller and Graciela sey, Calamia, Corona, Pedro Ruiz, Daniele, the company provided fas- Vilaro, Jefferson and Levitin) en- cinating examples of the varieties of closed in a claustrophobic space Spanish dance updated. theatrically lighted with stark in- Alonso's "Si, Senor! Es Mi Son!," dustrial lamps and atmospheric set to songs by Gloria Estefan, shadows. An expressive. moodv evoked Cuban culture and its work that explored shifting rela- changes through five sequences. tionships, it created an intense Wearing black and white costumes world of dangerous passions. The designed by Randy Barcelo, the en- steps and movements leading to the semble, featuring Lynne Morrissey stunning final moment reflected and Pedro Ruiz, Yael Levitin and complex, challenging choreogra- Marc Calamia, Rebecca Jefferson phy that revealed the naked soul. and Eduardo Vilaro, Alessandra Co- How do contemporary Hispanics rona and Amir Levy, Natalia Zisa perceive life in America? Daniele's and Donald Roman Lopez as the "El Nuevo Mundo" offered a spin seductively sinuous partners, in on history through the gestures and lithe, hip-swiveling movements attitudes of elegant young people rooted in traditional Spanish dance having fun with their musical cul- interpreted from a New World per- ture. It's also a fun piece for the spective. Particularly memorable audience as the Ballet Hispanico was the "Bolero" section with the ensemble moves with energizing, perfectly controlled abandon. Los Angeles Times THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 1995 Ballet Hispanico: On the Move in So Many Ways Several Different Cultures Influence the Company's Work, Known for Mixing Classical Ballet With Spanish Dance also performs Saturday at Orange sort of just happened. As the com- Coast College in Costa Mesa. pany and the school grew, I found I The company has toured three had to devote myself to building continents and played for an esti- the institution." mated 1.5 million people since its The obstacles have been consid- 1970 inception; it is known for erable, however. A particular mixing classical ballet technique problem is the difficulty in per- with Spanish dance forms. It per- suading patrons to pick up the tab forms mostly commissioned works for building the repertory. "Money set to Spanish and Latin American for new choreography is hard to music, ranging from traditional to get," says Ramirez, who recently avant-garde, that are as varied as announced a $6.8-million fund- Latin culture itself. raising drive to pay for new reper- The company's 12 dancers-who tory. hail from Argentina, Italy, Cuba, Ramirez's goals have not CORI WELL BRAUN / For The Times Israel and the United States, changed since the company began, POPULAR: Variety is key to among others countries-are she says. "I was aiming for people Ballet Hispanico's popular ap- trained in ballet and modern dance. who were not Hispanic to know us peal. The troupe, nearing its Their particular brand of Spanish and need us." She wanted, in 25th anniversary, performs at dance employs "weight and move- particular, to remedy the popular Occidental College tonight. ment in the upper torso," as Rami- misapprehension of Latinos as rez describes it, but with a distinct- monocultural and strictly Above, Tina Ramirez, the com- ly Latin flavor. working-class. "Twenty-five pany's artistic director. F1 The eclecticism is deliberate and, years ago, the conception that says Ramirez, not without preced- people had of Hispanic people was ent. "From the beginning I saw the [limited]," she says. "The only ones By JAN BRESLAUER possibilities of the mixture," she people saw were the ones in low- SPECIAL TO THE TIMES says. "It exists in Spanish dance: paying jobs. They didn't see the allet Hispanico is the antidote for Look at the turnout of the feet. Hispanic people who go to the B anyone who thinks Spanish dance is all "It has been in modern dance for Metropolitan Opera." clacking castanets and combustible a long time too," Ramirez contin- Her second motive was even cha-cha-chas. So says Tina Ramirez, the ues. "Look at the way Martha more pragmatic. "I was teaching Graham would have her costume kids dance and I saw that there was company's artistic director. cut low on the hip. That's from a lack of opportunities for them in "Twenty-one nations speak Spanish and Spanish dance." the market. There was no Hispanic there are variations, similarities and differ- Ramirez's agenda was to refine company expressing what we are ences in the cultures." says Ramirez, and encourage the growth of this expressing today. I wanted to give speaking by phone from her company's hybrid form. She has accomplished opportunities to the dancers that I New York studios. "Although people call it that goal in large part through an was training." folklorico, there's actually a great mix of emphasis on new work. Today. the situation is better. styles. I am proud of my culture and want Indeed, she prides herself on "We've been accepted more now to show it in all its beauty." being forward-looking. "I am a and more doors have opened," In fact, several diverse traditions com- woman of the 20th Century," she Ramirez says. "I see more dancers bine under the rubric of Spanish dance. says, having commissioned more who are Hispanic now. but I wish "There is European dance, and all of that than 50 new dances for her compa- there were more who were chor- culture that was transported to the Ameri- ny from such recognized artists as eographers." cas." says Ramirez, a Venezuelan-born Vicente Nebrada, Graciela Daniele The faces in the house are also and Susan Marshall. changing. "We've always attracted protégée of New York Spanish dance legend Lola Bravo. "Then there was the Yet newness is certainly not her a mixed audience," says Ramirez. only criterion. "I like dramatic "The difference is that now I get influence of the Indians and the blacks. That's why, in one type of dance. there is works because that is the way that more Hispanics in the audience I see dance," Ramirez says. "And than I did at the beginning, espe- such a great variety." more young choreographers are cially when we go to California. That variety is key to Ballet Hispanico's trying to get back into dramatic The population is rising and their popular appeal. The company, which is form, too, though maybe not in the salaries are rising, so they have soon to celebrate its 25th anniversary. same narrative way as before." more money to go places." performs at Occidental College tonight, Ramirez used to choreograph for And perhaps most important, the where the bill will include the West Coast Ballet Hispanico, but she stopped culture at large has begun to premiere of "iS{ Señor! ¡Es Mi Son!," a new about 15 years ago, turning her regard diversity as an asset rather work by Cuban choreographer Alberto full-time attention to administra- than a liability. "We were always Alonso, set to music from Gloria Estefan's tive matters. "I didn't set out to multicultural," says Ramirez. Grammy-winning album "Mi Tierra." It make an institution," she says. "It "Now, people have caught up to us." The New York Times THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1994 Alessandra Corona with other members of Ballet Hispanico in "Good Night Paradise," by the Catalan choreographer Ramon Oller. Johan Barcelona's Demons Pay a Searing Visit By ANNA KISSELGOFF If Mr. Ollér's piece strikes a deep- Catalan lyrics, sung beautifully on er chord, it is because he reaches tape by Marina Rossell, the piece It may look like the usual Euro- into the universal while preserving conveys a wide and recognizable pean dance theater: a man keeps something distinctive and national. range of emotions. throwing wine out of a glass into the Bunuel did the same with his films. For all his theatricality (the set is air, and women smack wet shawls In this sense, the current modern- by Chris Barreca, the magical light- against the floor within a space dance boom that has emerged in ing by Roger Morgan), Mr. Ollér penned on three sides by a carved Spain, especially in Barcelona, has makes his point through movement. balustrade. produced a generation of experimen- The basic athleticism of his style is Nonetheless Ramón Ollér, a young talists who could be called the chil- focused on curved shapes, quick dy- Catalan choreographer, has created dren of Bunuel and even of Salvador namic changes and repetitive motifs one of the most riveting dance pieces Dali. that acquire new meaning in differ- of the year and he has a fierce way At the same time, thèir dance idi- ent contexts. Early in the piece, the with movement and a wondrous ca- om is part of an international style of women beat the backs of their wrists pacity to surprise. No one interested highly physical partnering, favored against their partners' chests. By in experimental work of any kind also by Americans like Amanda the end, the men do the same to the can afford to miss Mr. Ollér's "Good Miller and Susan Marshall. Tina Ra- women. Night Paradise," which had its pre- mirez, Ballet Hispánico's artistic di- At the end of the piece, the rela- miere on Tuesday night when Ballet rector, has invited both choreogra- tionships have changed and evolved. Hispánico opened a two-week sea- phers to present premieres on the At one point the women are left out son. company's second program, begin- when two pairs of men yank them- The two other new works on this ning tomorrow. If Mr. Ollér's suc- selves into unexpected embraces. program at the Joyce Theater (175 cess is a portent, then Ballet Hispá- But later there are repeated runs by Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street, Chel- nico has turned a corner, comple- the women into the men's arms. sea) were choreographed to record- menting its mainstream repertory "Paradise" is too long, but one ings by the pop superstars Gloria with a challenging innovative wing never knows what Mr. Ollér will do Estefan and Willie Colon. As such, that its admirable dancers introduce next. Even the final desperate and they are worlds removed from the with stylishness and gusto. tender embrace has a surprise. The dark demons that haunt the avant- When I saw Mr. Ollér's work at the commissioned music by Eduardo garde precincts of Barcelona. 1992 Lyons Dance Biennial devoted Rodriguez, Ms. Rossell and Maurici "Sí Senor! Es Mi Son!," a smooth to Spanish dance, it stood out in its Villavecchia is a perfect emotional piece to Ms. Estefan's music, sig- choreographic sophistication and and rhythmic fit. naled the local comeback of the Cu- also shared his colleague obsession The superh cast included Lynne ban choreographer Alberto Alonso. with sexual and religious taboos. Morrissey, Marc Calamia, Alessan- Mr. Alonso is best known for "Car- "Good Night Paradise" is typical- dra Corona, Pedro Ruiz, José Costas, men," created at the Bolshoi for ly joyless, and might or might not Rebecca Jefferson and Eduardo Vi- Maya Plisetskaya and also danced take place in a symbolic brothel. One laro. here by Alicia Alonso, his former has only to recall the young Picas- Mr. Nebrada's ballet is a murky sister-in-law. Vicente Nebrada, the so's images of Barcelona's bordellos tale about a Puerto Rican wake, with artistic director of the National Bal- to recognize the atmosphere of the hero's life seen in flashback. let of Caracas. contributed a less pleasure made routine. And yet the Mr. Alonso, who now lives in Mexi- conerent piece, "El Baquiné," to Mr. three couples and odd man out on- CO, has a more interesting take on Colon's salsa music. stage might also be the residue of a Ms. Estefan's songs from the album Both are suites that draw shrewd- dinner party gone wrong. "Mi Tierra." Past and present ly from folk traditions and contem- Bedspreads are on the floor. A merge in his prologue with Cuban porary social dance. But compared woman squeezes water. from a carnival figures and romantic en- with Mr. Ollér's grim and witty ex- sponge above a sleeping man. Wine counters. The idiom is a mix of ballet ploration of human relations, they bottles and glasses on a table evoke and social dance. Mr. Alonso is never have only a surface polish. earlier refreshment. The women are less than a professional and his ball- Paradoxically, such hip-swinging in ruffled underpants and halters, room episodes are especially ele- dances carry the risk of trading on the men in vests and pants (the gant. Randy Barcelo designed the Latin stereotypes. The rejoinder costumes are by Mr. Ollér and Susan striking costumes. night be that one man's cliché is Ruddie). Macho relationships ob- another man's truth. tain. Yet even with its local color and Dayton Daily News MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1994 Hispanic ballet winningly offbeat By Terry Morris DANCE CRITIC. REVIEW A S we jockeyed for parking with football fans headed gave us the Nina, Pinta and Santa for a nearby high school Maria as three women with long game Friday, those of us going to braids that were the ships' tethers the Ballet Hispanico at the and lifelines to Spain. Northmont Community Auditori- The middle work, direct from um might not have given much Barcelona, offered the taste and thought to the unusual mystery of the unknown. juxtaposition. Ramon Oller's Good Night But it was there for the taking. Paradise, performed to the subtly Sports fans want their chosen irresistible Catalan vocals and teams to win, but what really guitar of Marina Rossell and thrills them is the unexpected. Eduardo Rodriguez, was both That's what this touring New low-key and passionate. York-based dance company deliv- Friday's performance was co- ered to at least 1,000 audience sponsored by the Puerto Rican members who were perhaps bet- Cultural Society of Dayton and ter acquainted with the showy, the University of Dayton Arts Se- sexy side of Hispanic dance via ries in a building well equipped the tango and flamenco. for dance. Friday's pleasing performance The cast of seven, at first a dis- included a lot more than those parate collection of people who highlight clips, however. gradually crystallized into ever- With apologies to Spanish- changing combinations with speaking people, for whom foot- shared qualities and experi- ball is soccer, all three works on ences, included four men in tight- the program scored touchdowns. fitting pants and sleeveless The opener, Venezuelan ballet shirts, and three women in under- choreographer Vicente Nebrada's garments who later put on long revel, El Baquine, set the stage skirts that had previously served with fine dancing and good pro- as everything from blankets to duction values. It also was load- towels. ed with sex appeal and color. Save for the spindled 10-foot The closer - Broadway direc- high barrier at the sides and rear tor and dance maker Graciele of the stage, nothing and no one Daniele's urban update of the served only a single purpose, in Christopher Columbus story - fact. Much was suggested. Noth- was sophisticated fun with an ing was explained. And, for once edge of commentary. Besides a at least, knowing the score Cristobal in denim and leather, it wasn't important. San Antonio Express-News Saturday, May 15, 1993 Ballet Hispanico choreography delights crowd By Jennifer Scott Special to the Son Antonio Express-Newt Ballet Hispanico's performance Fri- day night in the Lila Cockrell Theater be- fore a near-capacity crowd combined fresh choreography and impressive tech- nique to create a dance form with multi- cultural appeal. The highlight was "Inez de Castro," a ballet which at once captured the ele- ments of Greek tragedy, Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"and a Grimm's fairy tale. Alessandra Corona and Pedro Ruiz beautifully portrayed nobelwoman Inez de Castro of Spain and Prince Pedro of Portugal, lovers who never get to marry because of their nationalities. Jose Cos- tas as King Alfonso and Eduardo Villaro as the assassin also gave energetic, in- spired performances. The creative choreography, excellent dancing technique and eleborate cos- Ballet Hispanico members do the Coda Noche' tango choreograph ed. by Graci- tumes kept the audience entranced until ela Daniele with music by Astor Piazzolla. They are (left to right) Jose Costas, the chilling finale when Pedro becomes Nancy Turano and Pedro Ruiz. Tina Ramirez is the troupe's artistic director. king and carries his dead bride to the throne to be crowned Review showcased the talent of three of the com- A more modern piece, "El Nuevo pany's male dancers. The twists, turns Mundo." is a lively 1993 interpretation of and quick moves of Ted Thomas were Christopher Columbus' journey to "the A relaxing selection to just sit back particularly striking as he portrayed one New World" in 1492. Dressed as street and watch, "Ola Chica" capitalized on the of three immigrants who come to the kids. nine company members jeer, cheer flexibility and technique of the Ballet United States. Lighting and set designers and create some very sensual duets and Hispanico dancers. Five dancers moved Tim Hunter and Pepon Osorio also de- original moves as they contemplate his- effortlessly, energetically and gracefully serve kudos for placing an old car with tory. to both waltzes and upbeat tempos. flashing headlights as the single prop. A sharp change of pace from the mys- Constant transitions on and off the Perhaps the only downfall was a voice terious "Inez de Castro," this piece even stage were as smooth as the ebb and flow blurting a message from the "Immigra- intertwines comedy into the dancing as of the tide in this piece translated as "Lit- tion Service" over what sounds like a sirens Nina. Pinta and Maria dance in. tle Wave." loudspeaker 10 inform those who did not out and around their floor-lengthibraids The first selection. "Cafe America. read their program notes The Washington Post MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1993 PERFORMING ARTS Ballet Hispanico In its first Washington appearance Dramatic intensity and sharply since 1975, the New York-based etched dancing likewise infused the Ballet Hispanico proved there's other works on the program. "El more to Hispanic dancing than fla- Nuevo Mundo," by Graciela Daniele menco and the cha-cha. with throaty music by Paco de Lucia, Artistic director Tina Ramirez has treats Columbus's voyage from the tapped an eclectic array of contem- perspective of street kids, with porary choreographers, among them enough sizzle to steam the Atlantic. Talley Beatty and George Faison (of Three dancers in hot pants-La Ni- "The Wiz"). Thursday's program at na (Miriam Kescherman), La Pinta the Kennedy Center's Terrace The- (Rebecca Jefferson) and Maria (Ales- ater featured a premiere by Amanda sandra Corona)-flirt with Cristobal Miller, former dancer with and now (Pedro Ruiz), who also has a sinuous resident choreographer of the Isabel (Nancy Turano) to contend Frankfurt Ballet. with. El Duende (Jose Costas) Miller drew her work, "Two by an weaves among the others with a gui- Error," from the Uruguayan Eduar- tar, passionately embodying the His- do Galeano's "Las Caras y las Mas- panic spirit brought to the New caras" ("Faces and Masks"). The World. The movement is strongly novel depicts life in the Spanish- flamenco-inspired; the dancers' dominated 18th and 19th centuries. heels on the floor are as crisp as cas- Miller took her title from a line re- tanets. ferring to lovers in a forbidden rela. Opening the program was Fai- tionship: "They are two by an error son's "Cafe America," in which three that the night corrects." mechanics (Costas, Ruiz and Ted The dance is dark, steeped in dra- Thomas) are swept up in a reverie of ma, and somber. The music is a col- escape and excitement in America. lage of Bach's St. Matthew Passion Though soulfully danced, the work and Paco Pena, among others. sagged during a long stretch of disco There is no definite plot, yet a feel- dancing in which it wasn't clear if ing of pent-up emotion is clear from this was fantasy or life after (illegal) the alternately taut and broken lines immigration. Also on the bill was of the choreography, superbly ren- William Whitener's "Ola Chica" ("Lit- BY BRUCE LAURANCE dered by the six dancers; however, tle Wave," after the seaside evening Jose Costas in Ballet Hispanico's "El without the program notes one it evokes), a set of lighthearted Nuevo Mundo," which views would be hard-pressed to discern the dances to five Venezuelan waltzes. Columbus's voyage from the stated themes of cultural confluence -Sarah Kaufman perspective of street kids. and spiritual power. The New York Times NEW YORK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1992 Nan Melville José Costas of the Ballet Hispanico performs in "El Nuevo Mundo" at the Joyce Theater. Review/Dance Ballet Hispánico Presents Columbus With a Twist in the company is its insistence on a with the showgirls' braids serving as By ANNA KISSELGOFF Hispanic flavor or subject, no matter his reins. the diversity of dance idioms that The flamenco rhythms of the ac- Ballet Hispánico, ever vibrant, re- come into play. companying recording by the popular turned to the Joyce Theater on Tues- Pure flamenco, in fact, is rarely Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia lead day night, with a premiere by Gra- seen in Ballet Hispánico, and this Miss Daniele into a jazzed-up flamen- ciela Daniele that is certainly one of absence, one suspects, stems from CO vocabulary, full of stamps and the kinkiest references to the Colum- the definition of the company as an claps, but also loose in the hip. Per- bus Quincentenary. American dance troupe, not a Span- haps too hip, or too slick, for its own In "El Nuevo Mundo," the Niña, ish one. The very conceit behind "El good, "El Nuevo Mundo" obviously the Pinta and the Santa Maria are Nuevo Mundo" is its perspective on celebrates something or other. represented by three showgirls in fe- Columbus's journey to the New World Liliana Morales is listed as Miss line costumes, and a surrogate for from the vantage point of Hispanic Daniele's assistant for the choreogra- Queen Isabella wears a camisole. The young people in New York, phy, and Ann Hould-Ward did her controversial hero is in jeans and a José Costas begins as a young man customary fine job with the cos- leather jacket, and Miss Daniele's who has a love affair with a guitar in tumes. Donald Holder's lighting was overall idiom here is strictly Las a brilliantly danced solo that exudes especially life-giving. Vegas flamenco. life-giving energy in all its leaps and The narrative pretext in "El Nuevo bounds. Mr. Costas, is named here El The program opened with Mundo" need not be taken too seri- Duende, after the soul of flamenco, "Stages," which traces Miss Ramir- ously. In what is becoming an annual and brings the other dancers to life. ez's own career through images of tradition at the Joyce (175 Eighth Pedro Ruiz, another eye-catching learning through dance. Melissa Soto Avenue, at 19th Street, Chelsea), this performer, is the Columbus figure, was the delightful child who dreams two-week season is a promise of a alternating his flamenco stamps with of becoming a dancer, exemplified good time. ballet's pas de chat jumps when he is later by Miss Turano and; in the fool- Unusually, the opening program not playing a bullfighter. proof surprise ending, by Miss Ra- consisted entirely of works by Miss At this point, the action becomes a mirez herself. Daniele. In addition to the local pre- bit confused. María, La Niña and La Miss Daniele is at her best in miere of "El Nuevo Mundo," there Pinta (Alessandra Corona, Miriam "Cada Noche Tango." her lowlife were the familiar "Stages" and Kescherman and Rebecca Jefferson, tango ballet, superbly dramatized by "Cade Noche Tango." An Argen- respectively) each have a long braid Miss Morissey as an elegant but tine-born choreographer who made and are glitzy fugitives from a chorus tough madam, Miss Turano as the her name on Broadway and in indus- line. Sexy wife-swapping occurs be- thrill-seeking bourgeoise, and the trial shows, Miss Daniele has now tween a pair identified as a lady men whose macho gait is wonderfully found a more consistent artistic out- (Lynne Morrissey) and a priest (Gui- captured by Mr. Costas, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. let for her theatricality. llermo Asca), and Fernando Vilaro, Mr. Asca and Ted Thomas. One of the great achievements of (Eduardo Vilaro) and Isabel (Nancy The women, including Celeste Over- Tina Ramirez as the director and Turano). Miss Turano, the stand-in boe, threw themselves around with founder of Ballet Hispánico is the for the Spanish queen, wears a jew- gusto. versatility with which she has imbued eled cross on her neck that Cristobal her dancers without making them (Mr. Ruiz) finally grabs. He holds it merely eclectic. The unifying esthetic up exultantly as he exits, a charioteer The Miami Herald MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1992 Ballet Hispanico shows spunk, sass Fine dancing Morrissey as the frustrated, DANCE REVIEW scheming princess; and Vilaro as displayed in the sinuously evil Eastern assas- sin, all giving wonderfully Ola Chica, by modern/ballet danced, strongly felt perfor- mix of styles choreographer William Whit- mances. The ending, as Ruiz des- ener, was both a verbal and phys- perately tries to recreate his lyri- By JORDAN LEVIN ical play on the meanings of ola cal duets with Corona with her Special to The Herald chica (little wave) and hola. now limp body, finally enthron- Tina Ramirez' Ballet Hispan- chica! (hey, girl!). The dancing ing her with his father's robe and ico has a lot of style, but it's an abounded with wavelike motion crown, was genuinely poignant. amalgamative one - of classical and flirtatious interplay among Spanish, flamenco, modern, bal- Celeste Overboe, Lynne Morris- Columbus re-enactment let. and funky salsa. Saturday sey, Laura Taber, Eduardo afternoon at Bailey Hall in Vilaro, and Jose Costas. To a The final piece, Graciela Dan- Davie, the company showed dra- Spanish-flavored jazzy score iele's El Nuevo Mundo (The New matic punch and sexy sass at its recorded by Paquito D'Rivera, World), was also the newest. the dancers undulated their tor- Staged as a tongue-in-cheek re- best, with consistently fine danc- ing. If the company has a fault, sos with a flip of the wrists, wig- enactment of the Columbus story it's a tendency toward flash and gled their hips, wove rapid steps by contemporary Latino kids, it fluff, but it is always entertaining around each other, got caught in was an exuberant celebration of elaborate interlocking partner- pure style and attitude done in a and impeccably performed. ings. It was fluffy and show-offy, clever pastiche of flamenco, jazz Cafe America. choreographed by Broadway and film veteran but the dancers' flirtatious exu- and hip-thrusting street dance. berance made it engaging, espe- Ann Hould-Ward's trendily char- George Faison, was a bittersweet evocation of the immigrant cially Morrissey and Vilaro's acterized costumes were an preening, sensual duet and essential element. dream. An early, ominous INS voiceover hung over Guillermo Taber's quicksilver sparkle. To a flamenco score by Paco de Asca, Pedro Ruiz and Ted Vicente Nebrada's Inez de Cas- Lucia, the dancers slipped Thomas, who danced to music by between flamenco palmas (rhyth- Ruben Blades and Julio Iglesias tro was a beautifully crafted story dance of a kind they just don't mic claps) and footwork to butt- against a glowing car designed by Peopon Osorio. make any more. It was aided by wiggling struts and cries of anda! Cristobal Colon (Ruiz) was a In Bernard Johnson's outra- Donald Holder's smoky melo- loner in tight jeans urged on by geously bright suits, they moved dramatic lighting and Patricia black-clad ultra-sexy Costas and through Faison's lushly stretched Zipprodt's elaborate costumes. his phallic/inspirational guitar. arabesques, spinning turns, and Nebrada used complex group In a floor-rolling seduction of social dance references, arms cra- patterns and richly characterized Isabel (Turano), clad in a red vel- dling invisible partners. The cho- individual choreography to tell vet micro-mini, Ruiz gets her reography tended to become the story of a Portuguese king bejeweled cross. Then the whole repetitive, but the dancers cre- whose son's royal Spanish lover crew parades him triumphantly ated vivid characterizations: is killed through the machina- across the stage behind Corona, Thomas a sexy-cool survivor, tions of a jealous princess. The Overboe and Rebecca Jefferson Ruiz cocky and energetic, and dancers were excellent: Costas as as the Niña, the Pinta and the Asca the yearning, naive dreamer the King; Ruiz the passionate, SantaMaria, in mod DeeLite-es- who disappears, leaving the other yearning prince: Alessandra que outfits and six-foot-long two to stalk the stage in anger. Corona the sweetly open Inez: braids. Anda! indeed. The Atlanta Journal THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION Sunday, October 18, 1992 Ballet Hispanico: sass, class and substance The mixed program of sizzle and tragedy that Ballet Hispanico of New York performed Tues- day at Agnes Scott College was a winner all around. This powerful, modern troupe with the Spanish flair may be unique in the nation. The company's choreography often combines tradi- tional flamenco technique with a modern vocab- ulary redolent of Martha Graham. Both were certainly evident in the darkly passionate "Ber- DANCE narda," based on Federico Lor- ca's "The House of Bernarda Alba," a story of a monster mother who, at the death of her hus- band, locks up her daughters emotionally and de- nies them - through her watchdog maid (mar- velously performed by Celeste Overboe) - all freedom of choice and love. (The mother is rep- resented only by a strident voice.) The resulting volcano of repressed emotion erupts into strife, lust and the murder of the youngest daughter - to prevent her from losing her virginity. "Bernarda" was the heavy - and most com- pelling - work of the evening, though each of the other dances had its own merits. Notable among them were George Faison's "Cafe America," which centers on three immigrants, their Volks- wagen bug (stalled on the border between Mexi- CO and the United States), and their dream of a better life. By stage magic, the car becomes Cafe America and the men imagine themselves as real cool dudes - before reality sets in again. Other works included "Llamade," a sensual solo of longing performed by Nancy Turano; "Ola Chica," a suite of high-spirited dances in the Latin style; and "El Nuevo Mundo," ostensibly about Columbus and his voyage into the un- known, but more like a menu of raging hormones. Depicting today's street-smart youth, the danc- ers taunted, tempted and torched each other with the fire of flamenco and the sass of the streets. - Helen Smith THE DENVER POST Friday, April 17, 1992 OVERNIGHT IN COLORADO Ballet Hispanico distinct Dance troupe offers slice of historical, present culture By Glenn Giffin solo for Nancy Turano for a study of both Denver Post Dance Critic the very Spanish uplifted back and sharp Without doubt the Ballet Hispanico, di- footwork, but softened by fluid arms. The rected by Tina Ramirez, occupies a dis- choreography was by William Whitener. tinct place in American dance. Using But the biggest hit of the evening was themes of particular Hispanic interest, the "Ola Chica," also by Whitener, who has an company of a baker's dozen is a bridge for exceptionally good. feel for the social Hispanic culture - both historical and dance vernacular as be raises it to theatri- current. cal status. On the historic side, "Inez de Castro" is an unusual piece, a "Ola Chica" is done to a group of popt- REVIEW bloody bit of 14th centu- lar works, including five Venezuelan ry Iberian history where waltzes, which allows each of the five a prince enthrones his dead lover. But then dancers to solo. The finale, "Tico, Tico" Spain and Portugal were always places of all but brought the house to its feet. particular passion. The dancers, Merciditas Manago, Lynne And dramatics aside, the works that Morissey, Miriam Kescherman, Pedro won the audience's heart last night at Ruiz and Brian Chung are young, exuber- Macky Auditorium in Boulder were the ant and fetching personalities in this pure movement pieces, such as "Cafe piece. The whole is a summation of what America," choreographed by George Fai- one thinks of as "Hispanic" movement: the son wherein a trio of young men, stranded free torso, the sudden and sharp focuses, by a recalcitrant car, dream of how they'd tricky little essays of the feet. trut their stuff at the Cafe America. Jose In dramatic works, such as Vicente Ne- Costas. Gary-David Shaw and Eduardo Vi- brada's "Inez," the technique is a cross be- laro were the heros of this piece. tween modern and ballet much, to mv eye. Another short work. "Llamada" was a indebted to Jose Limon. JARVIS THEATRE & FILM PROJECTS LTD. 171 West 57th Street NYC 10019 Tel: (212) 541-7776 FAX: (212) 397-0864 presents BALLET HISPANICO of NEW YORK in CUBA A Tour & Television Show Only ninety miles off the coast of Florida, Cuba remains an island shrouded in mystery and misconception. Most American know little about this island or the Cubans themselves, a proud people with a colorful passionate heritage. As the post-cold war world continues to evolve, it seems an appropriate time to take a closer look at this island nation, its people and its vibrant enduring culture. Jarvis Theatre & Film Projects, Ltd. is an innovator in cultural programming with a long history of identifying ideas and creating experiences that merit the attention of wide audiences. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy opened the door for Lucy Jarvis to make a deal with Nikita Khrushcev to film inside the great halls of Soviet power. The result was an Emmy Award winning television special called "The Kremlin," which presented the era of detente to the American people. She then won the exclusive right from the French Ministry of Culture to film inside the Louvre. She was awarded the "Chevaliere de L'Ordre des Artes et des Lettres" for her efforts there. Ten years later, she anticipated the normalization of diplomatic relations with The People's Republic of China and won permission to film inside that country. This spectacular coup resulted in another Emmy Award winning television special, "The Forbidden City." Again in 1988, she created the first ever American/Soviet joint venture of a Broadway musical, Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Ladies," which won worldwide acclaim. Now, Jarvis Theatre & Film is bringing this expertise in cultural filmaking to Cuba. We will bring Ballet Hispanico of New York, America's premier interpreter of Hispanic culture in dance, to Cuba for a three city performance tour and film their activities while there. We will record not only what happens on stage, but what happens behind the scenes. The interaction between our dancers, some of whom are Cuban born, will create wonderful and moving stories of artistic exchange between peoples of similar cultures but of different origins and circumstance By having our dancers participate in the cultural life of this vibrant and colorful island nation we will create a fast paced, informational and entertaining television program depicting Cuba today, a show that will appeal to both American and international audiences. The completed television program will be broadcast throughout the United States as part of Public Broadcasting's (THIRTEEN-WNET) prestigious and award winning series, "GREAT PERFORMANCES" and distributed worldwide. IMC ORDER Jan. 3. 1989 DATE JARVIS COLLECTION STREET DATE Jan. 23. 1989 SEVEN EMMY AWARDS TWO PEABODY AWARDS TWO CHRISTOPHER AWARDS THE RADIO AND TELEVISION CRITIC'S AWARD THE THOMAS ALVA EDISON AWARD TWO GOLDEN MIKE AWARDS INTRODUCING THE A happy JARVIS COLLECTION NEW THE AWARD-WINNING SPECIAL INTEREST SERIES THE LOUVRE THAT WAS THERE FIRST! RELEASE for 1989. B efore this film, no one else was ever permitted to film the Louvre. The priceless treasures and incompa- rable art can now be shared. Set against the panoramic history of France, the Louvre, regal palace and home to much of the world's greatest art, becomes CHARLES BOY400 THE LOUVRE a film which won fourteen national and international awards, SO rich in Hosted by CHARLES its story that even the Mona Lisa smiles. BOYER THE LOUVRE CAT# 32934 so RICH IN ITS STORY THAT EVEN THE MONA LISA SMILES THE Other available titles THE JARVIS COLLECTION JARVIS COLLECTION THE THE FIRST THE THE JARVIS COLLECTION JARVIS COLLECTION THE AWARD-WINNING SPECIAL INTEREST SERIES THE AWARD-WINNING SPECIAL INTEREST SERIES THAT WAS THERE FIRST THAT WAS THERE FIRST EDWIN EDWIN NEWMAN NEWMAN LUCY JARVIS Hosted by CHICA & THE THE KRE VIDEOCASSETTE DAVID NIVEN FORDIDDEN CITY INSIDE THERAL LOWED HALLS OFSOVIET RUSSIA Scotland Yard H A UNIQUEJOURNEY OF MYSTERY AND GRANDEUR INCAS REMEMBERED THE KREMLIN A RARE LOOK AT THE EXTRAORDINARY EXPLORE THE MYSTERIES OF AN CHINA & THE BRITISH POLICE FORCE ADVANCED CIVILIZATIONS DISAPPEARANCE E nter and discover the rich Scotland Yard T H E FORBIDDEN CITY treasurers and history of a INCAS REMEMBERED government who's ideology has swept half the modern world. A rare behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary E J oin us for a very special inside xplore the mysteries and look at the mystery, opulence miracles of a lost civilization. and grandeur of mankind's CAT#32579 British police force. CAT#32574 greatest treasures & civilization. CAT#32583 CAT#32547 Introduction by EDWIN NEWMAN with LUCY JARVIS. Color. 60 MN. Suitable for all ages. DISTRIBUTED BY monterey home video FRIES HOME VIDEO o division of the $24.95 a subsidiary of Fries Entertainment Inc. monterey movie company 1-800-248-1113 EACH media LUCY JARVIS: Sophisticated Lady A media icon for more than 30 years, she has bitten of the apple and gained great knowledge. by Jeanette Friedman I took myself to Lincoln Center in search of facts about dress in my whole life!! I hate pink! The day you see me in Lucy Jarvis, TV pioneer and award-winning produc- pink, I'll be laid out! I didn't say 'sex and corn.' I would nev- er-a handsome, exuberant lady with a large laugh and er say that. This stuff sounds like the things the guys said a very sharp mind. Last spring she teased me with intriguing when I was the only female in the industry. See, I really felt tidbits of her past. At the Center's library, I perused a folder very strongly that these wonderful places I enjoyed going to of yellowed clippings-Woman Field Marshal Conquers would be places people would like to see on TV. And it Kremlin," "Lucy's Scoop Made the Russians See Red," worked!" "Madison Avenue's Miss Machiavelli." and "A Modern Lucy was the first American to ever film the Louvre and Marco Polo Visits China." All of them describe a self- the Kremlin. as well as the Forbidden City. She also did spe- assured whirlwind who knows how to get what she wants. cials with Pablo Picasso, evenings at the White House with One writer said Lucy achieved one of her most the Kennedys. and news specials that proved to be pre- acclaimed successes-bringing NBC camera crews to film scient. She's won. Emmys, Peabodys and a host of other the Kremlin in 1962-by distinguished awards. appearing at a cocktail par- including her appointment ty in a cloud of pink chiffon as a Chevalier in the and batting her false eye- Order of Arts and Letters lashes at Khrushchev. It was from Charles De Gaulle. rumored that in fractured She brought the success- Russian she whispered ful Broadway musical, sweet nothings in his ear. Sophisticated Ladies, to "Sex and corn are two Russia in a diplomatic foolproof ingredients for a coup during the early lady trying to get ahead in glasnost days. Raisa business," the article in Gorbachev said that she Status magazine quoted didn't think that she could Lucy. And then it claimed Photo: Bachrich afford to accept the co- she had "parlayed" her eye- lash abilities into "a reputa- Lucy Jarvis chairmanship of the open- ing gala with Nancy tion as the hottest producer in television today." That was in Reagan. Lucy told her she couldn't afford not to do it, and 1975. Mrs. Gorbachev accepted. Lucy's a lady who makes things That same afternoon. I visited Lucy at her Creative happen. Productions office in the CBS complex on West 57th. a block from the Hudson River. We were discussing her trip to China (she was the first American to film inside the A graduate (she refuses to say when) in Home Economics from Cornell University, Lucy learned Forbidden City). and she was telling me about the extraordi- about independence at her mother's knee. "It nev- nary women she met there. er occurred to me that I wouldn't do what I wanted to do. That's when I told her about the pink chiffon and sweet My mother was my role model. The teacher called my whatevers in Khrushchev's ear. mother to school and said, 'You know, Mrs. Howard, Lucy "Oh my G-d!" she said. "I never owned a pink chiffon has a long tongue and she talks too much.' My mother 22 Lifestyles media looked her straight in the eye and said, You think I'm going to cut it off? I've encouraged her.' And walked out. L ucy's family was from France. Russia. and Wales. Photo: 'ecil W. Stoughton Her grandfather went to South Africa at the turn of the century for the diamond rush. The idea of going down a hole appalled him, but since the miners wouldn't leave their stakes to get water, her grandfather made a for- tune bringing water to them. Then he came back to Wales, picked up his family, and emigrated to America. He lived. off the money he made in South Africa and sent Lucy's four uncles to college. The women were not permitted to attend. "My mother and my aunt were very talented and had tremendous style. as did my grandmother. They used to do the illustrations for McCall's Pattern magazine, but weren't permitted to go to the office. The younger boys would mes- senger the drawings over to the magazine and collect the pay, which was given to my grandfather. The girls were not allowed to touch it until they married. "Grandfather was a tyrant, and he looked like Ho Chi Minh. After my mother married, she was even more liber- ated-she was born 40-50 years too soon. There was noth- ing she felt you couldn't do if you really set your mind to it. Lucy Jarvis with "I was told that I was going to be given all the tools so President that I could walk into a room anywhere in the world and John F. Kennedy never feel inadequate. I went to dancing school and was giv- ...and Bobby will anD en elocution and language lessons. I learned how to walk Kennedy (inset). into a room. how to sit in a chair and how to get up. I was and a year after she graduated thev were married in a given not just the lady things, but everything you could pos- national landmark on Riverside Drive. overlooking the sibly imagine. And I was the first in my group to go away to Hudson River. "My mother decided that it would be a great college." place for a wedding. and it was. We had this outdoor wed- Two major professions women could enter at that time ding on the hottest day of the year. I didn't feel a thing." were fashion and nutrition-so Lucy chose Home Ec. Her They had two children-a daughter who is an artist and brother, also at Cornell. became an aeronautics engineer filmmaker in Hawaii and her son. Peter. an expert on and eventually built the lunar module that brought the first English as a second language. Her granddaughter is the 13- humans to the moon. year-old Hawaiian State Champion in horsemanship. I wondered if there was time for romance in such a busy, Lucy became a nutritionist at New York Hospital, then a peripatetic life. She'd met Serge Jarvis a year before she food editor at McCall's. After a stint doing good works for graduated Cornell. "One night my aunt told me that she the Jewish community. she wound up cutting her TV teeth noticed Serge sitting in his car, watching my front door. He as a producer for David Susskind. the TV pioneer. Before had it bad. but he wasn't going to give in. He was never the TV career began. Lucy traveled the world for ORT (the going to let me know. Organization for Rehabilitation through Training) in the "He was a lawyer and much older than I was. He had a '40s as international vice president of membership. "I gave whole entourage of expatriate Europeans from the major about 15 years of my life to ORT and it was very important. capitals who had escaped when the war came. All of them I thought the solution for all the refugees coming out of the were very well placed and were high livers. The women all concentration camps would be to give them something they wore haute couture and were all in business. They would could live with anywhere in the world. hire gypsy orchestras for dinner parties and dancing. When "ORT went into the displaced persons' camps and they met me-and I thought I was the most sophisticated taught trades-radio mechanics. tool-and-die making. thing that ever lived, after all, my mother prepared me for teaching anything you could take with you in your head and exactly this-I felt like a country bumpkin. But I quickly your hands. We set up ORT schools in France. Italy. and absorbed their way of life. Serge played the dyed-in-the- Spain. I believe it you teach a man a trade and make him wool bachelor and it was not easy to bring him around." self-sufficient. there is no need for charity. Eventually we Finally he gave in, [she doesn't remember the proposal!] went to Israel. We spent a fortune there. and then we went Lifestyles 23 media Those who run the news departments. the entertain- ment departments, and the advertising divisions have to be creative and competitive for the ratings. They also have to worry about the growing force of public broadcasting and the cable networks. where they buy a lot, of wonderful movies and talent on the cheap. So, if you think the quality of the men is higher than it once was that remains to be seen." I ask about the special she did on handguns. "A Courtesy: Lucy Jarvis Shooting Gallery Called America' was supposed to air March 2, 1975 but didn't That didn't stop The American Rifleman from printing a critical edito- with Chou En-lai. rial based solely on a TV listing in the newspapers. "We did six months of research and verified to North Africa. every word, every number, every letter, every organiza- "It blew my mind. Tunis. Even in the local Jewish popu- tion, every fact-we had a research book that was a foot lation there was a real difference between the haves and thick. I felt there was an element in the population who have-nots. We visited with the international vice president thought they were living in the Wild West, that it was part of ORT in Casablanca and were treated like royalty. We of the great heritage of America for every household to had dinner at the home of a woman we hoped would try to have some kind of gun. rebuild ORT. She was Mrs. Charity from Paris. We ate off "I went to Atlanta, which at that time had one of the gold plates-solid gold plates. I had never seen such luxury. highest death-by-gun statistics in the country and more gun There was one servant for every two people: the flowers clubs per square inch than any other city after Detroit. We were in the shape of a peacock. She outdid herself: she was found a woman who started an organization against guns in showing off. the home. Her 8-year-old son found a gun she thought was "The next day I went to the Casbah and saw the starving safely put away, climbed into the tree house they built for kids. One of those goddamned gold plates would have tak- him and accidentally killed himself. She decided she wanted en care of one family for a year and I said so. She said she to make sure that no mother in the world would have to go couldn't organize the women in Morocco like the women in through what she went through. and the police offered to America, but she believed in what I was saying. help her. Police in general were pro-gun, but in Atlanta, "When I came back a year later. I found she had orga- they helped her. nized a group of women. started a school in a warehouse "The National Rifle Association (NRA) did everything and was feeding the children. Talk about turning around a they could to stop the show from airing. I didn't leave them whole generation!" out. But the powers-that-be sat in the editing room and challenged every frame. We backed up every fact, every t was this sense of enthusiasm and worldliness that I detail, and put it to bed. It was to air two days later. landed Lucy a job in TV. "In those days. most of these "I left for Rome to do a project with Fellini. While I was guys were sitting back on their haunches. living on gone, an NBC person went to my associate producer and whatever they had been doing. Nobody was challenging said the show had to be changed. They tore the show apart. them. They all did the same thing. They worked at either and I have never forgiven either one of them: It went on the ABC. CBS or NBC and did the same thing at all of them. air in a bastardized version and The New York Times ran a Along comes the first female executive producer. full of two-column spread saying that they couldn't believe that wide-eyed wonder about this incredible medium Jarvis pulled her punches. "I first thought giants ran the networks. especially in "Everything we said in the original came to pass. We had those days. When you realize TV reaches millions of people an opportunity to make a difference because there's noth- and the influence the medium has politically. culturally, and ing as powerful as television. There was a lack of responsi- intellectually. you think that the people who are giving you bility. on the part of people who could influence everyday all this are great intellects. Then you come in and find you living." are working with ordinary people with ordinary taste. who are concerned with whether they meet the budget or L ucy's shows about art (Picasso and the Louvre) whether they on schedule. "were enormously well-received. The ratings and "Today. I think it's changed somewhat. The business is audience share blew everybody's minds. But it sad- tougher. The guys on top are interested in the bottom line. dens me that no one heard about the weekly debate shows, 24 Lifestyles media like the health show and the show about teens on drugs. Those are the shows I'm proudest of.' The health show, "Who Shall Live?," was done in the early '70s in Seattle-then the only city in America with hemodialysis machines. It dealt with the ethics of choosing who gets expensive medical treatment and who doesn't. It changed the American government's health policies by making hemodialysis available to the masses and covering most of the costs. "Then there was the show about kids on drugs. Of course, it's worse now, because no one took heed at that time. I went to Phoenix, Arizona, where the whole city gal- vanized itself to stop kids on drugs. Eighty percent of the Countery: Lucy Jarvis kids in Phoenix were on drugs at that time, and we're not the Carter family talking alcohol, which in those days wasn't considered a drug. But it did inclue pot and hash, which were proven to President couldn't have held off until her project was fin- be gateway drugs to heroin. (The local AMA told Lucy that ished. She confirms that Kennedy later told her he'd made a the average medicine cabinet in America contains 30 mind- deal with the Russian premier. if he'd get the missiles out of altering drugs.) And everybody-police, teachers, the local Cuba. Kennedy would get Lucy out of the Kremlin. medical association, religious leaders, businessmen-got together to turn it around. They did an incredible job. And a representative to Phoenix to see how it was done." L ucy's biggest disappointment was that Jacqueline if I were the rest of this country, every city would have sent Kennedy Onassis was unable to do a special art pro- gram with her, something they were both enthusias- tic about. They'd worked together on a number of pro- F or the Kremlin show, the NBC crew was in Moscow grams about the White House and the arts. "When the from June to December in 1962. Though the original Kennedys came to the White House. they emphasized cul- deal was made because Lucy took the trouble to ture in America." she says. study Russian with a gypsy, she later had to bring brownies Salinger called her about the art program. saying, "Mrs. and cigarettes from the States to finagle what she needed Kennedy wants to prove that we are not a nation of barbar- from the Russians. Her crew, relying on Russian box lunch- iaris, that we have a culture of our own and an appreciation es, went hungry most of the time-until Lucy made a deal of the arts." with the U.S. Marine commissary. Lucy suggested to the First Lady that they work with The Marine barracks became the center for fun and Isaac Stern, the violinist, and called the Sterns to set up a games. After quitting work at midnight on Halloween, the lunch date at the White House the following Tuesday. Stern. NBC crew headed to the barracks for a costume party. But on tour in Montreal. caught the milk train to make the date. the Cuban missile crisis began at 11 p.m. that same night. Salinger and Jackie's secretary joined Stern. Lucy and "NBC officials were nervous and tried to find out what was Jackie in planning the whole thing and that's how going on at my end. They called and called and called, and "Evenings at the White House" came into being. by 3:30 a.m., they still couldn't find me. They called every- But then the President was shot and Lyndon Johnson's body, and no one was in. They were convinced we were idea of culture was to bring Liberace to the White House. arrested and by the time they got through to the State NBC canceled the series and Jackie married Aristotle Department at 6 a.m., the president of NBC was in hyster- Onassis. changing her image. Today Lucy is "torturing" ics, and he was not by nature an hysterical man. He also New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani into doing something simi- said that if the Russians had me on their hands, he didn't lar at Gracie Mansion. We have the greatest talent in this envy them. city. let's show that off!" "So as all the embassy people are trying to find us. they go to the hotel. But after the party we'd all gone to break- fast with The New York Times bureau chief in Moscow. I n those days. Lucy had the perfect arts project for Jackie. "I wanted to show what was happening to the Finally, someone wondered if we'd been at the all-nighter in great monuments of the world. The Parthenon was the Marine barracks and tracked us down. By the time I melting like an ice cream cone. We'd discovered that in the contacted New York, they were ready to kill. That's how we last 50 years there had been more destruction of these found out about the Cuban missile crisis." places than there had been in 2.000 years. With the right Lucy says she sent a telegram to Pierre Salinger, name we could sell it all over the world and raise money to President Kennedy's press secretary, asking why the save the monuments at the same time. Lifestyles 25 media guys upstairs know what was going on every step of the way. Harry N. Abrams, the publisher of art books, said he would do a book. The lawyers went to see Harry and Jackie was promised a $250,000 advance, plus royalties. "The lawyers finished their documents and they were sent off to Athens, where Ari picked up the mail and read it as he was flown back to the island. He saw this big thing from the lawyers' office, opened it and read it. It was 21 pages long and promised her $3,000,000. In those days, that was a lot of money. And every time Abrams would sell a book, she wouldget 50% of the gross. Aristotle Onassis did not want Jacqueline Kennedy to feel that she could make that much money on her own for Courtesy Lucy Javis so little work. She was not supposed to realize that her name knowledge and talent were worth that kind of mon- ey: She didn't have enough money when she married him. The Kennedys had made a modest settlement on her, - Barbara Walters and the Duchess of Orleans $250,000 annually, the life insurance policy, plus something from her trust. This was not money to Jackie." Ari called Lucy in New York, " "Are you crazy? She should live up to 21 pages?' 'I didn't write it,' I said. 'Her lawyer did. Did you give it to her to read?' 'No. I didn't give to her. I told her about it. You can't let her do this.' " "Of course, I can,' I say. We agreed. We had a meeting, you promised and you said it was the best thing that was ever brought to her.' " I think you better come to Greece: we have to discuss Official White House Photography this. Yes. it's a great idea, but not now. I thought maybe in the future. What's the rush?' On the weekend of their wedding anniversary, Lucy and her husband, Serge, were flown to Greece. NBC paid for two tourist-class tickets to keep it on the up and up, but at the airport they found themselves bumped-up to jet-set - Ronald Reagan status. Jackie was married to Onassis and I thought If I can't "It was the trip of trips. We had the whole top floor of a move him about the Parthenon. what would move him?' " 747 to ourselves. We arrived in Athens and our luggage was She went to see André Malraux. whom she knew from waiting in a limo at the foot of the stairs. We were driven to working in the Louvre. "I wanted to be able to tell Jackie a private hangar, where Lee Radziwill [Jackie's sister], Ari, that she would be working with him. and he said he would and others were waiting. Lee said to me, I know why help me put together a group of first-rate people.' you're here. Lots of luck.' And I knew I was in trouble." Pierre Salinger engineered a dinner for Lucy when the Somewhere in transit, Ari started on Lucy's husband. Onassises visited New York and Jackie was thrilled with the "You're a lawyer. Did you draw up those 21 pages?" project. "Ari said. You know. everybody wants to get her "No. I stay out of her business." on television: everybody wants to use her. I don't encourage "Ari said, 'Listen, we don't need NBC lawyers. Just you it. because the moment that happens. the crazies will come and Bobby Sarnoff and me. We can sit down and we can out of the woodwork and I really fear for her life. I protect write a 2-page contract. What do we need 21 pages for? Let her with my Navy and with my Air Force:* I. finally con- her do this. but not now. I need her now. I need her to go vinced him. And he said. This is really the first time some- with me to various places to meet heads of state. I'm doing one has come to her with an idea that is worthy of her. so big business. I can't spare her. Maybe in a couple of years.' there is a possibility of doing the show." "He really didn't want her to do it. It had nothing to do Extensive meetings with Jackie followed. "Then she with her needs, with her wants. His argument to her, when called in her lawyer and I called the NBC lawyers. I let the we were not there, was that people could get at her. With 26 Lifestyles media him she was safe. She was very, very frightened. She was determined to protect herself and those children. She was terrified. "So we go out to the island, and Serge tells Ari a story: There were two Jesuit priests who were very heavy smokers, but they weren't permitted to smoke in church. They would run outside and grab a smoke. Finally they decided they would each write to the Pope and ask for permission to smoke. Three weeks later they meet. One of them is happy as a clam and the other one is miserable. The miserable one wrote to the Pope and asked if he could smoke while he was praying. "The Pope wanted to know how I could ask such a terrible thing-such a desecration! The answer was no.' "The happy priest said he asked the Pope if he could pray while he was smoking. And the Pope said, Of - Hillary Rodham Clinton course." On the Onassis island, "Jackie gave my husband a tour, and then we gathered for dinner, where Ari announced that there was going to be a fireworks celebration on the follow- ing evening to honor our wedding anniversary. We felt like we were in paradise. "Then two days later the phone rings and it's the num- ber three guy at NBC. Ari said, "I'll speak to him, I don't want him to bother her.' He picks up the phone and he says to the guy, 'Don't bother Lucy. It's praving while smoking!' Click. Oh, G-d! It wasn't until I got back and told the story that anyone understood what he meant. We had a wonder- ful time, but Ari never let Jackie do it. "Jackie was smart, she was knowledgeable. When you Photo: Diane Stephing talked to her, she was very natural and would say what she Boris Yeltsin. thought. She was logical and soft-spoken and you felt you were on solid ground. She was fun to be with. And she ship who deal with these issues. She co-chaired the tenth adored Ari. She had enormous respect for him. When he annual conference this October. where Barbara Walters. regaled us with stories in French and English, she sat there, Mickey Seibert and Leontyne Price were honored. just staring at him with absolute admiration. If it was an act, "Kids need role models who will tell them that struggle is she did it brilliantly." worth the end result. They need to be told that the founda- tion on which to build. not just a marriage or a family, but a L ucy ruminates on the current state of TV. "If we're life, is respect for each other. That's the first thing. Love may not careful," Lucy warned. "TV can be a source of be interesting. sex may be interesting. Those are icing on the evil. I always hoped it would be a source of good. cake. The cake is respect. We live in a shrinking world because of TV, transportation, "Today. we don't have respect for ourselves. so how can and the new techno stuff, and we need to reach out to each we have respect for our President, a man [Clinton] who is other. We need to understand and demystify our differences trying so hard to create a society in which everyone can have so that we won't be afraid of '-isms.' I always wonder what a better life? We don't have respect for that. We have some people do to justify the space they take up on this respect only for the power of the guy who steps over the planet. At least I feel that I've done some things that will dead body and makes money doing it. That's what we were still be here when I am not-and maybe someone will learn taught to have respect for. And it begins right here. in the from them. It was this philosophy that involved me in ORT. television industry. on the air. in cable. in the movies and on "All the things that we talked about in the programs 20 videotape. But that's where the positive role models ought years ago are repeating themselves today. Those problems to be." were never solved. Our kids get the feeling that there's no Since Lucy's been in TV from its earliest davs. she must tomorrow, but where did they get that from?" know whereof she speaks. But my positive role model That's why Lucy is so active in the Women's Forum. an wasn't on TV. She was in an office on West 57th Street, organization of networking women in international leader- täking it one day at a time. lifestyles Lifestyles 27 NEW YORK DAILY NEWS October 3 (11, excerpt) By PHIL ROURA & TOM POSTER SOPHISTICATED FIRST LADY: Raisa greets cast members of Sophisticated Lagies in Gorbáchev, the new first lady of the Soviet Union, Moscow. The troupe opened there on Saturday. AP BACK STAGE Sentember 23 "Ladies" Treated To Sophisticated U.S.-U.S.S.R. Joint Effort The most elaborate staging of musical conductor, staff. and crew, glasnost ever will begin in October will consist of American talent. Soviet when Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated personnel will design the principal Ladies" launches the first co- costumes while conceiving and build- production of a Broadway musical by ing the sets: A 20-person jazz örchestra combined forces from the United States will be composed of 16 Soviets and and the Soviet Union. four American musicians, conducted Ladies" will open in Moscow on by Frank Owens. Oct. 1: through the joint efforts of the Hinton Battle and Gregg Burge-two U.S.S.R. Cultural Fund, the U.S.S.R. stars from the original Broadway pro- Theater Workers' Union. and duction that in 1981 earned two Tony Soyuzteatr. with American input from Awards from among its eight nomina- Jarvis Theatre Projects Ltd which is tions-will head the 19-member cast. producing the venture. A tour that is ex- "From Times Square to Red Square.' pected to stop In more than 25 cities a TV special that will chronicle the pro- throughout Europe, Australia. Asia, duction along its tour. is being plann- China. South America, and the U.S. éd for release in 1989. Among the loca- will follow-with plans to continue in- tions targeted for the tour after Moscow to mid-1990. are Leningrad. Tbilisi. Paris. Rio de The surprisé announcement on Janeiro, Melbourne, Sydney: Hong Thurs. Sept. 15, was made by Charles Kong, Japan, Hawaii. Los Angeles. 2. Wick. director of the USIA, Soviet San Francisco, England. and New ambassador Yuriy V. Dubinin, and York James D. Robinson III, chairman and Said Dubinin. This pioneering pro- CEO of the American Express Co. the ject opens a new page in Soviet- underwriter of the project: which will American cultural exchange. It is par- generate proceeds to be divided among ticularly appropriate that this joint pro- the Soviet theatrical partners. the Jar- duction features the music of Duke Ell- vis company. and American Express. ington. whose work is both well-known The show's company. including cast. and highly respected in the Soviet producers. director. choreographer. Union.' DAILY VARIETY DAILY 1933-50 Years of Service To Showbiz-1983 Mon., Jan. 5, 1987 Monterey Releasing Jarvis Dox Monterey Home Video has ac- quired a collection of five documentaries from producer Lucy Jarvis; and will introduce the first of its "Jarvis Collection" vidcas- settes in January with "Scotland Yard" and "The Incas Remem- bered. Most of the Jarvis documentaries were filmed during her 1960-1976 stint at NBC. Included in the titles Internationally Acclaimed acquired by Monterey are programs that represent firsts accomplished Winner of 22 Awards by Jarvis. The "Scotland Yard" doc, host- ed by David Niven, is the first "in- side look'' at the London police agency. which gave Jarvis access to officials and high-security areas not previously filmed. One program features the first work by a U.S. producer and film crew in the Kremlin: one offers the first American filming in Com- munist China. and another boasts the only tv tour ever granted of Paris' Louvre. The five programs acquired by Monterey have won a total of seven Emmys. two Peabody Awards and two Christopher Awards. MHV is pricing the tapes at $24.95 suggest- ed retail. the monthly move company pa box 2648 maliou collarnia 90265 20 457-5595 ILLUSTRATIONS BY MISSY LONGO ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS APRIL 12, 1989 SOPHISTICATED LADIES The joint Soviet-U.S. production of 'Sophisticated Ladies' will begin Its U.S. tour with a performance in Roanoke Sophisticated With joint U.S.-Soviet play production, Lucy Jarvis adds one more to her list of international firsts lady Page 2 - ROANOKE TIMES AND WORLD-NEWS APRIL 12, 1989 SOPHISTICATED LADIES "and I guess I make other people feel that By JEFF DeBELL believe in it." STAFF WRITER Jarvis said she was doing more than ma' MERICAN television producer Lu- ing television with the ground-breaking pr A cy Jarvis was making an NBC docu- grams. She was providing a link between pe: mentary inside the Kremlin in 1962 ples of the world. when previously cooperative Soviet "I do believe that everything we do ca officials abruptly began giving her contribute to better understanding and peace "lots of stony looks and silences." she said. "Since my milieu is communication The American ambassador would say only I think I should use it any way I can to make that "the President and Khrushchev are having happen. It makes a difference when you' an argument," whereupon Jarvis cabled presi- engaged in a project that involves more th: dential press secretary Pierre Salinger to the meets the eye." effect that John Kennedy was lousing up her Jarvis said the genesis of the "Sophistic show and couldn't he please wait until she was ed Ladies" project came in the mid-198( done to have his spat with the premier? when the Reagan administration was looki: Only when she later arrived in Paris, for innovative ways to respond to the Sovi where information flowed more freely than in Lucy Jarvis' projects attempt to provide Union's new openness to cultural exchange Cold-War Moscow, did Jarvis find out that the a link between differing cultures Instead of merely sending an American a "argument" has been the Cuban missile crisis. to the Soviet Union and inviting the Soviets reciprocate, Jarvis proposed that the two cou. Soon after returning to Washington she tries join in the production of a show. was summoned by President Kennedy and im- to China, where she filmed "The Forbidden "The point was to show that we can wo mediately began to apologize for the irreverent City" for NBC. message to Salinger. The president cut her off together," she said. Jarvis is breaking ground again. She is with a smile, saying he had made a deal with She chose "Sophisticated Ladies" becau producer of the first joint American-Soviet Khrushchev after seeing her cable: the Russians love jazz in general and Du production of a Broadway musical - "Sophis- Ellington in particular. One of the origin "I told Khrushchev if he got the missiles ticated Ladies," which toured the Soviet out of Cuba, I'd get you out of the Kremlin." Union with great success last fall. The show is producers, Louise Westergaard, helped That is one of Jarvis' favorite stories from using the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium American Express to underwrite the Americ side of the project. a career that can boast an impressive number for rehearsals. Last April, after three months of negot of international firsts. In a telephone call to her New York home, tions with the Soviet government, a proto She was the first western television pro- Jarvis was asked the source of her ability to get was signed. It called for the Americans to ma ducer to film inside the Kremlin; in fact, she her cameras around bureaucratic barriers in a production model for the show and for says not even the Russians had done it at the exotic foreign settings. Russians to build it. The model was designed time. "If I told you that I would be giving away Yuri Kuper, a Russian-born artist living in P She was the first producer given permis- my best secret," she joked. Then she answered is. On April 1, the Soviets were shown the mo. sion to film inside the Louvre (1964). She later more seriously. became the first western producer to be invited "I believe in what I'm doing," she said, Page 3 - ROANOKE TIMES AND WORLD-NEWS APRIL 12, 1989 SOPHISTICATED LADIES and told that the show was to open The final deal: The Soviets The arrangement with the So- Oct. 1. would build the sets according to viet collaborators was that the show "They said, 'We don't think American specifications; premiere would be taken to the U.S. and that's possible,' Jarvis said. "I Soviet designer Viyacheslav Zait- elsewhere in the world - always said, 'Watch me.' This is the only sev would create gowns for the prin- with the mixed Soviet-American way you can talk to them." cipal female performers, while the team - in hope of recovering rest of the costumes would be de- Jarvis turned to a friend, Geor- losses and perhaps making a profit. gi Mesheshvili, chief set designer of signed by American Willa Kim; the All profits will be divided among the Tbilisi Opera and Theater in the performing company, director and the American and Soviet partners. choreographer would be Amer- Soviet Georgia Republic. icans; most of the orchestra musi- Jarvis took on a co-producer, "They saved our lives," she cians would be Soviets, and the Irving Schwartz of New York, to said. "Those people conceived and technical and stagehand duties help with the complicated and ex- built something with Yuri that we would be shared by Americans and pensive American and world tours. could never have done even in the Soviets. The plan had been to ship the U.S. in such a short time." On Oct. 1, the show opened as sets directly from Leningrad to The set, far more elaborate scheduled in Moscow. It went on to Philadelphia, but the trucks from than that of the Broadway original, run in Leningrad and Tbilisi over a Tbilisi arrived a day too late for the includes 55,000 lights that are con- period of six weeks. Jarvis said it one monthly freighter making that trolled by an electronics system run. Instead, the sets and other always sold out and always received with more than four million solder rave reviews. equipment were shipped to New points. Jersey by way of Hamburg, arriving Though things went well on late last week. "I think that's what makes this stage, she said, there were occasion- production so unusual, aside from al offstage difficulties. One was a They were moved to Roanoke the fact that it's a joint produc- in 10 tractor trailers that arrived shortage of good food in Moscow. It tion," Jarvis said. "Things happen hurt the morale of the Americans, Saturday. on stage that just haven't happened who were used to being well fed. American and Soviet workers anywhere else." Jarvis solved the problem by have been working since then to Jarvis realized by last summer importing a special shipment of install them at the civic center audi- that the project would go nowhere torium. spaghetti and meatballs for a festive as long as she was trying to work dinner before the company moved Jarvis said the Roanoke Civic with the Soviet government. She on to Leningrad. Center auditorium was recom- found new collaborators in the Just a day before the show was mended for pre-production re- U.S.S.R. Cultural Fund, the to open in Tbilisi, the trucks carry- hearsals and adjustments by a num- U.S.S.R. Theatre Workers' Union ing the sets and other gear had not ber of people on the tour's and Soyuzteatr. arrived and could not be found. management staff who had been All are non-government orga- there before with touring shows. It "We were desolate," the pro- nizations aimed at fostering Soviet also has the virtue of being near ducer said. arts and culture both at home and Washington. abroad. Raisa Gorbachev, wife of It turned out the trucks had Jarvis said she was pleased to the Soviet leader, is on the cultural been caught in a mountain storm. introduce the Russian crew mem- fund board and was a booster of the Help was dispatched and they ar- bers and musicians to the U.S. in "Sophisticated Ladies" project. rived on time. Roanoke: Jarvis said the show made no "They'll have the opportunity money in the Soviet Union, where to get to know the country in a more tickets were held down because the intimate way than if we had just Russian people cannot afford west- dumped them in New York," she ern-level prices. said. The New York Post 52 Creativity a way of life for go-getter newswoman By ANN GIORDANO NEVER underestimate the powers of a woman - especially when that woman is Lucy Jarvis who left a major televi- sion network after 16 years to head her own production company, Creative Projects Inc. METRO BUSINESS A newswoman with a no-mission-is-impossi- ble reputation. it wasn't really applied myself." (through her husband. a surprising when her Jarvis recalled: corporate attorney) New York firm took on a Graduated from Cor- with "Meet the Press" highly ambitious proj- néll University with a originator Martha ect - handling public BS In bio-chemistry of Roundtree. The two syn- information for foods, she worked as a dicated "Capitol Close- Ecumed. a $2 billion dietician at New York up" with guests Elsen- medical complex under Hospital, got bored and hower. Nixon and J. construction in Fort moved to McCall's Edgar Hoover. It was a Lauderdale, Fla. magazine as associate blockbuster and didn't The development is a food editor. escape the networks. sprawling exhibit and There, her report on Jarvis wrote a four hotel complex. The nutrition experiments page critique ripping a health care information, - linking Jack of certain CBS: male-produced education and tech- nutrients to greying of pilot about women. nology It will generate hair - triggered an When its president left will be spread across "overwhelming" reac- for NBC, Jarvis went the world. by satellite tion. One result: with him. broadcast - a Jarvis McCall's financed her As a producer, she specialty. Masters degree at Co- broadcast landmark As director of com- lumbia University. footage from the Krem- munications, Indomita- Meanwhile, TV guest lln, China and the Lou- hle Lucy has 60 percent spots shirwed she could vre museum in France. of her office Involved reach "10 times the She arranged "Impossi- Post photo by Michael Schwartz and expects to "make a number of people I ble Interviews" on TV Lucy Jarvis strikes out on own her after lot of money" on the reach with a magazine with Winston Churchill, 16 years with a network. mediplex. slated to open article." President de Gaulle, late in 1987. She conceived a suc- Presidents John F. Ken- Lucy's positive atti- cessful TV show with a nedy and Jimmy Carter. "I Invested every accurate film about the tude comes from her magazine format that After 16 years with penny I had, set my own rescue of thousands of mom, a talented dress Included Interviews NBC and doing "the rules. drew up my own children from Nazi oc. designer who sold pat- with health and cooking same kind of documen- budgets and have a cupied France. terns to McCall's on the biggies. tary only in a different small, well-chosen "I believe in myself." sly because her father After a 12-year gap - place." Emmy winner staff." she said. says Jarvis who is disapproved. In which she raised a Jarvis quit but is just Shooting on location driven by work, but "My mother always family, did charity work around the corner in her this winter will be "Lest hopes to maintain "my made me feel there is and got Involved in poll- Rockefeller Center of- Innocent Blood Be sense of humor which nothing I couldn't do if 1 tics - she hooked up fice. Shed." an historically you can never lose." The New York Times SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 1990 Arts & Leisure East Woos West in a Romantic Soviet Rock Opera By TIMOTHY W. RYBACK An Old Moscow Hand T TOOK SIX YEARS, THE DENOUE- ment of the cold war and the passion of a French couturier to bring the first Sovi- For Lucy Jarvis (Inphotograph), producing on an Inter- et rock opera to the United States. national scale is hardly new, so It was natural for Pierre "Junon and Avos: The Hope," which Cardin, the French couturier who had financed the Paris opens tonight at City Center, will offer New production of "Junon and Avos," to turn to her for York audiences a taste of contemporary So- theM merican production. Ms. Jarvis, with the support of viet pop culture. Raisa Gorbachev, had brought the Broadway musical So "It is a rock musical with a social mes- phisticated Ladies" to Moscow for a three-month run, and sage, like 'Hair' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' she was well known in rance, too combined with the innovative set designs of saw Junon and Avos' in Moscow while working on 'Cats,' says the musical's American pro- Ladies, Ms. arvis recalled I flipped over the produe ducer, Lucy Jarvis, who has brought the don. knew It was the kind of thing that would reach audi- show to America with the backing of the eaces all over the world.' French designer Pierre Cardin. It is sched- uled to run through Feb. 4. So, with Mr. Cardin's financial backing Mis. arvis arranged to bring the $2 million production to The Moscow production has collected some City Center of the Soviet Union's leading artistic talent, Much of Ms. Jarvis's including the poet Andrei Voznesensky, who career has been spent in wrote the libretto; the critically acclaimed television production director Mark Zakharov, and a leading chor- Hereredits have includ eographer of the Bolshoi ballet, Vladimir ed taking a crew Into the Vasiliev. Kremlin, and she For many Americans, however, the music was the first American will be of greatest interest. Composed by invited to make news Aleksei Ribnikov, a protégé of Aram Khacha- turian and the creator of soundtracks for documentaries in China more than 30 Soviet films, "Junon and Avos" The Russians used to presents what Time magazine described as calime the field mar "a bold blend. of hard rock rhythms, shim- shall Babe once said mering folk melodies and traditional Russian Rancinan/Sygma Orthodox chants." A scene from "Junon and Avos," which opens at City Center. Andrei Voznesensky wrote the libretto. First conceived in 1978 in the final years of the Brezhnev era, the rock opeΓa, a romantic wrote it, it. was a story about the fight for railed against pernicious Influences of rock- sembles), these groups performed Russian English-language version of the work. One plea, for East-West rapprochement, has as- freedom," recalled Mr. Voznesensky in a and-roll. language versions of Beatles hits and sported Soviet literary review praised Tim Rice's sumed a prophetic quality. "When 1 first telephone conversation from Moscow last Despite vigorous efforts to combat what is innocuous names like the Happy Fellows and treatment of the biblical story, comparing month. "And right now in Russia we are often described as "Western ape culture," Singing Guitars. favorably with the writing of Bulgakov and Timothy W. Ryback is the author of "Rock having a terrible struggle for and against rock flourished in the underground, and by Western rock quickly secured bridgeheads Dostoyevsky. "Vremya" ("Time"), the nights Around the Bloc: A History of Rock Music in freeedom." the mid-1960's was creeping through fissures in mainstream Soviet culture. In 1971, two ly Soviet news program, adopted the rosk Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union," to be There is no small irony in the fact that in official culture. The first state-supported months before the London premiere of Jesus opera's theme song as its musical signature. published this month by Oxford University Moscow should send a rock musical to Amer- rock bands appeared in 1966. Known euphe- Christ Superstar," students in the Balticially By the spring of 1976, the Soviet youth Press. ica. Since 1957, Kremlin conservatives have mistically as VIA (Vocal-Instrumental-En- of Vilnius in Lithuania staged the complete Continued on Page 26 NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 7. 1990 SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 1990 Soviet Rock Opera Mr. Voznesensky concedes that his stature and that of his collaborators was crucial in breaking through offi- clal resistance. "Junon and Avos," intended as a as a metaphor for the strained United Continued From Page 25 political metaphor of the Brezhnev States-Soviet relations of the Brezh- era, has come to read like a lyrical nev era. rendering of the Soviet foreign policy publication Yunost could write, "It was impossible to address these agenda in the age of Gorbachev: an 'Rock music, viewed 15 years ago as Issues in a modern context," Mr. Voz- East-West marriage that effaces mu- devilment or charlatanry, has now nesensky explained, "and so I used tual distrust while nurturing trade become a rather stable musical tradi- the story to tell about life in our relations and human contact. tion in our country." country at that time. I put all modern Russia in this work. It is parallel with In the early 1980's, as American- the contemporary situation. That is Soviet relations went through one of Mr. Voznesensky said he hoped why when Rezanov is fighting for the that the piece would tell Americans its periodic downturns, conservatives freedom to trade with the West, it Is 'that "there is no Iron curtain between in Moscow rallied and persecuted the the fight for freedom of the Russian Russia and America. That the love of advocates of what Tikhon Khrenni- people today. And even when the two people is much stronger than all kov, head of the Soviet Composers Unton, had called these "deafening systems, all governments, all armies, all wars." heavy-beat rhythms and truly un- On Broadway "Junon and Avos" earthly howls" from the West. Hun- 'Junon and Avos' will be judged on its artistic merit, dreds of discothèques were closed, not its politics. In:the last two years, and virtually every leading Western and Soviet rock group came under will be performed appearances by Soviet rock stars In the West have stirred much excite- attack. But amid this ideological on- in Russian with ment in the media but little enthusi- asm among critics and audiences. slaught, "Junon and Avos": made a sensational debut at the Moscow English Last summer, CBS Records pro- moted the Leningrad rock star Boris Komsomol Theater in July 1981. The production, offering flashes of nudity commentary. Grebenshchikov with disappointing results. and a musical score propelled by a solid rock-and-roll thump, raised the Two problems have plagued Soviet a of officials and the enthusiasm of pop music abroad. First, most Soviet youth. Czarist minister doesn't want to give rock, be It from Tailin, Leningrad or Rezanov a visa to go to America, It is Sverdlosk, sounds derivative, a dim parallel to today." imitation of Western rock. Second, At times, as many as 400 young "By drawing on traditional Rus- the lyrics, which play a more signifi- people gathered outside the theater sian church music and contemporary cant role in Soviet songs than in West- Western rock mustc," said Svetlana hoping for tickets from last-minute ern numbers, remain Inaccessible If cancellations. The show was brought Boym, a professor of Russian culture sung In Russian and generally sound to Paris by Mr. Cardin and has also at Harvard University, "Ribnikov trite when translated Into English. In traveled to Amsterdam and cities In made it clear that he was rejecting "Junon and Avos," which will be per- official Soviet culture." Eastern Europe. It is still playing in formed by a cast of 60 at City Center Moscow. But, according to Professor Boym, In Russian (with English-language The plot, which offers passages the prominence of the artists Involved commentary by an on-stage narra- In "Junon and Avos" afforded the from the Russian Orthodox liturgy tor), the sound of the original lan- and a romanticized vision of the rock opera a degree of Immunity guage will be an added aural element. American West, as well as the plea from the Kremitn's Ideological for rapprochement, further unsettled watchdogs. "There was certainly many Kremlin hardliners. censorship at this time, but this was In providing the musical backdrop for Junon and Avos," Mr. Ribnikov The musical tells of an enterprising not Stalinism," she said. "There ex- isted niches in official culture for 19th-century Muscovite, Count Re- employs Western rock rhythms but zanov, who arrives in San Francisco works like 'Junon and Avos,' if, of reaches more deeply Into the tradi- In 1806 with two merchant ships, course, the right people were In- tions of Russian folk and church mu- Junon and Avos. While working to volved." In the early 1980's, Mr. Voz- sic than Into the catalogue of Beatles establish trade relations with the nesensky, Mr. Vasillev and the direc- recordings. "It Is more lyrical than New World, Rezanov falls in love with tor, Mr. Zakharov. a member of the Western rock," said Mr. Voznesen- Conchita, a 16-year-old California Supreme Soviet, represented a pow- sky, "close to the text. It is more erful cultural team that could wrestle beauty. Rezanov, who is Russian Or- Instinctual, more emotional, more a controversial work onto the Soviet the poet laughed, "more barbar- thodox, returns home to obtain per- mission to marry Conchita, a Roman stage. Ic. I call It 'Dostoyevsky rock.' Catholic. Before reaching Moscow, however, he Is overtaken In Siberia by Father Winter and perishes in agony. After vainly waiting 36 years for Rezanov's return, Conchita learns of his death and enters a convent, where she spends the rest of her life. Mr. Voznesensky originally con- celved the story In 1970 as an epic poem. Although he based it'on the life of 8 real 19th-century count, he saw 11 America's 75 Most Important Women By Donald Robinson In a Journal exclusive, the author of a book about the 100 most important people in the world now chooses a gallery of significant American women. How do you select the 75 most notable women in the United States? First, you must establish standards. In this case. I felt we were looking for women who Virginia Apgar, Hannah Arendt. Joan Baez. folk Ruth R. Bener the compassionate political scientist. singer known nere U.S. Governm had made the greatest impact on our physician whose author and educa- and abroad for her chemist who civilization within the last five years. research. writing tor. A relentless. opposition to the veloped proces and lectures help effective foe of to- draft and the Viet- to protect CC' and who would continue to affect us mothers prevent talitarianism. nam war. Her hus- fabric aga: significantly for the next five years. I abnormalities in band is in prison shrinking. stre' unborn babies. for resisting the ing and stainin used the phrase, "women who have draft. done the most to shape and illuminate the world in which we live," as I sought the advice of hundreds of officials and leaders in government. education, sci- ence, women's activities, religion, in- ternational affairs. communications, the arts-almost every significant field of endeavor. I finally compiled a list of approx- imately 200 women, which I then nar- Helen Delich Bent- GwendolynBrooks. Helen Gurley Louise A. Brc rowed down to 75 on the basis of per- !ey, the govern- who has written Brown. editor of president of ment's highest- some of the most Cosmopolitan 14-million-mer sonal-but by now educated-choice. ranking woman cistinguished poet- Magazine. Her General Fec The result. I believe, is a representative expointee - Chair- 7 of the age. First philosophy of sex- ::on of Wom- list that speaks highly for the quality of man of the Feder- Negro to win the ual permissive- Clubs. Now if al Maritime Com- Pulitzer Prize for ness nas influ- a national = feminine leadership in America. mission. poetry. enced millions of paign for a he: women. :er environme EDITOR'S NOTE: It is an arbitrary. some- what hazardous. venture to choose 75 people as "most important." Donald Robinson is particularly well qualified to make such a selection. however. since he did similar research for his last book. "The 100 Most Important Peo- ple in the World Today." Why doesn't the JOURNAL do a survey based on read- er opinions? Someday soon we hope Marv L. Bunting, Mary S. Calderone. Dorothy Chandler. AnnaC. Chenn. procressive presi- merica dynamic Los An: suave. sveile. to do just that. Meanwhile. we-and cent of Radcliffe staunchest lighter geles Times ex. rese-oorn WIT author Robinson-welcome your reac- College and first to: responsible ecutive and catron .me 3:e Gen. C woman scientist 394 education in of the arts who Chennault tions to this list. Write to Important associated to the schools. aperal mised money to TECKS enorm Women. Ladies Home Journal. 641 Lex- Energy birth control laws burd LOS Angeles Commission and aceral accr- MusiciCenter conserv ington Avenue. New York. N.Y. 10022. non requiations. Mashingtonia America's Most Important Women Rep. Shirley Chis- Kathleen Cleaver. Joan Ganz Cooney, Evelyn Dubrow. Katherine Esau, 72. Mildred S. Fenner, Betty Frieda holm of New York. wife of fugitive creator of Sesame legislative repre- year-old botanist editor of Today's wrote The sentative of the In- who has made sig- Education. the of- nine Mystiq first Negro Con- Black Panther El- Street. widely ac- claimed television ternational Ladies nificant discover- ficial-and highly president C gresswoman and a cridge Cleaver. influential publi- tional Org statwart. stento- Her calls for vio- series that has rev- Garment Workers ies on the struc- can champion of 'ent revolution ap- Union. A Washing- ture of plant cells cation of the Na- tion of Wome olutionized educa- pear in Panther tional TV. ton lobbyist who and the viruses tional Education organized racial and sexual brings chicken that attack them. Association. fall's Wor equality. and other militant soup to Senators. Strike for Ec publications. Katharine Graham. Rep. Edith Green, Rep. Martha Grif- Janes Hall, physic Ruth Handler, Nancy Hanks, Dorothy I. Height, Claire Gia indomitable pub- Congresswom- fiths. Michigan cist. only woman president of President Nixon's President of the Hoffman, dat lisher who.: has an from Oregon. Congresswom- on Atomic Energy world's largest toy advisor on cultur National Council of of the found helped to build one Chairman of the an in her 8th term. Commission's company. Mattel. al affairs. As Chair- Negro Women. She the Bank of of the nation'smost House Special She. helped push General Advisory Only woman: on man of National works to promote ca. First worn influential newspa- Subcommittee on the Equal Rights Committee. Noted Business and In- Endowment of the interracial. inter: rectorofthew pers, the Washing- Education. A pow- for Women Amend- for research into dustry Council. Arts. she allocates faith, international largest bank. ton Post. erful force in edu- ment through the industrial use of White House con- $20 million a year harmony. cation. House. atom. ference to toster the arts. name asics Theressa Hoover, Ada Louise Hux Lucy Jarvis, whirl- Lady Bird John- Virginia E. John- Rose Kennedy. the Coretta King, wid- Virginia Kna top woman exec- table. feared and wind producer of son, who as First son, whose scien- magnificent matri- ow of the martyred advisor on utiver of Method- admired architec- TV documentaries. Lady crusaded tire- tific research (with arch who gave us Dr Martin Luther sumer affairs ist Church. guides ture critic of the Her cameras have lessly for conser- Dr. William H. Mas- a President. two King. Jr. Her dig- President N: 38.000 women's New York Times. penetrated such vation and high- ters) has brought U.S. Senators-and nity and fortitude She represents groups. A board She airs the "sig- forbidden places way beautification. new hope to many a memorable por- have inspired consumers' in member of YWCA nificant issues in as the Kremlin. the The land is lovelier couples troubled trait of courage in Americans. black ests to the Ad: and National Coun- architecture and Louvre-and now for her efforts. by sex problems. times of sorrow. and white. istration and cil of Churches. urban design. Scotland Yard. Congress. Elizabeth Koontz. Marv Lasker. 3 Estee Lauder. the Mary Wells Law- Rita Levi-Montal- Anne Morrow Lind. Margaret Mead. Soia Mentschi first Negro Presi- Lacy Bountite founder. president rence. beautiful. cini. a neuropiolo- bergh, a poetess. seciologis: anthro- L3W Professo centof National Ed- has used her and polestar of the blond advertising gist whose imagi- philosooner and pelegist. educator. - - iversity or ecation Associa- collective cosmetics dynamo. Her açen- -glive experiments novelist whose phriosocher Her cago Law Set on and first black researce that cears ner by ess than 5 ed ner. to the eo- gentle. introspec- research prim- eading AC3C director of the U.S. 5 the 173 She runs ev- years sid .S ? schal discovery o: the reveries have :: societies has : lawver L3000 Depart- 172 develop ace: J: per smashing success. : special nerve won ner 3 wice perced erc 1.0 the eaced draft -ents Women's 5 :0 resurv embire. growin factor. 100 loval following ceravior : mod- ersal Comme Bureau. NGF are man Code.