Have you ever had the opportunity to talk with an artist who is on a rapid upward trajectory creatively? To hear the person speak about their work with a critical eye, and in so doing, experience firsthand their vision, drive and determination? Have you met someone still in the early stages of their career who has the ineffable “X factor” that makes you certain that they’ll be one of the people shaping their chosen field for years to come?
If you have, then you know what a thrilling luxury this is. It’s as if you’ve been granted a glimpse into the future – and it looks really bright.
In the past few months, we’ve had several such experiences with New York City Ballet (NYCB) Principal Dancer Lauren Lovette. Petite, lithe, and beautiful, with long brown hair, large brown eyes, and a 1,000-watt smile, one immediately sees why she stands out in a demanding profession requiring both athleticism and artistry. Those don’t always come in the same package, and when they do, attention must be paid. At only 25, Lovette is a triple-threat: dancer, teacher and one of the next generation of rising choreographers in classical ballet. She’s one of the very few young women creating new works for a major international ballet company.
Her first work for NYCB, For Clara, premiered at Lincoln Center last fall. We had the fun of watching it performed at the Here/Now Festival this past spring, seated next to the choreographer herself. Her second work for NYCB will have its world premiere at the company’s annual black-tie fall gala on Thursday, September 28th. Last week we got a sneak preview at a rehearsal onstage at the David H. Koch Theater, and then got to hear more about the choreographer’s vision in a conversation at NYCB’s offices.
The new work is called Not Our Fate. It’s a meditation on discord and anxiety; the rules that “must be followed;” the forces that can conspire to diminish some members of society; and the ways in which it is still possible to forge authentic emotional connections with others, and to step into the light. There are moments when someone is being held back, and then breaks through. And moments when someone is reaching for something more, but failing. At the end, there is an allusion to the importance of doing things differently.
It’s immediately clear that the work has deep personal meaning for the choreographer, and that the casting reflects her vision. The cast of 10 – five men and five women – is as diverse as any we’ve seen onstage. Three of the men – all with prominent roles – are of color: Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley, and corps de ballet members Christopher Grant and Preston Chamblee. Stanley and Chamblee form one of the two featured couples. Grant seems to levitate as he flies through one of his standout segments. Notably, both featured couples in Not Our Fate are same-gendered – one male and one female. The pas de deux between the male couple that we saw at the rehearsal was stunning: bold, powerful and graceful.
The ballet’s title came from a poem written by one of the dancers, Mary Elizabeth Sell. The full text will be in the program when the piece is performed. The key line is the last one: spreading love, spreading hate – is our choice, not our fate.
Thanks to the influence of board member and style icon Sarah Jessica Parker, once again this year the costumes for the four ballets being performed at the NYCB fall gala will be designed by some of today’s most exciting fashion designers. Not Our Fate will be done by the cool-kid Monse designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. Lovette will wear one of their creations to the gala, as well.
The score the young choreographer chose for the piece, after listening to hundreds of tracks, is by Michael Nyman – it was originally composed as a film score for Prospero’s Books, a 1991 British avant-garde film adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. To her knowledge, this music has never been used for a classical ballet. The specific selection is from an orchestral piece called Miranda. There are clear similarities between the underlying messages in The Tempest and Lovette’s latest work, so this match feels almost pre-ordained.
This personal emotional connection is not dissimilar from the one behind Lovette’s first NYCB ballet. Last spring, we asked her about the origin of For Clara, and she explained that it was the story of a widow, of loss, and of memory. The ballet is set to the music of Schumann – Clara was his wife, and this was the last piece he wrote before succumbing to madness. She treasured it, but the music was not commonly performed or widely known. “Clara loved this piece,” Lovette said earnestly, “and I do too, and I wanted it to be about her.”
A grounded and humble approach seems to be Lovette’s hallmark as a leader – throughout the Here/Now performances last spring, she consistently cheered for her fellow company members on stage in the various ballets, and whispered her admiration for the most senior women dancers with the company. And when her own work was on stage, she was calm and focused, suggesting afterward that there were still a few small changes that she would like to make in the piece. We expect poise on stage from performers – we hope for it offstage, but don’t always get it. Lovette is the complete package, as our business buddies would say: she comes across as both gracious and tenacious, charming and spunky.
Lovette is candid about the stresses of a dancer’s life. In addition to choreographing this work (which took about three weeks from start to finish), she is also dancing a role in Swan Lake for the first time during its 2-week run at NYCB. It’s demanding, and not without risk. The first time we met her, she had just returned from physical therapy for a sprained ankle that happened during an incident onstage. Two other fellow principal dancers had been at the same therapist’s office having issues addressed. During the course of a season, many of the principal dancers will be in physical therapy at least once. And yet they keep performing. “We love our work, and we love the company,” she explained. “We dance if we can, no matter what.” Lovette transitioned to becoming a vegan a few months ago, and now forgoes caffeine; she’s noticed that she now heals faster from injuries and sleeps better.
Lovette has a sharp eye for talent, and is deeply committed to creating opportunities for a diverse group of dancers. Choreographers generally have the opportunity to choose the cast for their ballets. Last fall, four of the young female corps de ballet members that Lovette chose to dance For Clara were subsequently promoted to Soloist.
Perhaps not surprisingly, talented people seem drawn to her. For Not Our Fate, the Ballet Master working with Lovette on the production is NYCB Principal Dancer Rebecca Krohn, who is retiring as a dancer next month. The women seem to have an easy rapport – during the rehearsal we watched, the positive and constructive interaction between the two and their cast was clearly evident.
We asked Lovette what the hardest part of making the transition from dancer to choreographer was, and she responded “leading other people. Before, I was focused every minute on delivering the best personal performance I could. As a choreographer, I have to be focused on creating work that inspires the dancers and the audience, and on eliciting the best possible performance from a group of highly talented artists. And these are my peers in the company, so that can get tricky.” It sounds not dissimilar from moving into management after having been a successful individual contributor.
So what’s it like to be one of the few young women in the ranks of the next generation of classical ballet choreographers? Lovette smiles. “It can be tough.” We asked if it was tougher working with the male dancers or the female ones, and the answer was swift: “The men can be tough.”
She continues, “You have to earn respect. To control the room without being a taskmaster. If you yell, as a women, they’ll say ‘she’s crabby.’ But if you’re too easy-going, people will think they can walk all over you. You can’t react to challenges emotionally, which can be tough for me, because I am very easy to read. You have to stand up for yourself, and for your work. It makes the entire room uncomfortable when one dancer is defiant, so you have to be graceful but firm – disrespect cannot be tolerated.”
Watching her in action at the rehearsal makes all of this seem effortless: clad in snow-white Puma sneakers, a short black shift dress and neon-green and black compression socks, her hair in a ponytail, kneeling on the floor (she refuses a chair because she “wants to stay connected to the stage,”) Lovette demonstrates a firm grasp of the moving parts and logistical complexities involved in moving from rehearsal studio to stage. As the 10 dancers whirl through the work, she sometimes counts aloud; the cast freely offers solutions to issues that crop up (like the time required to run behind the set between one male dancer’s exit and his next entrance – he cheerfully offers “I could book it and make it if you want.’) There’s an easy camaraderie between them, and everyone seems intensely engaged. As the rehearsal progresses, Lovette maintains a steady undercurrent of encouragement for each person, stopping to check in on how everyone is feeling about halfway through (“This is good spacing.” “Nice!” “Don’t hurt yourself!” “How does everybody feel? Little tired?”)
The key skill needed to be a choreographer, according to Lovette, is not what you might think. “Sure, creativity is important, but it’s having energy and discipline, and being able to remain calm under pressure. Sometimes the lighting director, the pianist, the Ballet Master and the dancers are all coming at you with needs to be addressed. You have to find the calm within the storm. Choreography is about everyone except you – they come first.”
We ask if she has ever been a dancer for a female choreographer, and the response is that she’s had only one opportunity to do so, having once worked under the direction of Susan Stroman: as she recalls, “she was very confident.”
Happily there is a sorority of young women in the ballet world who can support and assist each other. Lovette mentions Claudia Schreier, Emery LeCrone and Gemma Bond as close colleagues and friends.
You can catch Not Our Fate at NYCB at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Thursday, September 28th; Wednesday October 4th; Friday October 13th (surely a good day to reflect upon fate); and Saturday October 14th (at the evening performance).
Two things remain in our minds as we reflect on the time we spent with Lauren Lovette. After the performance of For Clara last spring, she received detailed feedback from some of the patrons who have been supporting her efforts and underwriting her work. The choreographer was far harder on herself than anyone else was, by a reasonably large degree. She has the impossibly demanding standards that all extraordinarily gifted artists set for themselves – relentlessly seeking ways to improve; always practicing; always learning.
The last and most important impression we have, though, is this one: as we left the theater, a pre-teen girl in big glasses with a bigger smile shyly approached Lovette and asked to shake her hand. They exchanged a few words, and Lovette encouraged her to keep dancing. We could see the girl’s mother beaming as this interaction transpired. In the midst of so many demands, she still made time for a thoughtful conversation with a young stranger hoping for inspiration. That’s the mark of a true professional. And a role model. And a woman to watch. We can’t wait to see what she does next.
Photo Credit: Erin Baiano
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