PBT to visit new Chautauqua amphitheater
It was inevitable that Interstate 79 would be built in 1975, given the well-worn path that Pittsburghers had carved to the Chautauqua Institution in New York state over the years.
Among the locals who have purchased summer homes there are Bill and Carolyn Byham, noted arts patrons who are “very much looking forward” to seeing Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre return next weekend. The one-night engagement is the first time PBT will perform with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.
“It’s been really exciting this year,” says Ms. Byham, referring to the experience of Alvin Ailey II and its interactive dance community classes. “I think Chautauqua is moving in the right direction.”
The Byhams’ home is just a short walk away from the Carnahan-Jackson Dance Studio, where students such as PBT grad James Gilmore have participated in the nationally known school run by Charlotte Ballet’sJean-Pierre Bonnefoux.
Mr. Gilmore just wrapped up five years as a soloist with Cincinnati Ballet and is completing a tour with Amy Seiwart’s Imagery at famed dance venues such as the Joyce Theater in New York and Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts.
Today, future stars such as Adrienne Klimchak, 14, a student at PBT, and Maile Oravitz, 14, from Pittsburgh Ballet House in Cranberry, hope to follow in his footsteps as they perform with PBT. They will participate in the ribbon dance from “Coppelia.”
“It’s a beautiful setting,” says Maile, who has immersed herself in the Balanchine technique that is taught there. She says she’s still learning because “it’s more the motion and movement as opposed to the height of your leg. It really teaches your muscles to work and develop.”
“I love PBT and I love Chautauqua,” says Adrienne. “I think it’s amazing that it’s coming together.” Her family has a long history at Chautauqua. Her grandparents have a house across the lake, and
her parents find it easy to visit during her monthlong session with the dance program. As she puts it, “It’s all in the family.”
Since PBT dancers last visited three years ago, Chautauqua has changed yet maintained its Victorian traditions. The most prominent change has been the construction of a new amphitheater, although not everyone has noticed.
Mr. Bonnefoux laughs as he relays a story about a patron who recently asked, “Whenare they going to build the new amp?” That’s because the new building looks so much like its predecessor — the same buttery yellow color, the wooden benches that house 4,400 seats, the choirloft, the organ.
But the PBT dancers will have a whole new backstage with spacious dressing rooms and air-conditioning. Out front is an orchestra pit with a hydraulic lift. And the amp’s floor has been reconfigured on a slant for better sight lines — so important for dance audiences.
What remains is a large stage that, according to PBT artistic director Terrence Orr, has the same width as the Benedum Center. And he plans to fill it.
This is the first time Mr. Orr will appear with the company. (He was ill in 2013 and did not make the trip.) But he has visited twice before. About 15 years ago, he and his wife, PBT ballet mistress Marianna Tcherkassky, toured and admired “the wonderment of all the houses looking down on the lake. It seemed to be a great place to concentrate … have some solitude and quiet when you want to create and reflect. The beauty of the arts community was very inspiring,” he says.
The couple returned in July, along with PBT director of production Curtis Dunn, to preview the facility. “It’s magnificent — the newness of it, the immensity,” he says.
With more than 200 events taking place in the amphitheater this year, the company won’t be able to get into the open-air hall until 11 p.m. Friday for lighting due to a concert by jazz greats Chick Corea and Bela Fleck.
The company will hold a class at noon Saturday, followed by rehearsal with the orchestra from 2 until 5 p.m. and the performance at 8:15 p.m. Casual viewing during the day is permitted.
The rehearsal will be important to set the tempo for highlights from the swashbuckling pirate epic “Le Corsaire” and Jiri Kylian’s contemporary masterpiece, “Petite Mort,” which has its own delicate swordplay, this time with foils.
But Mr. Orr might need extra time to assemble the shortened first act of “Coppelia,” in which “Swanhilda gets back Franz very quickly,” he says. It will involve Adrienne, Maile and more than 30 students from the school. By the time they reach the czardas at the end, there will be nearly 60 dancers on the stage.
It’s a big undertaking, but Mr. Orr and PBT won’t be able to rest on their laurels. They will return to Pittsburgh and have less than a week to prepare a different program, featuring choreography from company dancers, for the company’s annual outdoor performance at Hartwood Acres in Hampton.
It appears that, whether in Chautauqua or Pittsburgh, there will be plenty of hometown support this summer.