Molchanova 1

Viktoriya Molchanova

Professor Mary Ellen Marks

College Writing WRI11100 CRN:62732

1 May 2017

The White Oak Dance Project: Baryshnikov’s Innovative Modern Dance Company

Mikhail

Baryshnikov is a world famous Russian dancer. His passion for dance at an early age has driven

him to devote his entire life to perfect his dancing technique. After defecting (fleeing) from the

Soviet Union in the 1970s and arriving in America, Baryshnikov directed the American Ballet

Theatre for almost a decade and was part of the New York City Ballet. After leaving his position

as a director at the American Ballet Theatre in 1990, Baryshnikov decided to start a small

company in Florida. The company, the White Oak Dance Project, featured various works by

Baryshnikov and his colleagues of modern dance (a contemporary dance that rejected the
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constraints of traditional ballet). Baryshnikov’s dedication to dance and his creation of the White

Oak Dance Project produced a new direction in modern dance.

Baryshnikov was born in Soviet Latvia in 1948. His mother, Aleksandra, married a

military general, Nikolai, and came with him to Latvia (a newly annexed Soviet territory) where

Baryshnikov was born. His father-in-law was harsh, and the two men in the family did not

establish a positive bond with one another (Acocella 47). Fortunately, Baryshnikov’s mother had

a profound love towards the arts and got the young Baryshnikov involved in ballet after watching

numerous performances with her son. Erika Vitina states, “The father had no interest whatsoever

in the ballet school. The mother brought him to the ballet school, put him there. All this

happened physically, hand to hand” (Acocella 47). Baryshnikov’s close bond with his mother is

presented through the way he dances ballet with emotion and grace. After his mother’s suicidal

death in the bathroom of the communal apartment, Baryshnikov had to mature early. “In

Baryshnikov’s case, the mother’s devotion and the loss of her can help to explain one thing: the

work he put into ballet” (Acocella 48). Baryshnikov’s loss of his beloved mother and the

presence of his harsh father forced him to abandon home and live with other families and friends.

Baryshnikov was limited in Russia. When he moved to Russia from Riga in 1964,

Baryshnikov was restricted from performing new modern ballets because the Communist Party

vetoed them (Acocella 50). On the contrary, when he was on the Kirov London tour, he “met

Western dancers. Baryshnikov attended modern-dance classes. He saw American Ballet Theatre”

(Acocella 52). Even though Baryshnikov did not have any thoughts of defection from Russia, his

first encounter with the West left an imprint on him. Through the help of Irina Kolpakova,

Kirov’s number one ballerina and a former Communist party member, Baryshnikov escaped
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from the Soviets on a Canada tour in 1974 (Acocella 53). From this point, Baryshnikov started to

become an instant star when he arrived in America a year later.

Baryshnikov became a national sensation in America. His life before the creation of the

White Oak Dance Project had “three stages: four years as the star of American Ballet Theatre

(from 1974 to 1978), one year at George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet (from 1978 to

1979), then nine years as the director of American Ballet Theatre (from 1980 to 1989)” (Acocella

53). Baryshnikov danced many new roles at different theaters until he became the director of the

American Ballet Theatre. His experimental views clashed with the committee of the classic

ballet. After collaborating with Twyla Tharp, a modern dancer, in 1976 Baryshnikov decided to

leave the American Ballet Theatre after nine years of being a director (Acocella 54). Then the

White Oak Dance Project was created when “Howard Gillman offered a rehearsal studio at the

Gilman Foundation’s White Oak Plantation, in Florida” (Acocella 55). Baryshnikov and Mark

Morris (an acclaimed choreographer) started to put on shows with the additional collaboration of

Twyla Tharp.

The public refused to see Baryshnikov dance in a different way since Baryshnikov

received his fame from his successful classical ballet leading roles (Finkel). For example, author

Cheryl Tobey states, “Postmodern experimental dance seemed an unlikely project for the prince

of classical ballet” (19). People refused to see their image of Baryshnikov change form. It was

hard for Baryshnikov to break his image of a Russian, professionally trained ballet dancer. Yet

Baryshnikov had enough courage to fulfill his dreams.

Throughout the decade existence of the White Oak Dance Project, its most successful

project was PastForward. Baryshnikov’s PastForward recycled dance from the sixties and

seventies and added a new take on the dance by introducing modern dance concepts (Houston
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14). PastForward reflects on the aging body and neglects the retirement of the professional

dancer at age 35. Using the old body and experience, the dancer can continue to produce new

works and perform rather than become a dance teacher or coach (Houston 14). Baryshnikov

states, “Experience takes over as you age. You see the changes in your body, the wrinkles in

your face. You go onstage and do your work” (Houston 17). Through the success of the

PastForward project, Baryshnikov’s commitment to dance after his professional retirement from

ballet shows how he valued dance that became his spiritual home.

Not only did Baryshnikov develop a new direction in dance, the PastForward project

made dance accessible to retired dancers and people with no dance experience. For example,

Tobey states, “Dance was no longer an intimidating experience restricted only to those with

flawless bodies, years of training, or specialized knowledge: the community was beginning to

expand” (Tobey 23). Baryshnikov involved dance students from nearby local dance studios and

members of the community in his projects. This illustrates how dance can be incorporated by

anybody (Houston 17). By touring in different cities across America, Baryshnikov gave hope to

those who either physically suited for professional dance or had no experience in the field.

Baryshnikov did use his fame as a way to attract more attention to the formation of the

White Oak Dance Project, and with the help of his fame, he has created numerous projects of

modern dance (Acocella 56). “It is revealing that not until Mikhail Baryshnikov put together the

White Oak Dance Project, a part-time troupe whose success is a direct function of his celebrity,

did anyone make any kind of serious attempt to create a modern-dance company” (Teachout

292). Baryshnikov in a 1994 interview with the Los Angeles Times says, “Now there is in a way

a renaissance of modern dance—suddenly, it is more respected and discovered” (Segal).

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In the 1990s, AIDS was not commonly known, so Baryshnikov used his fame to promote

awareness of AIDS. Baryshnikov lost fifteen close friends due to AIDS with whom he danced on

stage and worked on a regular basis. Reporter Lewis Segal describes Baryshnikov’s appearance

in Los Angeles in 1994, “Baryshnikov’s 4-year-old White Oak Dance Project comes to Orange

County Performing Arts Center in a benefit for the American Foundation of AIDS Research.”

Although Baryshnikov’s performances did not raise money for donation to the AIDS Research

Foundation, Baryshnikov’s goal was to help the public be aware of the disease.

After the tour, the company concluded the PastForward project at the “Brooklyn

Academy of Music in New York, June 2001” (Houston 13). According to the visual on page one,

the displayed words such as “White Oak Dance Project,” “Baryshnikov Productions,” and

“Brooklyn Academy of Music” suggest that the visual is a poster that advertises the final

performance of the PastForward project at the Brooklyn Academy. The visual illustrates a

glimpse of the show that Baryshnikov and his dancers staged. Baryshnikov shows emotion and

affection when performing what he loves. From the curved position of his hanging left arm to his

crouched legs, Baryshnikov is a dance perfectionist.

However, author Anita Finkel disagrees with the way Baryshnikov stages his

performances at the White Oak Dance Project. She argues that Baryshnikov and “His favored

choreographers, Tharp and Morris, have been leaders of the post-modern movement to strip

glamour from dancing” (Finkel). Finkel states that Baryshnikov does not allow his dancers to

wear costumes that are sparkly and revealing like in the big theater. “White Oak is practically

Muslim in its chastity, revealing not a single woman’s sensual leg. Plain, plain, plain” (Finkel).

Finkel repeatedly states “plain” because she completely disagrees with Baryshnikov’s choice of

costumes. However, according to the visual on page one, Baryshnikov is on stage with three
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women who are only wearing ballet swimsuits and are revealing both legs and arms. Although

their costumes are indeed plain, the women are on stage without tutus or any other clothing

accessory that would cover their bodies completely. Therefore, Finkel’s argument is invalid

based on the final performance poster of the PastForward Project.

Also, Finkel criticizes the way Baryshnikov uses dance technique to the full when

performing. “Another shared sense in these pieces is that dance is an aerobic activity rather than

an expressive one.” His dedication to dance and professional commitment is demonstrated

through perfect dancing technique. Baryshnikov encourages other dancers to do it as well. His

devotion to improve his technique and his love for experimentation both have made his

performances stunning during the showcases of the White Oak Dance Project: “his head popped

to one side / as up go the gloves, wrists inward, / into high flamenco attitude, then wide, / while

he rickracks stage-front in a blue / skip, and there must, there must be a rope” (22-26). Alfred

Corn’s use of repetition of “there must” in the last few words of the quote shows how

Baryshnikov performed his jumps with such perfection that it seemed he was soaring in the air

with a rope. Baryshnikov’s serious face expression during his performances does not imply that

he is performing everything without emotion, he is channeling his inner self and home through

dance. “But what has made him an artist, and a popular artist, is the completeness of his

performances” the level of concentration, the fullness of ambition, and the sheer amount of

detail” (Acocella 45).

Even though Baryshnikov’s performances were brilliant and effortless, critics claimed

that he was an egotistical dancer. He was a celebrity in Sex in the City, a television show, and

White Nights, one of his leading film roles. “One could wish that Baryshnikov had displayed his

gifts with a little more humility. But his star turn, despite the masterly way in which he
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performed it, detracts from the powerful ensemble feeling generated by the other dancers”

(Austin 2). Although Baryshnikov did use his fame to sell out expensive tickets for the shows, he

was never focused on just himself during the operation of the White Oak Dance Project.

Baryshnikov let other small or acclaimed dancers have the spotlight during the shows. However,

the fans of Baryshnikov “felt cheated because they didn’t see enough of Baryshnikov” (Austin

14). When they saw the innovative ways Baryshnikov featured modern dance that did not

involve one dancer, they were satisfied. According to the visual on page one, Baryshnikov is on

stage with three different women in striking poses and Baryshnikov is kneeling and using his

body to support the other dancers. His physical position on stage between the three women

shows that he involved other dancers in his performances. In addition, Baryshnikov stages

performances of an “older dance and a newer one by the same choreographer, providing a

compass for the direction of their work” (Tobey 20). Baryshnikov not only stages past works of

the selected choreographers, but he gives them space for creativity to create their future works in

the White Oak Dance Project. This evidence refutes the notion of Baryshnikov as a self-

egoistical dancer who, as a director of his company, only stages his dances.

The Baryshnikov Arts Center creation was possible through Baryshnikov’s White Oak

Dance Project, which was started in 1990. Segal states that the modern-dance company ended its

tours in 2002 to start the construction of the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City in 2004.

Although the White Oak Dance Project closed after the opening of the Baryshnikov Arts Center,

Baryshnikov did not stop the development of modern dance projects. The Baryshnikov Arts

Center “will serve as a laboratory for young artists to develop work in dance, film, theater and

design with the help of established artists” (Segal). The White Oak Dance Project has not merely

ended. Its driving goal to promote new works by modern-dance choreographers transitioned into
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the Baryshnikov Arts Center. In conclusion, Baryshnikov’s twelve-year-old project did not die

but reincarnated as the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

Baryshnikov’s love and devotion for dancing and perfecting his technique has helped him

create and sustain the White Oak Dance Project for over a decade with new innovative works of

modern dance. Through Baryshnikov’s involvement with different choreographers and dancers,

his love for experimentation has produced acclaimed modern works of dance. While touring

across America, Baryshnikov’s involvement with the local community and dance studios helped

the appreciation of modern dance grow.

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Works Cited

Acocella, Joan. “The Soloist.” The New Yorker, 11 Jan. 1998, pp. 44-56,

www.newyorker.com/magazine/1998/01/19/the-soloist-2. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.

Austin, April. “Star Syndrome Stunts White Oak Project.” Christian Science Monitor, vol. 87,

no. 132, 05 June 1995, p. 14. EBSCOhost, www.search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9506283992&site=ehost-live. Accesssed Apr. 6 2017.

Corn, Alfred. “Two Poems: The Alfama / Mikhail Baryshnikov Dances Three Preludes for Mark

Morris.” Salmagundi, no. 104-105, 1994, p. 182. ProQuest,

www.ezproxy.purchase.edu:2083/docview/221292346?accountid=14171. Accessed 6

Apr. 2017.

S., Edward “Mikhail Baryshnikov Photo.” Images77.com, www.images77.com/actors-

22_Mikhail-Baryshnikov.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2017.

Finkel, Anita. “The Unbearable Lightness of Being Mikhail Baryshnikov.” New Dance Review,

vol. 6, no. 3, 1994, p. 3. EBSCOhost, www.search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9512122155&site=ehost-live. Accessed 6 Apr. 2017.

Houston, Lynn, and Cheryl Tobey. “Bodies of History and Historical Bodies.” PAJ: A Journal of

Performance & Art, vol. 23, no. 69, Sept. 2001, pp. 13-23. EBSCOhost,

www.search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ibh&AN=5411372&site=ehost-

live. Accessed 6 April 2017.

Segal, Lewis. “BRANCHING OUT: The White Oak Dance Project Isn't a Step Down,

Baryshnikov Says, It's a Step Above.” Los Angeles Times, 05 Aug. 1993,
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www.articles.latimes.com/1993-08-05/news/ol-20434_1_white-oak-dance-project/2.

Accessed 15 Apr. 2017.

Teachout, Terry. “Dance Chronicle: Blasts from the Past.” Partisan Review, vol. 66, no. 2, 1999,

pp. 290-294. ProQuest, www.ezproxy.purchase.edu:2083/docview/237124268?

accountid=14171. Accessed 6 Apr. 2017.