DATELINE NEW YORK: Ukrainians shine in ABT's spring season (05/28/00)

DATELINE NEW YORK: Ukrainians shine in ABT's spring season

by Helen Smindak

Performing in an all-star cast for American Ballet Theater's season opener at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 8, dancers Vladimir Malakhov, Maxim Belotserkovsky and Irina Dvorovenko added their glittering talents to the gala celebration of ABT's 60th anniversary celebration. Mr. Malakhov, a principal dancer with ABT since 1995, partnered Amanda McKerrow in Balanchine's "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux" and appeared in the New York premiere of Twyla Tharp's newest work for the company, a formal and rich ballet "Variations on a Theme by Haydn," set to music by Brahms.

Ms. Dvorovenko and Mr. Belotserkovsky, also featured in "Variations," received praise from The New York Times' reviewer Anna Kisselgoff, who said they "stood out in brief, fast solos woven into the choreography's texture."

Tipper Gore, honorary chairman of the gala along with Vice-President Al Gore (who was not present) was introduced by Caroline Kennedy, a co-chair of the benefit evening, and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York. Mrs. Gore urged an appreciation of "the arts as part of our national heritage." At the end of the evening, following a mass curtain call for the company, Mrs. Gore joined ABT dancers, guests and former ABT alumni, among them Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso, at a festive dinner in a huge tent at Lincoln Center.

While Mr. Malakhov has always been the darling of opera fans and critics alike (he's an award-winning dancer who was named "best male dancer in the world" by Japan's Dance Magazine for three consecutive years), the opening weeks of this season have brought glory to Mr. Belotserkovsky. He has been lauded by Ms. Kisselgoff for his dramatic debut performance as the lover in an arranged marriage in the revival of Anthony Tudor's exquisite "Jardin aux Lilas," as well as for a powerful portrayal of "sinister elegance" (Ms. Kisselgoff's description) in Kevin McKenzie's new staging of "Swan Lake."

During these first weeks of the ABT season, Mr. Belotserkovsky has been paired with Ms. Dvorovenko in "Don Quixote." Their performance on May 18 prompted this praise from Ms. Kisselgoff: "The last 'Don Quixote' of the season had Irina Dvorovenko and Mr. Belotserkovsky in a stunning display of integrated artistry and technique, a truly flawless and exciting performance."

We can expect other glowing reviews for ABT's Ukrainian dancers during the company's eight-week season. Mr. Malakhov, who made his debut as Prince Siegfried in "Swan Lake" on May 22, was scheduled to lead the season's first performance of "Romeo and Juliet" on May 26 and will have a principal role in the epic "La Bayadère." Mr. Belotserkovsky will be performing in "Diversion of Angels" and "Pas des Déesses," and both artists will dance roles in "Études," the lavish "Le Corsaire" and a full-length "La Sylphide."

Ms. Dvorovenko is scheduled for several roles in June, including the comic "The Taming of the Shrew," "La Bayadère," "Pas des Déesses," and "Études."

We can also look forward to critical response to the performance of another ABT dancer who was born in Kyiv - Vladislav Kalinin. Mr. Kalinin, who somehow escaped our scrutiny in an earlier search for Ukrainians on the ABT roster, began his ballet training at age 12 at the Ukrainian Ballet School. Since joining American Ballet Theater as a member of the corps de ballet in 1993, he has performed roles in "La Bayadère," "Cinderella," "Don Quixote" and other ballets. This weekend, he makes his debut as Mercutio in the Saturday matinee performance of "Romeo and Juliet."

A solo exhibit for Solovij

The work of Jurij Solovij, a Lviv-born artist who lives in Rutherford, N.J., reveals the strong imprint of the war years in Ukraine and displacement in Germany before his emigration to the United States in 1952. His contemporary abstract art is filled with existential themes - the pain of birth and death, martyrdom, Crucifixion, childhood experiences and images of war - covering his canvasses with dark and often violent explosion of color and disfigured shapes.

During the past month, the Ukrainian Institute of America devoted three floors to an exhibit of some 100 Solovij paintings. The exhibition, sponsored by the Daria Hoydysh Endowment for the Arts, included 50 huge oils and gouaches, as well as some works from the artist's "Thousand Heads" period that first emerged in 1970.

In developing the fascinating "Thousand Heads" theme, Mr. Solovij executed the first 1,000 paintings, sculptures and drawings of the series in six weeks, eventually producing more than 2,000 small-scale works.

In April, when the show opened, the Daily News carried a story on the artist and exhibit and a photo of his 1967 work "Eternal Matter."

Regarded as the most forceful and singular promoter of modern art among Ukrainian émigré artists after World War II, Mr. Solovij is also known for the art work he conceived for publications of the New York Group, especially 12 annual issues of the Group's "New Poetry" publication.

A priest and an actor

The Rev. George Drance, a member of the Wisconsin Province of Jesuits who teaches a theater course at Fordham University in the Bronx, is currently directing a spirited transition of the 17th century Pedro Calderon de la Barca comedy "Life is a Dream." The production, which enjoyed a successful 10-day run at Marquette University in Milwaukee last February, will be presented here at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on June 8, 9 and 10.

"Life is a Dream" brings the audience into a world of cosmic struggle dictated by the presence in life of good, evil, reason, will and wisdom. The tone of the work is set by contrasting elements of vaudeville and melodrama, with towering 11-foot puppets representing Power, Wisdom and Love.

The puppets are adaptations of traditional renderings of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel frequently seen in Ukrainian churches. An iconogapher as well as a director, the Rev. Drance, who has bi-ritual privileges in the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Latin rite, is responsible for the touch of traditional Byzantine Slavonic art in the production.

The script was translated by the Rev. Drance and Alfredo Gavan, and the music was written by award-winning composer Elizabeth Swados.

The Jesuit priest, who holds a master's degree in acting from Columbia University, has a twofold interest in drama: he feels the skills and sensitivity required for acting make him a better priest, and being sensitive as a priest to people's spiritual needs makes him a better actor.

To prepare for a career as a teacher at a Jesuit university, the Rev. Drance was given three years to gain experience and contacts as a working professional. He has acted and directed in over 15 countries on five continents and has spent the past four summers touring in Europe and Asia with the La Mama Great Jones Repertory company of New York. His regional credits include Boston's American Repertory and New Repertory theaters, Improv Boston and the U.S. Improv Theatre League.

The Rev. Drance is the youngest of seven children of George W. Drance Sr., of Floral Park, N.Y., a registered representative with the Manhattan Planning Group, and the late Irene Stecko Drance. Mr. Drance Sr., a member of UNA Branch 327, is a former director of insurance sales for the Ukrainian National Association.

For tickets to performances, which begin at 7:30 p.m., call (212) 252-3307.

A gastronomic tour

The New York Times' Eating Out guide recently offered a sampling of Eastern European cooking - 12 restaurants which offer hearty food in hefty portions. Among these was Veselka, described as a "venerable Ukrainian café in the East Village," specializing in "all manner of stuffed things, from dumplings to blintzes."

The guide, a summary of reviews, columns and articles in The Times by William Grimes, Eric Asimov and others, averred that Veselka serves "a fabulous borscht" [which we spell "borsch"] and offers hearty buckwheat pancakes, thick potato pancakes or classic cheese-filled blintzes served with raspberry or blueberry sauce, including a nearly flat, triangular blintz that is "surprisingly delicate and soft." Located at 144 Second Ave. at Ninth Street, Veselka is open around the clock.

Among other Manhattan restaurants listed in the guide were the Russian Tea Room, at 152 W. 57th St., which serves chicken Kiev and meaty, thick borsch with sour cream; Sammy's Roumanian, at 157 Chrystie Street, which exudes "a kitschy Borscht Belt party atmosphere" and specializes in fried kreplach and stuffed cabbage; the Firebird Cafe, 36 W. 46th St., whose menu features "wonderful Ukrainian borscht," and the Andrusha restaurant, 1370 Lexington Ave. near 90th Street, which offers a cold borsch that is "sweet and perfectly refreshing served with cucumbers, hard-cooked egg and dill."

According to the guide, Brooklynites, especially those who live in Brighton Beach, find Eastern European fare at the Primorski restaurant, 292 Brighton Beach Ave., where chicken Kiev is on the menu.
Writing in The New York Times about "Another East Village Tradition in Transition," Eric Asimov says that for decades Leshko's restaurant has held down a corner near Tompkins Square Park in what was once called the "Pirogi Belt," in deference to the neighborhood's Slavic population. Leshko's, at 111 Ave., A at Seventh Street, which served Ukrainian staples like cabbage soup, boiled beef and the occasional special of jellied pigs' feet, began to decline after the family sold the restaurant in the 1970s. Recently purchased by Robert Pontarelli and Stephen Heighton, the restaurant underwent a thorough renovation and now sports handsome hearthstone columns, a dark oak floor and Danish modern lamps, with beige-and-white Saarinen chairs offset by burgundy banquettes and a black Lucite bar. Though chef Bruce Barnes has reinvented the menu to favor New York-American tastes the original name and a few "East European touches like pirogi, red cabbage and spatzle" have been retained (although the pirogi - varenyky to Ukrainians - are now stuffed only with mushrooms and leeks). The result, concludes Mr. Asimov, is an updated version of what Leshko's always was: a neighborhood restaurant aimed squarely at the neighborhood, which now consists of squatters and $3,000-a-month renters, wearers of torn jeans, Prada suits and a lot of in between.
The Blini Hut in the City Hall neighborhood, 132 Nassau St., corner of Beekman Street, distributes a romantically appetizing menu that offers "borscht inspired by the Ukrainians" as well as a vegetarian borsch, stuffed cabbage (listed as "golubtzi"), "varenniky" (this dish "originated in Ukraine"), and all kinds of blintzes and appetizers. A reader who recently sampled the menu describes the fare as "Russian fast food served on plastic trays" and cautions "if you don't have a sense of humor, don't go."

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