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ENTERTAINMENT

Prima Ballerina

Continued from preceding page

another ten doing things that
were performing situations,
like teaching at Indiana Uni-
versity, free-lancing as a per-
former, and doing guest
work."
Now she devotes her
energies and enthusiasm to
teaching. To Danto, teaching
ballet is a perfect way to give
back to the art what she was
able to get from it, that spe-
cial feeling, that extra spark
that makes a dancer stand
out, and the continuation of
the craft — the passing on to
others the uniqueness of the
classical dance.
"I started teaching in 1982.
I went to Indiana University
as guest faculty and did some
performing there too. It was a
hard year — to teach and to
perform — wearing two hats.
One requires you to go out-
side of yourself and to give,
whereas the other is very
inner-focused. I was just
turning 40, and with a differ-
ent maturity it was time to
invest in something that
could be with me in the fu-
ture. Now I'm a faculty per-
son for the Center for Crea-
tive Studies."
Slender and vivacious, in
her early 40s, she epitomizes
what one feels a ballet dancer
should look like. Born in De-
troit, Danto grew up in this
area, leaving when she was
18 to study at the Joffrey
School in New York. While
there, she attended New
York University for a period
of time, trying, as she de-
scribes it, to do everything at
the same time. She has now
returned to live in Birming-
ham, this time as a ballet
teacher.
"I had decided very early
on that ballet was to be my
life. I was probably 9 or 10
years old. I loved it and ap-
parently had a facility for it.
I wanted to make significant
strides in my field, in my pro-
fession."
And strides she certainly
made. Danto danced as a sol-
oist with the Frankfort Ballet
in Germany, and then with
the National Ballet Company
in Washington. She often ap-
peared at the John F. Ken-
nedy Center for the Perform-
ing Arts. She joined the
Pennsylvania Ballet Com-
pany and soon was chosen
principal dancer, performing
many Balanchine roles.
. The ballets she has danced
in have included Giselle,

Serenade, Swan Lake, Four
Temperaments, Nutcracker
and Symphony in C.

Southfield
29069 Greenfield Rd.
559-8587

54

Friday, April 17, 1987

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

What makes a principal
dancer? How does one get
picked out of a corps de ballet
to dance as a soloist?
"It's not always apparent
early in a dancer's profes-
sional career," says Danto,
• "that he or she is going to be
suitable for a principal or a
soloist. Many times a dancer
can be in the corps for years,

then all of a sudden someone
comes along and decides to
give them a solo. Then, my
goodness, that person is
really a standout, and shows
something very special. Hope-
fully that dancer will con-
tinue to be encouraged and
pushed in that direction. But
sometimes those people are
never chosen, never given a
chance, and slowly their
potential just withers away."
All young and not-so-
young ballet students are
hopeful that there will be a
principal dancer's role in
their future. But Danto rec-
ognizes this is not always the
case.
"My goal as a teacher ... I
hopefully will be able to
train, make some dancers.
You know the saying —
'There's no such thing as a
good teacher, only good stu-
dents.' I do have some good
students in some of my
classes. Some are potential
dancers. Even if they don't
make it, we are educating a
ballet audience. Even if they
don't continue with dance as
a profession, the training
gives them a certain indi-
viduality, a special some-
thing. Perhaps it is a sense of
discipline, some inner focus
and a way of learning to con-
centrate. It's a wonderful
focus, almost like medita-
tion," she explains.
Danto is the mother of a
seven-year-old daughter, and
is part of a very close-knit
Jewish family. Her father,
Marvin Danto, is very active
in the United Jewish Appeal.
Danto and her daughter,
Jennifer, are members of
Temple Beth El where Jen-
nifer attends Sunday school.
Her own career went in a
funny direction, maintains
Danto. "My actual beginning
as a performer, when I really
learned to be on the stage,
and when I learned what it
was like to be in rehearsals,
when I learned roles, and
how to develop a role for the
stage, was at Indiana Uni-
versity with Gilbert Reed
who happens to be an excep-
tional choreographer. His bal-
lets were fantastically dif-
ficult technically, but always
had a drama and an interest-
ing thread, some theme,
going through them — not
just straight technique — and
he taught me how to be a
dancer on the stage ... From
there I went to the Joffrey
Company, then later to
Europe."
In every form of the arts
there are legendary figures
who have had great impact
on the profession itself and
who have touched every per-
son with whom they've come
into contact. One such is
Dame Margot Fonteyn, balle-
rina extraordinaire. Danto
said she was fortunate to
have known her.
"She is a wonderful

woman. She represented the
very classical, old world, re-
fined English school, and she
was so famous for the roles
she was dancing. With our
company, (the National Bal-
let Company), she was doing

Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella.

She is such a lady, so warm,
and treats everyone nicely. It
is such a nice experience to
see a ballerina does not have
to be a 'prima donna' carry-
ing on."
According to Danto, having
fine teachers is a necessity.
Among Danto's influences
she credits Bob Joffrey, Ben-
jamin Harkavy, Lupe Ser-
rano, Reed, Hector Zaraspe
and Rosella Hightower. She
feels very fortunate to have
studied with them.
"Ballet, like any of the per-
forming arts, has to be
handed down ... you have to
teach students not just the
craft and the techniques, but
you have to impart the love
for it. Something made us
successful — something be-
yond the technique made it
for us — something was
there." ❑

Center Displays
Holocaust Exhibit

Leon Faigenbam: One of fifty.

"Fifty Faces: The Holocaust
Remembered," an exhibit of
black-and-white portraits,
went on display yesterday in
the lobby of the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
Each portrait is accom-
panied by a handwritten
statement by its subject. The
exhibit runs through April
26.

Conference Slated

A Research Conference on
Geometric Design will be
held at Wayne State Univer-
sity May 4-6. For information
and to register, call WSU,
577-2479.

N