) but I lost track of him. I'm sure someone can help me and knows what he's doing now ? thanks !
Full Version: I lost track of a dancer : Ben Huys
I know Ben is a former NYCB-soloist (and from my village ) but I lost track of him. I'm sure someone can help me and knows what he's doing now ? thanks !
) but I lost track of him. I'm sure someone can help me and knows what he's doing now ? thanks !
He's a ballet master at Ballet Arizona. (Artistic director, Ib Andersen.)
Thank you Alexandra, WOW that was quick ! 
I just happened to know that one!
Editing to add: Here's a link to the company's staff page. He's listed under artistic staff.
Editing to add: Here's a link to the company's staff page. He's listed under artistic staff.
QUOTE (Viviane @ Jun 26 2005, 03:33 PM)
I know Ben is a former NYCB-soloist (and from my village ) but I lost track of him. I'm sure someone can help me and knows what he's doing now ? thanks !
) but I lost track of him. I'm sure someone can help me and knows what he's doing now ? thanks !He partnered Kyra Nichols in Chaconne last October, as reviewed in Dancc View Times:
http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2004/autumn/05/boal.htm
He danced Apollo with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in recent years. (I don't remember the dates at the moment.) A photo of this by Paul Kolnik was included in a small exhibit of his work in the Kennedy Center Opera House lobby this past week, and there is supposed to be an on-line version of Kolnik's gallery walk on the Kennedy Center website eventually, with some of the images included, so maybe you can actually catch a glimpse of him in performance, Viviane.
Ben has just staged "Serenade" for the Shanghai Ballet. Here is the link:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0c937c62-4687-11d...000e2511c8.html
The article mentions that "Unlike the National Ballet of China, which already has five of George Balanchine's ballets in its repertory, the Shanghai Ballet premiered its first just this week."
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0c937c62-4687-11d...000e2511c8.html
The article mentions that "Unlike the National Ballet of China, which already has five of George Balanchine's ballets in its repertory, the Shanghai Ballet premiered its first just this week."
Ben Huys and Susan Hendl were down at Miami City Ballet this September to set Robbins' Dances at a Gathering on the company. I was on a tour and was able to watch them for 3 hours. (There was another 3 hours' work later in the afternoon!)
Hendl and Huys worked beautifully together and with the various casts of dancers. He demonstrated with full-out dance more than Hendl and has remarkable lightness, grace, and fluidity of movement for someone who seemed both tall and solidly built. I was very impressed.
Hendl and Huys worked beautifully together and with the various casts of dancers. He demonstrated with full-out dance more than Hendl and has remarkable lightness, grace, and fluidity of movement for someone who seemed both tall and solidly built. I was very impressed.
Fluidity and gracefulness were two of his hallmarks when he danced at NYCB. He partnered Kyra Nichols in Walpurgisnacht Ballet on the Balanchine Celebration VHS/DVD set.
He's in the latest Kennedy Center brochure in an ad for Suzanne Farrell Ballet.
QUOTE (Helene @ Oct 28 2005, 07:33 PM)
Fluidity and gracefulness were two of his hallmarks when he danced at NYCB. He partnered Kyra Nichols in Walpurgisnacht Ballet on the Balanchine Celebration VHS/DVD set.
.....and don't forget the beauty of his line, and the elegance of his carriage. IMO he was the dancer who most resembled Peter Martins when he was young.
QUOTE (ViolinConcerto @ Oct 30 2005, 04:13 AM)
QUOTE (Helene @ Oct 28 2005, 07:33 PM)
Fluidity and gracefulness were two of his hallmarks when he danced at NYCB. He partnered Kyra Nichols in Walpurgisnacht Ballet on the Balanchine Celebration VHS/DVD set.
.....and don't forget the beauty of his line, and the elegance of his carriage. IMO he was the dancer who most resembled Peter Martins when he was young.
Boy both you Violin Concerto and Helene perfectly described the Ben Huys I recall watching performing Scotch Symphony a few years back with the Farrell Ballet. Gallant, noble with a strong technique and a marvelous partner. Here's a dancer you would have think Peter Martins would have done anything to keep in the company.
He was in Madison last weekend guesting with the Madison Ballet. I didn't go but he got good reviews in the newspapers.
QUOTE (miliosr @ Dec 17 2005, 10:06 AM)
He was in Madison last weekend guesting with the Madison Ballet. I didn't go but he got good reviews in the newspapers.
Which Madison???
Wisconsin. (Check out miliosr's location [You may have to scroll down to the bottom of the profile page.])
[You may have to scroll down to the bottom of the profile page.])
QUOTE (Viviane @ Jun 26 2005, 03:33 PM)
I know Ben is a former NYCB-soloist (and from my village ) but I lost track of him. I'm sure someone can help me and knows what he's doing now ? thanks !
) but I lost track of him. I'm sure someone can help me and knows what he's doing now ? thanks !Ben used to perform Cavalier in my local Nutcracker with one of our former stellar student
dancers. To this day, he is the Best cavalier I have ever seen. Dances and moves with
such grace and fluidity.....thanks for the update!
Ben Huys guested with the Madison Ballet on Valentine's Day as part of the Madison Ballet's 'Evening of Romance' program. He performed (w/ Christina Fagundes) in a pas de deux ("The Man I Love") from Who Cares? and the White Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake.
I liked him a lot in the excerpt from Who Cares? -- he was sleek, strong and sexy -- and he and Fagundes were dynamite together. I was neutral about the Swan Lake pas de deux but that wasn't really his fault. It was the fourth pas de deux of the night and, by that point, I was "pas de deux-ed out". It didn't help that his costume was unflattering to him. Madison Ballet borrowed the costumes from ABT and it showed. His costume made him look top-heavy and he absolutely isn't. The dancing was fine but I preferred Huys and Fagundes in "The Man I Love".
I liked him a lot in the excerpt from Who Cares? -- he was sleek, strong and sexy -- and he and Fagundes were dynamite together. I was neutral about the Swan Lake pas de deux but that wasn't really his fault. It was the fourth pas de deux of the night and, by that point, I was "pas de deux-ed out". It didn't help that his costume was unflattering to him. Madison Ballet borrowed the costumes from ABT and it showed. His costume made him look top-heavy and he absolutely isn't. The dancing was fine but I preferred Huys and Fagundes in "The Man I Love".
Ben Huys was quote about his experience dancing with Balanchine in this article from 28 May in the Arizona Republic.
QUOTE
"Although Balanchine's dances are challenging and difficult for the dancer, they're not awkward," says Ben Huys, balletmaster at Ballet Arizona, who danced with the New York City Ballet from 1986 to 1995 and absorbed the Balanchine tradition.
"They fall on the feet like Chopin falls on the hands of a pianist. It's hard to get injured in a Balanchine ballet."
His ballets also move faster than most and draw more from the corps, whose members don't just stand around behind the principals.
"Everyone gets to dance and you notice everybody," Huys says. "The corps is more than wallpaper.
"The dancers are really working. You can't fake it. When you perform one of Balanchine's ballets, you feel like you've done something, you are gratified and fulfilled. It's a good plate of meat."
"They fall on the feet like Chopin falls on the hands of a pianist. It's hard to get injured in a Balanchine ballet."
His ballets also move faster than most and draw more from the corps, whose members don't just stand around behind the principals.
"Everyone gets to dance and you notice everybody," Huys says. "The corps is more than wallpaper.
"The dancers are really working. You can't fake it. When you perform one of Balanchine's ballets, you feel like you've done something, you are gratified and fulfilled. It's a good plate of meat."
This article, about the Shanghai Ballet has another update on Ben Huys.
A brief quote:
A brief quote:
QUOTE
Shanghai Ballet will stage the "Magic of Dance - Balanchine and Beyond" with two Balanchine shows next Thursday and Friday, the China premiere of "La Valse" and "Serenade." .............
American dancer Ben Huys, who used to dance with the New York City Ballet, came to teach Shanghai dancers how to perform in the original Balanchine style.
American dancer Ben Huys, who used to dance with the New York City Ballet, came to teach Shanghai dancers how to perform in the original Balanchine style.
here is another link on China Daily about the performance.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2007-08/...ent_6055591.htm
Caption for the photo is wrong. It's a photo for Serenade.
I went to see the rehearsals a couple of times. The ballet is looking good.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2007-08/...ent_6055591.htm
Caption for the photo is wrong. It's a photo for Serenade.
I went to see the rehearsals a couple of times. The ballet is looking good.
Thank you for the link, jeff-sh! I hope you'll post your impressions when it appears onstage in our "Recent Performances" forum.
I thought this particularly interesting:
I'm sure Huys is doing a great job with the piece.
I thought this particularly interesting:
QUOTE
[Artistic Director]Xin adds that when she told the Balanchine Trust she would choose La Valse, it amazed the members of the Trust, as the piece is "Not-that-much in Balanchine-style". "But I love it. It is a dance drama full of suspense. It's all about youth, death and love, " Xin says.
I'm sure Huys is doing a great job with the piece.
Ben Huys will stage Wheeldon's Variations Serieuses for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle in October.
What a wonderful new (to me) source, jeff-sh. Thank you. It's fascinating to see the way western ballet is taking hold in China. The process by which something like Balanchine's choreography is transmitted is especially interesting. I join Helene in looking forward to hearing more from you.
This is one of my all-time favorite Ballet Talk threads. Since the original query in 2005, Ballet Talkers have identified Ben Huys in locations ranging from Shanghai to Madison, Wisconsin. He's a veritable Zelig or Kilroy for our time -- except that he's real and an artist. I remember him well with NYCB and, most fondly, with Suzanne Farrell Ballet. I wish him well in Seattle and look forward to his continuing appearances here.
I will attend the dress rehearsal at the theater tomorrow and will try to post my impression. Though it may be difficult to elaborate my thoughts in English, as I am not a native English Speaker.
The program will open with a PDD by ex-NYCB dancer Edwaard Liang commissioned by Shanghai Ballet. I introduced Edwaard to Shanghai Ballet two years ago.
The program will open with a PDD by ex-NYCB dancer Edwaard Liang commissioned by Shanghai Ballet. I introduced Edwaard to Shanghai Ballet two years ago.
We appreciate this, jeff-sh.
QUOTE (Viviane @ Jun 26 2005, 03:33 PM)
I know Ben is a former NYCB-soloist (and from my village )
)What do you mean by 'from my village'?
Ben has been working as repetiteur for Balanchine Trust and Robbins Rights Trust. He staged Serenade for Shanghai Ballet in 2005, Theme and Variations for Guangzhou Ballet, Scotch Symphony in Tokyo. He has also staged ballets in Stuttgart, Seattle and Seoul.
After this week's La Valse premiere in Shanghai, Ben will fly to London on Saturday. He will stage Dances at a Gathering for Royal Ballet. The premiere will be next year though.
I think Viviane meant it literally. They're from the same village in Belgium.
QUOTE (Leigh Witchel @ Aug 29 2007, 08:07 AM)
I think Viviane meant it literally. They're from the same village in Belgium.
But I don't think Ben is from a village. He told me so. I will check with him which city he is from
QUOTE (Viviane @ Jun 26 2005, 08:40 PM)
Thank you Alexandra, WOW that was quick !
Alexandra knows everything, and she is the best.
Love and Peace from Jim
QUOTE (doug @ Aug 27 2007, 10:58 AM)
Ben Huys will stage Wheeldon's Variations Serieuses for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle in October.
I hope you have as much fun with that ballet as we did in NY. The set is delightful, and the story, a "42nd Street" for ballet. The ending was changed for the second season, and I preferred the 1st ending. Doug, maybe you can tell that to Ben!
QUOTE (doug @ Aug 27 2007, 10:58 AM)
Ben Huys will stage Wheeldon's Variations Serieuses for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle in October.
And will apparently stage something for the Goh Ballet while he is in the neighbourhood ...
"In early November, the George Balanchine Foundation will send dance artist Ben Huys to select a Balanchine piece for the Goh Ballet Company to perform for the 30 th Anniversary Gala in May 2008. While here, Mr. Huys will also be a guest instructor for two weeks for the Academy’s Professional Division."
http://www.gohballet.com/fall2007.htm
I wonder what it will be? They did Serenade for their 25th anniversary :
http://www.criticaldance.com/reviews/2003/Goh20030612.html
I just happened to come upon more news about Ben Huys,who is setting "Carnival of the Animals" in Tulsa, OK:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/spot/article.asp...D3_lltano265303
It's nice to know he's still out there, busy, valued, and employed!
http://www.tulsaworld.com/spot/article.asp...D3_lltano265303
It's nice to know he's still out there, busy, valued, and employed!
He is currently here in AZ setting Wheeldon's Polyphonia for Ballet Arizona. He may have left on Friday.
the unusual aspect of these balletmastering duties for BH is that he wasn't in the ballets themselves, nor in the company for which they were created when they were made.
i guess he learns them from videos? (or perhaps sat in when the were previously staged or rehearsed by Wheeldon?)
i guess he learns them from videos? (or perhaps sat in when the were previously staged or rehearsed by Wheeldon?)
I did wonder about that myself! But they all trust him -- the article says he sets work for the Robbins Trust and the Balanchine Trust.
The two stagers from the Robbins Foundation for PNB's "West Side Story Street", which premiered in May 1995, were Elyse Borne and Jean-Pierre Frohlich. I know Borne had left NYCB by then, and I think Frohlich might have as well. At least one of them never danced in the work.
in the case of WSSS: JPFrolich became Robbins's righthand ever since he left the stage as a performer and he likely worked directly alongside JR on Jerome Robbins's Broadway, which is where, essentially, WSSS came from; Bourne was perhaps brought in to assist JPF as he set things, to keep them 'in shape' etc. (or perhaps she was involved in an earlier staging of WSSS that JPF set.)
i've not sensed that Huys was around Wheeldon or his work all that much, but maybe i've missed this part of his career.
BH's staging of Balanchine has much more 'direct connection' to the ballets in question, as he was in NYCB and danced in any number of Balanchine ballets.
i've not sensed that Huys was around Wheeldon or his work all that much, but maybe i've missed this part of his career.
BH's staging of Balanchine has much more 'direct connection' to the ballets in question, as he was in NYCB and danced in any number of Balanchine ballets.
And he was here this winter to set Robbins' Dances at a Gathering (PNB will do it in June). I understand he's returning in May for the final tidying-up. I watched him in rehearsals for "Dances" and all seemed to go quite well.
and the 'he' in the above post would would Huys? or Frolich?
i know BH set DANCES for the Royal Ballet's most recent staging.
but JPF stages much himself, tho' his hand is often required for NYCB's works.
i know BH set DANCES for the Royal Ballet's most recent staging.
but JPF stages much himself, tho' his hand is often required for NYCB's works.
I just returned from London where I saw the Royal Ballet perform "Isadora" and "Dancers at a Gathering."
Ben Huys and Susan Hendl (former NYCB soloists, and members of the Robbins Trust) were credited with the staging.
Ben Huys and Susan Hendl (former NYCB soloists, and members of the Robbins Trust) were credited with the staging.
QUOTE (rg @ Mar 23 2009, 06:33 PM)
and the 'he' in the above post would would Huys? or Frolich?
i know BH set DANCES for the Royal Ballet's most recent staging.
but JPF stages much himself, tho' his hand is often required for NYCB's works.
i know BH set DANCES for the Royal Ballet's most recent staging.
but JPF stages much himself, tho' his hand is often required for NYCB's works.
Oh, I'm sorry to have been so obscure -- it was Huys. I'm hoping to sneak into the second set of rehearsals and watch more coaching -- with this ballet I think that's where a lot of the intention gets communicated.
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