I Was a Dancer
In his memoir I Was a Dancer, Jacques d鈥橝mboise excels at placing the reader in his ballet shoes, allowing us to share not only in the euphoria of performance but also the author鈥檚 gratitude for the 鈥渢aming鈥� that ballet provided him.
D鈥橝mboise 鈥� an acclaimed ballet dancer and choreographer 鈥� delayed penning his memoir until well into his 70鈥檚. However, readers will fall in love with his youthful voice. After all these years D'Amboise still comes across as a man filled with awe at the serendipitous career launched when he was referred to the School of American Ballet at the age of 8.
D鈥橝mboise was a principal dancer with the New York City ballet for over three decade. He earned accolades from The American Academy of Arts & Sciences, The Kennedy Center, and the MacArthur foundation. A PBS documentary titled 鈥淗e Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' 鈥漚bout d鈥橝mboise鈥檚 work with his National Dance Institute received an Academy Award and six Emmy Awards in 1984.
D鈥橝mboise is also known for his performance in the role of Ephraim in the Hollywood classic 鈥淪even Brides for Seven Brothers.鈥�
"I Was a Dancer" provides personal insight into the genius (and flaws) of dance emperor George Balanchine, and dubs Lincoln Kirstein a 鈥済iant, mad capitalist鈥� who aspired to be 鈥渢he artistic tsar of the New World.鈥� Through d鈥橝mboise鈥檚 writing we learn how Kirstein鈥檚 directed vision and Balanchine鈥檚 talent as a choreographer sustained the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet Company.
鈥淚f someone of quality mentors you, you are lucky," writes d'Amboise. "If that someone is Balanchine, you are blessed.鈥�
D'Amboise successfully creates a vicarious experience for the reader, relying on outside accounts for the facts of dance history, but drawing upon his own memories to impart the spirit of the past.
His words and phrases invite the non-dancer into the world of dance, instilling an infectious, invigorating joy. We see John Taras perform his 鈥渟oft, smooth鈥� variation like 鈥渁 marshmallow dancing.鈥� We observe Merrill Ashley 鈥済amboling and cavorting on the meadow of the stage, inhaling sunlight as well as air, as if she couldn鈥檛 get enough.鈥�
In recreating the sensations of performance d鈥橝mboise does not shy away from ekphrasis; rather, he uses every possible opportunity to describe ballet in both visual and musical terms.
Visualists will delight at d鈥橝mboise鈥檚 description of choreographer Merce Cunningham鈥檚 鈥淪ummerspace.鈥� He writes of dancers 鈥渁ttired in dotted leotards鈥� fluttering amid a 鈥減ointillist landscape.鈥�
Unsure of the energy required for a pas de deux comprised of glissades and sarabandes? Imagining Handel鈥檚 Royal Fireworks Music as accompaniment should give us some idea.
In this way, d鈥� Amboise uses the ear and the eye as an entry point to understand the dynamics of ballet.
D鈥橝mboise, who once frolicked in the streets of Washington Heights, would later recruit young performers for his non-profit National Dance Institute, which he founded in 1976.
The chapters that focus on d鈥橝mboise鈥檚 work with the NDI 鈥� bringing dance to the lives of urban youth 鈥� impart his sense that dance is an inclusive art form. He writes, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what our universe is about鈥� every time you shake hands in greeting or raise a glass in a toast, you鈥檙e participating in a dance.鈥�
Daisy Alioto is a Monitor contributor.
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