Cincinnati Ballet's new ballet master is Raymond Lukens. He started working with the Cincinnati dancers at the start of this season and replaces Dennis Poole who resigned last year. Mr. Lukens held the same position at Hartford Ballet from 1994-98 and left with Kirk Peterson's exit. Since then he has been guest teaching, mostly in New York for American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

        Because of teaching commitments elsewhere (his schedule doesn't show a day off until August), he's “guest ballet master” here, working 20 weeks of a 32-week season. He's eager to have a long-term, ongoing relationship with Cincinnati Ballet.

        “I can say right now that the dancers are extremely strong. It's quite easy to work with them because the level is very high,” Mr. Lukens says. The Cecchetti expert should know; he's prepared and placed dancers in companies worldwide, including the Royal, Stuttgart and Dutch National ballet companies.

        Cecchetti is one method among several for teaching ballet technique. Named for Italian ballet genius Enrico Cecchetti, the method is admired by Mr. Lukens for its simplicity. “Cecchetti is based on purely scientific principles and it tries to avoid any kind of stylistic flourish. Arms are logical and designed to help the dancer complete the step,” Mr. Lukens explains. “Cecchetti is neutral so you can shift from one choreographic style to another, but it's complex because it pays attention to detail.”

        At a recent class, his barre work was simple, to the point and clearly warmed the muscles efficiently — exactly what a good class is supposed to do. “Do you feel warm yet?” he asks dancers who are already standing in their own puddles of sweat. There's a full 45 minutes of class yet to come.

        The class is packed even though dancers are not required to take it. (Most, however, take daily class; techniques suffer without the daily drill and competition is a great motivator.)

        Victoria Morgan says she's lucky to have snatched Mr. Lukens to teach and rehearse her company.

        “The dancers adore him. He's so knowledgeable — he has the highest ranking and teaching qualifications with the Cecchetti Society — but is so easy to work for,” she says.

        What is the expert's opinion of Cincinnati Ballet? “I think that this company right now is very exciting. The male dancers are very strong, which is unusual in a regional company. You have beautiful girls everywhere — I'm setting Coppelia here for Kirk and when I auditioned the girls they were all wonderful — but it's unusual to have this many good men in a regional company,” Mr. Lukens says.

        And what about the future? “The dancers are getting a decent salary, but the work — the season — is very short. If the board — and community, too — really want to develop this, they need to give it the backing and support to bring it to the next level. They're getting more for their money here than you would expect. The standard here is really amazing,” he says.

High school listings
        When the Enquirer ran its listings for the upcoming high school theater season, the page was crowded with enough plays to challenge hundreds of young thespians all around the Tristate.

        Dance is a different story. Even though there are nearly 50 dance studios training kids locally, only one high school — School for Creative and Performing Arts — has a dance performance season.

        The school is for fourth through 12th grades. At high school level, students can audition for the SCPA Dance Ensemble. Under the direction of former Cincinnati Ballet dancers Patricia Rozow and Daryl Bjoza, the 25-member group presents a full season.

        The school boasts a long list of graduates who've gone on to professional careers. Two of the biggies — companies most young performers would battle for a chance to dance for — have hired SCPA alumni: Paige Cunningham, 1996 graduate, joined the contemporary Merce Cunningham Dance Company in June, and Darius Crenshaw, a 1995 grad, begins a third season with New York City Ballet.

SCPA season
        The school has announced its productions, which include contemporary and classical variations, including excerpts from Sleeping Beauty, 7:30 p.m., Nov. 1 and 2; The Nutcracker, 8 p.m., Dec. 8, 9, 14 and 16; Dracula, 8 p.m. March 30 and 31, 2 p.m. April 1. All performances at the school, 1310 Sycamore St. Box office: 632-5910.

Proud studio
        On Sept. 10, I reported an academic/dance scholarship awarded to Jennifer Snow of Cincinnati to attend the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. What wasn't said is that Ms. Snow spent her young life learning to dance at the Anneliese von Oettingen Ballet Studio. Folks there are proud of that fact and wanted you to know.

Cleveland Ballet
        When Cleveland Ballet went belly-up in early September and canceled its 25th season, it sent shock waves through Ohio dance communities. How could a company so big and strong blow it?

        They were plenty big (41 dancers compared to Cincinnati Ballet's 30 with nearly twice the budget) but not all that strong in handling money. At the start of the season the company missed payroll and was a million dollars in debt and a ten-year pattern of overspending.

        All is not lost for the dancers however; 24 of them have signed on to relocate to the company's other performance site, San Jose, Calif. The company had a sister-city situation there with a separate board and budget that is in the black. Renamed Ballet San Jose of Silcon Valley, a season is scheduled to open Oct. 12.

        A couple ways this mess could benefit Cincinnati Ballet: There are nearly 20 high-powered dancers re-entering the job market. Contracts have been signed here, but there's always room to invite someone in for a look. Also, CB has been looking for other performance venues and Cleveland audiences will be looking for something to fill the void. How about adding performances in Cleveland?
       Carol Norris writes about dance for The Enquirer. Writer to her at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati OH 45202. Fax: 768-8330.

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