90 Years of Dance at the Y

The 92nd Street Y is celebrating 90 years of dance. The ebullient Joan Finkelstein led a panel of eight illustrious dance artists at the Library for the Performing Arts on March 10. A major part of the leadership lineage at the Y, Joan gave us a jam-packed history lesson before introducing the panelists in three groups: First Janet Eilber, director of Martha Graham Dance company; Dante Puleio, director of the Limón Dance company; and Sylvia Waters, artistic director emerita of Ailey II. The second group consisted of choreographers David Dorfman, Doug Varone, and Ronald K. Brown with Arcell Cabuag (Ron’s associate artistic director). The last contingent was three young dancemakers who have been artists in residence at 92NY (as it is now called): Yue Yin, Omar Román De Jésus, and Hope Boykin.

 

Joan, director of the Harkness Harkness Foundation for Dance, flashed a recent Dance Index, in which she explains the long lineage of dance at the YM-YWHA. (Go to Dance Index and scroll down.) Joan also reminded us that the vibrant exhibit about dance at the Y is up until August: Dance to Belong: A History of Dance at 92NY: An 150th Anniversary Exhibition.

Everyone was lively while speaking and even while listening. I jotted down a few choice words I remember (I don’t have a recording so these quotes are not exactly verbatim):

Janet Eilber: “Some of Martha Graham’s company members were young women in revolution, like Jane Dudley and Anna Sokolow, who brought their own work to the Y.”

 

Dante Puleio: “José gave his dancers agency, not just the steps.”

 

Sylvia Waters: “The first time I danced at the Y, it was with Hava Kohav, not Alvin. But I saw Alvin’s Blues Suite in his first performance at the Y in 1958, and it was like dessert. The Y was the place to be. I learned to schmooze at the Y.”

 

Doug Varone: “Joan introduced the Y to an entirely new generation. When I was in residence there, it felt utopian.”

 

David Dorfman: “The Y let you grow. Lucas Hoving taught us how to make a whole dance in a weekend.”

 

 

 

 

 

Ronald K. Brown talked about his mentor Mary Anthony, performing at the Y. Arcell Cabuag about rehearsing at the Y: “You’d back up to let the queens pass — Judith Jamison or Sylvia Waters.”

Yue Yin: “The Y helped me shape a fast-evolving thing into a technique called FoCo. It’s a blend of contemporary and Chinese, and now two dancers are certified to teach it.

Omar Román De Jésus: “You didn’t always have to do new work. You could look at old work and ask, What makes a work timeless? What makes you want to come back and see it again?”

Hope Boykin: “When you have a residency at the Y, you can pay dancers and show them you value them. You are allowed to fail, and they’ll still ask you back because you’re a good risk.”

Joan took that idea of good risk and applied it to the whole 90 years. Then, to wrap up, she asked for “popcorn” answers to the question of what words come to mind that relate to dance at the Y. Among the words that came up were courage, home, and inspiration. David Dorfman, hesitated and then said, “The Y helped me feel my Jewishness.” Thus bringing it back to the beginning, 90 years ago, when William Kolodney, a German Jewish immigrant, believed he could give young people culture and community through the 92nd Street Y.

General gratitude to the Y chair of the board, Jody Arnhold, and author Naomi Jackson, who wrote the essential book Converging Movements: Modern Dance and Jewish Culture at the 92nd Street Y. 

 

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