“Surprise Was My Teacher” by Merrill Brockway is a delightful memoir by the man who pioneered dance on television.  Here’s the review from the New York Times on September 15, 2011:

‘Dance in America’ for a New Generation

By JULIE BLOOM

If you came of age in the late 1970s and ’80s, odds are you first encountered Martha Graham and modern dance not in a theater, but via television. Over the years the “Dance in America” program, which made its debut on PBS in 1976, introduced millions of Americans to major dance artists and their greatest works.

The director and producer of that series, Merrill Brockway, is now helping a new generation meet those artists and view their work. Last spring Mr. Brockway, 88, published a memoir, “Surprise Was My Teacher” (Sunstone Press), which details his career during a golden age of television and his collaborations with dancers like Graham, Balanchine, Merce Cunningham and Twyla Tharp. He was also allowed to donate the archive to the National Dance Institute of New Mexico for educational purposes.

Mr. Brockway “was someone who said America needs to see this, America needs to see dance, and he was ahead of his time,” Catherine Oppenheimer, the founder of the dance institute and the New Mexico School for the Arts, said in a phone interview. This fall those institutions, which serve close to 7,000 students, many disadvantaged, will begin incorporating the library of videos into their curriculum.

Mr. Brockway’s tapes, about 130, as well as additional documentaries, cover his 35 years filming dance and feature many of the 20th century’s greatest choreographers.

“This could really be life changing for these kids, to see some of the best dance works as they were intended to be seen by the choreographers,” said Linda Szmyd Monich, who is using the tapes to teach dance history at the school for the arts and to aid in lectures at the dance institute.

The archive, Ms. Szmyd Monich added, is “one of the most important things that’s ever been done in dance because it preserves the ballets as the choreographers wanted them to be seen, and as we get further away, we’re seeing original source material, if you will, so we’re seeing ‘The Four Temperaments’ the way Balanchine wanted us to see it.”

From his home in Santa Fe, Mr. Brockway spoke about his television career, his work with those artists and his decision to donate his library. Here are excerpts.

Q. Why did you want to create a performing arts program for TV?

A. You’d had specials with concert dance, but no series, and that was a golden opportunity for me. I didn’t know it was going to be the golden opportunity, but it became clear from the beginning that we were making history.

Q. Why did you keep those tapes?

A. As I remembered, it was late in the 1960s that I became aware that I could copy videotapes. I was trained as a pianist. I was mostly interested in the performing arts, so I taped everything that was available. In the archives there are different versions of the same thing, and I didn’t have very much discrimination, I just taped all I could get.

Q. Why did you decide to donate your library?

A. Catherine [Oppenheimer] was my first friend when I retired to Santa Fe, because she was in City Ballet. And when N.D.I. [of New Mexico] started, I saw what she was doing, and I would go and watch. Balanchine would say, ‘Ballet is not the step, it’s what happens in between the steps.’

And I saw this young man when he was 9 years old, and he was doing “Singin’ in the Rain” with an umbrella, and it was memorable. It still remains with me because he had that mysterious thing in between the steps. So I watched him grow. By the time he was 18, he was in the advanced ballet class, which I would go to as often as I could. He was short, so he would never be in a ballet company, but he was the best one there and had never seen anyone else do any of this. And that’s when I got the idea to give the library to N.D.I.

Q. What about dance appealed to you?

A. I took one class with Martha Graham, and it was very clear in one class that I was not a dancer. But she grabbed my gut, as I write in the book. I love it for several reasons, aesthetically, and also working with the dancers. I found them the best trained of all the professionals; we took very good care of them; they were your friends.

Q. Why did you stop working on “Dance in America”?

A. I worked in television during the 1950s and then ’60s and ’70s, and I knew what I was interested in. Dancing was diminishing in the ’80s, so I stopped in ’88, because I saw that it was all going pop culture, and I didn’t think that was valuable. Now you see what we have today — there is no performing arts. If you watch “America’s Got Talent” or Dancing Couples, or whatever, it’s all tricks. It’s not dancing.

Q. What was it like to work with those major artists?

A. Well, they were my teachers, and it’s like having a personal relationship with a teacher. In the memoir I write about how Lincoln Kirstein said New York City Ballet would never be on anything as vulgar as television. But Mr. Balanchine, he liked movies. Because I had a history of collaboration with artists as a pianist, I knew what my position was, and I wanted to collaborate with the choreographers, and that appealed to him, and he was also interested because I had been trained as a musician, and so we had that connection. He and I talked music.

Q. What was it like being on the set with them?

A. With Balanchine, he, Twyla [Tharp] and Merce [Cunningham] understood television. It’s totally different; a stage is rectangular, and television is flat, so people who knew that, like Twyla and Merce and Balanchine, understood you have to change the dancing. It’s not redoing, it’s just changing to fit the landscape.

Q. Did you ever see yourself as a choreographer?

A. No, the idea was I wanted to do the intention of the choreographer. I didn’t want to make up my own choreography. With Martha, when we were planning “Dance in America,” she said, “I don’t collaborate.” By the time we finished “Clytemnestra,” she had been the top drawer of a collaborator with me. She knew when to push me, when to sit on me, when to listen to me, she knew the whole thing. With a good collaboration, it’s like playing chamber music.

Q. In the book you say, never just show the feet. How did you know to do that?

A. By watching and by knowing what the choreographer wanted you to see. It was interesting with Balanchine. He was not a face choreographer; his favorite dancer was Fred Astaire; and if you notice, all Fred Astaire movies are full figure, and Balanchine ballets are like that. So we devised acceptable shots, and we came up with those together. The British television people thought my shows were boring. Because if you watch TV now, it’s like they’re taking pictures. In dancing you can’t just take pictures, you’re telling a story.

Q. What does it mean to you to turn these archives over and have students watch them?

A. At my age, 88 going on 89, I woke up one morning, I figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life, and I want to be involved in the education of young people. It doesn’t mean I want to go in the classroom, but I want them to see and expand their education, and that’s what I want to do with the library and working with Linda [Szmyd Monich]. We’re expanding to include parents and teachers, so that everybody is aware of the same story, and if we do that, it will spread.

“Surprise Was My Teacher” is available from Ingram, Baker & Taylor, online book stores, or directly from the publisher Sunstone Press (800-243-5644, www.sunstonepress.com.

ISBN 978-0-86534-748-9.  $19.95.  Publication Date: April 2010, 207 pages.

Contact: Melissa Weiner, 505-920-4006, straydogmedia@gmail.com

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH

CELEBRATES

THE AMERICAN DANCE GUILD – PAST TO PRESENT!

Thursday, February 24 @ 8:00pm

At Manhattan Movement and Arts Center

248 West 60th Street (near 10th Ave), NYC

Subways: A,C,E F,B and 1,2,3

Tickets: $30

The star studded cast will include a wide range of dancers who in various ways have been connected to this pioneering organization, including Mary Anthony, Janis Brenner, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Diana Byer, Christine Dakin, Carmen deLavallade, Douglas Dunn, Deborah Jowitt, Don Redlich, Gus Solomons jr.  This is a celebration of one of the oldest dance organizations in America and a tribute to its members.

From the Horse’s Mouth is a celebratory dance/theater production known for its captivating story-telling and exceptional dancing, receiving rave reviews from critics around the United States and Canada.  In this production, the 30 performers, from a variety of dance traditions, tell personal stories from their lives then perform movement of their own choosing, sometimes interacting with another dancer.  Stories range from humorous to poignant revealing personal moments of loss, joy, frustration, and triumph.

————-

FRIDAY- SUNDAY – The festival will offer 5 programs with work by 37 choreographers from around the globe ranging from modern masters to post-modern to performance art to cultural hybrids, revealing the remarkable diversity of contemporary dance styles.

ON FRIDAY – we offer a special tribute to dance legend JANE DUDLEY, and celebrated choreographer PAUL SANASARDO, mentor and teacher to Pina Bausch, among many others.  Two of Jane Dudley’s inimitable solos will be shown as well as a new work by Paul Sanasardo.  Mr. Sanasardo will be interviewed by author, Mark Franko, in a post performance discussion.  Their work will also be shown on other programs.

The festival features two other renowned artists with performances of rarely seen works.  Verb Ballets will perform SOPHIE MASLOW’s Dust Bowl Ballads on Friday and Saturday evening and Betsy Fisher will perform MARY WIGMAN’s Hexentanz on Sunday evening.

Come celebrate the dancers of the present,

savor the accomplishments of the past,

and look into the future!

The American Dance Guild, formed in 1956, was one of the first dance service organizations in the United States.  Originally its goal was to support dance teachers with a yearly conference – providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information and an opportunity to see master teachers demonstrate their work.  The Guild grew rapidly.  Soon the membership included individuals and organizations from nearly every state in the U.S. as well as from abroad and included performers, choreographers, writers, historians, critics, accompanists, therapists, notators, and educators at all levels.  It produced DanceScope, a far reaching publication edited by Marcia Siegel with in-depth articles that covered all areas of dance from Ballet to Jazz to Indian Dance to Jose Limon, Martha Graham, Erick Hawkins, Trisha Brown, Meredith Monk, Yvonne Rainer and many more.  Next came a new wave of annual conferences each addressing a current issue in dance:  Dance and Technology, Vision of Women in Dance, Dance in a Global Community – over 30 conferences from 1970 to 2001 each organized in a different city or university in the United States, as well as in Hong Kong and China.  At each conference ADG would present an award honoring a distinguished member of the dance community.  The honorees included: Marge Champion, Merce Cunningham, Carmen deLavallade, Katherine Dunham, Robert Ellis Dunn, Jean Erdman, Anna Halprin, Martha Hill, Hanya Holm, Arthur Mitchell, Alwin Nikolais, Antony Tudor, and many more.  In its newest incarnation, the American Dance Guild now focuses on offering performance opportunities both in annual festivals and “bare bones” low-tech productions, and awards a summer scholarship to Jacob’s Pillow.

_______________________________________________

YES, I want to donate to the American Dance Guild.  I have enclosed a check for the following amount:

Levels of giving: $2500 $2499-1000,  $749-500,  $495-250,  $249-100,  $99 and under

Membership: Regular $60 Student and Senior $35

Please make check payable to American Dance Guild, and mail to:  American Dance Guild, c/o Tina Croll, 240 West 14^th Street, New York, NY  10011

Donations to ADG are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.  A receipt will be mailed to you for your tax records.

To use your credit card and save a stamp, visit www.americandanceguild.org and donate online!

Name____________________________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip_______________________________________________________________

Email_____________________________________________________________________

Telephone__________________________________________________________________

Manhattan Movement & Arts Center
248 West 60th Street (near 10th Ave), NYC
Subways: A,C,E F,B and 1,2,3

Thursday, February 24 @ 8:00pm – GALA EVENT:
From the Horse’s Mouth celebrates ADG: Past to Present

Friday, February 25 @ 7:30pm (Opening performance followed by reception)
Saturday, February 26 @ 3:00pm & @ 8:00pm
Sunday, February 27 @ 3:00pm & @ 8:00pm

THURSDAY — From the Horse’s Mouth celebrates the American Dance Guild: Past to Present! (our surprise Honoree will be announced in January) The star studded cast will include a wide range of dancers who in various ways have been connected to this pioneering organization, including Mary Anthony, Janis Brenner, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Diana Byer, Christine Dakin, Carmen deLavallade, Douglas Dunn, Deborah Jowitt, Don Redlich, Gus Solomons jr, Martine van Hamel. This is a celebration of one of the oldest dance organizations in America and a tribute to its members.

FRIDAY — offers a special tribute to dance legend JANE DUDLEY, and celebrated choreographer PAUL SANASARDO, mentor and teacher to Pina Bausch, among many others. Two of Jane Dudley’s inimitable solos will be shown as well as a new work by Paul Sanasardo. Mr. Sanasardo will be interviewed by author, Mark Franko, in a post performance discussion following the performance. Their work will also be shown on other programs (see Schedule below.)

FRIDAY- SUNDAY — The festival will offer 5 programs with work by 32 choreographers from around the globe ranging from modern to post-modern to performance art to cultural hybrids, revealing the remarkable diversity of contemporary dance styles. The festival features two other renowned artists with performances of rarely seen works. On Saturday evening Verb Ballets will perform SOPHIE MASLOW’s Dust Bowl Ballads and on Sunday evening Betsy Fisher will perform MARY WIGMAN’s Hexentanz.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Friday, 2/25 @ 8:00pm:
Sophie Maslow (Dr. Margaret Carlson)
Michele Cuccaro
Mariah Maloney
Amy Cova
Jane Dudley – Time is Money
INTERMISSION
Judith Moss
Bill Evans
Jane Dudley – Harmonica Breakdown
Paul Sanasardo

Saturday, 2/26 @ 3:00pm
Andrew Jannetti
Hyonok Kim Dance Art
Sally Hess
Deborah Mauldin
Betsy Fisher – Hexentanz
INTERMISSION
Einy Am
Filip Condeescu
Ara Fitzgerald
Rebecca McArthur
WenChu Yang

Saturday, 2/26 @ 8:00pm:
Sophie Maslow (Dr. Margaret Carlson)
Gloria McLean
Claire Porter
Linda Lehovec
INTERMISSION
Jane Dudley – Time is Money
Jenny Showalter
Jane Dudley – Harmonica Breakdown
Paul Sanasardo

Sunday, 2/27 @ 3:00pm:
Jane Dudley – Time is Money
Keith Thompson
Yun Gyu Kim (Trust)
Douglas Dunn
Kathy Diehl
INTERMISSION
Sarah Zitnay
Claudio  Gitelman
Joan Gavaler
Jaclyn Walsh

Sunday 2/27 @ 8:00pm:
Daniel Charon
Indah Boyle
Anne Bluethenthal
Sue Bernhard
INTERMISSION
Stephanie Swensen
Jane Dudley – Harmonica Breakdown
Tina Croll
Betsy Fisher – Hexentanz
Lane Gifford