The Great Leap Forward

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Out of Indecision. To be sure, not all —or even most—of American dance is on the wiggy fringe. In its own clean, frostily abstract ballets, as well as in classical standards such as the Nutcracker, the New York City Ballet is the peerless pro. Ranking not too far behind is the American Ballet Theater, founded (in 1940) and largely financed by Lucia Chase. Emerging strongly now from a gloomy decade of indecision and decline, Ballet Theater has the most balanced repertory in the country; its full-length Swan Lake ranks with the world's best.

Philadelphia has what amounts to a Balanchine road company in the Pennsylvania Ballet, founded by three of his former students. Rapidly shaping a style all their own, the Pennsylvanians scored a critical hit recently with the world premiere of John Butler's Ceremony, a frank, sexy study of fear and alienation. Even more ambitious is the Harkness Ballet, which now has ten former Jeffrey dancers to count on, at least two soloists (long-haired Lawrence Rhodes and sultry Brunilda Ruiz) of star magnitude, and the staggering total of 20 newly commissioned dances in its repertory. Still another inventive company is the one founded by Mexican-born José Limón, whose choreography—as in The Winged, an hour-long evocation of birds in all their variety—blends the psychological expressiveness of Martha Graham and the fiery intensity of flamenco.

Beyond this galaxy of talent, there is even more unmistakable evidence that the U.S. is in the midst of what amounts to a resurgence of interest in dance. A decade ago, there were only 75 dance companies in the U.S. Now there are at least 450 professional and semiprofessional companies.

The modern-minded National Ballet of Washington, D.C., performed 26 different dances last year while building its season to 94 performances. During its 45-week season, the Utah Civic Ballet plays to an audience of more than 90,000. Like many regional troupes, the Cincinnati Civic Ballet, which has 475 students presently in its school, imports such stellar guests as the New York City Ballet's Violetta Verdy and Edward Villella. It is only fitting. As part of a vast farm system for the larger companies, Cincinnati supplied Balanchine with his reigning ballerina, Suzanne Farrell.

Beyond the Elks. Not even the smaller cities are immune. There are four dance companies in Tacoma, Wash., three in Jacksonville, Fla., one in Huntsville, Ala. In Alaska, the Anchorage Civic Ballet has graduated from the Elks Club to the West High School auditorium, where its performances of Nutcracker attracted sell-out crowds of over 2,000.