Jim Lafferty
Late one Friday night, Daniil Simkin and Cassandra Trenary are running a new duet inside the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed rotunda in New York City's Guggenheim Museum. Trenary drops her weight back into Simkin's arms and lets him slide her, spinning, into the ground. They clasp hands like children to pull each other close, an intimate moment that lasts for a breath before it slips away, lost in a cascade of slippery, detailed movement.
Alejandro Cerrudo (top) directing Simkin and Trenary. Photo by Jim Lafferty
Viewed from several stories up, Alejandro Cerrudo's gliding, seamless partnering becomes otherworldly. The dancers stir vaporous clouds or cast multi-hued shadows which battle each other for primacy—depending on what effect the video team is experimenting with at the moment.
The dance world's abundance of talent can be dizzying, but there are a few "crystal balls" that allow dancers and fans alike to get a glimpse of tomorrow's megastars. For one, there's Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch, our annual list of promising artists across all dance genres—look for the latest edition in our January issue! (In 2005 alone, we tapped Michelle Dorrance, Matthew Neenan, Teresa Reichlen and Amy Seiwert.) The prestigious Princess Grace Awards have also been a barometer for future stardom. (Ethan Stiefel, Robert Battle, Derick K. Grant and so many others all received awards from the Princess Grace Foundation early in their careers.) And finally, international competitions, particularly for ballet, do a fantastic job at highlighting young talent.
NBoC's Félix Paquet and Calley Skalnik rehearsing for the Erik Bruhn Prize. Photo by Karolina Kuras, Courtesy NBoC.
Next Tuesday, November 15, the Twelfth International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize will do just that. Male and female competitors from American Ballet Theatre, Hamburg Ballet, The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada will come together in Toronto to display their considerable talents. The list of competitors includes some recognizable names, like American Ballet Theatre's Cassandra Trenary and Gabe Stone Shayer, as well as some lesser-known up-and-comers, like 17-year-old Natasha Sheehan, who recently joined San Francisco Ballet's corps.
Next week's event includes the following performances by each pair: a classical pas de deux and variation, plus a contemporary pas de deux or solo. Just being chosen to compete shows a real vote of confidence from these dancers' artistic directors, but only one male and female will walk away with the Erik Bruhn Prize and $7,500 cash. Additionally, four dancers will be competing for a separate prize for choreography, plus $2,000 cash. The full list of participants is as follows:
Dance Competitors
ABT's Cassandra Trenary and Gabe Stone Shayer
Hamburg Ballet's Madoka Sugai and Christopher Evans
National Ballet of Canada's Félix Paquet and Calley Skalnik
The Royal Ballet's Chisato Katsura and Harrison Churches
San Francisco Ballet's Natasha Sheehan and Angelo Greco
Choreography Competitors
ABT's Jeffrey Cirio
Hamburg Ballet's Marc Jubete
The Royal Ballet's Calvin Richardson
San Francisco Ballet's Myles Thatcher
While it's impossible to say where the winners of the 2016 Erik Bruhn Prize will end up, they could just be the some of the most famous performers, choreographers and directors of tomorrow. (Here's looking at you, Julie Kent, Johan Kobborg and Gennadi Nedvigin, just to name a few past winners.)
Lately, when Daniil Simkin hasn't been performing with American Ballet Theatre or flying off to dance in international galas, he's been putting together his own project: INTENSIO. “I miss European contemporary dance," explains Simkin, who grew up in Germany. “This is an outlet for me and my colleagues to experience that and approach the ever-looming question: Where is ballet going?" The evening-long performance features new works by Jorma Elo, Alexander Ekman, Gregory Dolbashian and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, created on a group of ABT dancers and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal's Céline Cassone. Each piece merges dance and technology, with innovations like real-time video projections. After its world premiere at Jacob's Pillow this summer, INTENSIO will tour to Houston and Buenos Aires in November, and New York City in January.
8:30 am
Caffeine and productivity
Simkin starts his day with coffee and his iPhone. “I'm not a functional human being without a cup of java," he says, “and I just can't get enough of those endorphins from the notifications from my phone's home screen." Breakfast is usually yogurt with trail mix while checking e-mails and shopping online (typically hunting on eBay for deals on clothing from designers like Rick Owen). As one of the biggest techies in the ballet world, Simkin has set up his iPhone 6 Plus to control the temperature and lights of his apartment. “You can argue that my phone is my alter ego," he says. “All it needs is to grow legs and it'll soon be dancing!"
Simkin starts each morning online, often shopping on eBay.
When time is tight, Simkin gives himself his own barre before rehearsal.
10:30 am
Class
Before going to rehearse for INTENSIO, Simkin warms up by taking class with other company members at ABT or by giving himself his own barre. ABT provides its dancers with 36 weeks of work each year, so Simkin schedules all INTENSIO rehearsals and tours during his 16 weeks of off time. “It's a win-win situation," he says. “We get to stay in shape and do new, exciting work."
Rehearsing Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's new work with Cassandra Trenary.
Experimenting with Alexandre Hammoudi and Blaine Hoven.
12pm
Rehearsal at DANY Studios
To Simkin, the best part of rehearsals is seeing how each choreographer's approach develops. He likens learning new choreography to learning a new language. “The more you speak it, the more fluent you become and the more enjoyable the piece becomes," he says.
Filming rehearsals helps Simkin remember what they've done. He also likes to share clips with his 47,000 followers on Instagram. But he never uses the videos to judge the merit of works in progress. “Something that looks good on video in slow motion but might not look good onstage."
Simkin with Calvin Royal III.
3 pm
Break
Simkin prefers a light lunch such as salad or sushi, and during their break he often plays delivery boy. “Annabelle might request a Red Bull, somebody else wants a banana. I get myself a cookie or a coffee."
6 pm
Home
Simkin considers it a luxury when he gets to be at home alone in the evenings. “I just want to play my computer games," he admits. He has a projector and surround-sound system and plans to get a PS4 to play games like Call of Duty: Black Ops III. He also winds down by reading, typically working on two books at once—one fiction and one nonfiction. (He's read all of Haruki Murakami and recently finished The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt.)
But first, Simkin usually attends fundraising dinners or grabs food in his Brooklyn neighborhood with non-dance friends. “I like getting to learn about different ways of thinking," Simkin says of socializing with people in different fields. After spending every day surrounded by dance artists, “outside company stimulates my imagination."
