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Paul Boos

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Paul Boos (born June 2, 1958, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is an American dancer, ballet master, archivist, and répétiteur. He danced with New York City Ballet from 1977 until 1990 before becoming a guest teacher for the Royal Danish Ballet. In addition to teaching internationally, he is part of a select group of répétiteurs sanctioned by the Balanchine Trust to set the ballets of George Balanchine. Having previously served as Project Associate since 2016, in 2021, Boos was appointed to Director of the Video Archives for the George Balanchine Foundation.[1][2]

Early life and career

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Boos was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In a variation on the "Billy Elliot story", he started studying dance when his mother enrolled his two sisters in ballet class and was persuaded to sign him up as well. At 15, while attending a dance convention in Chicago, Boos was invited by David Howard to study at the Harkness House on full scholarship. Following that summer intensive, he auditioned for the American Ballet Theatre School where Patricia Wilde offered him a stipend and a double scholarship[3] to the ABT school and the Professional Children's School. After a year of study he successfully auditioned for the School of American Ballet[4] where he was taught by Mme. Antonina Tumkovsky and Stanley Williams and worked with Suki Schorer, Alexandra Danilova, Jerome Robbins, and George Balanchine. At the conclusion of his graduating SAB Student Workshop performances, in which he danced principal roles in Balanchine's Symphony in C and Robbins' Dances at a Gathering, Boos was assigned to work with Balanchine on Juilliard's production of Le roi malgré lui. During these rehearsals he was invited to join New York City Ballet. He was 18 years old.[5]

Described as "an elegant dancer of compelling dignity",[6] while at City Ballet Boos danced a diverse range of featured roles and original parts from the Balanchine and Robbins ballets. For Balanchine, his repertoire included A Midsummer Night's Dream,[7] Symphony in C, Le Tombeau de Couperin, The Four Temperaments,[8] Who Cares?, Donizetti Variations, The Nutcracker, Chaconne, Danses Concertantes, La Sonnambula, Kammermusik No. 2, Allegro Brillante, Diamonds, Stars & Stripes, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto. For Robbins, he danced in The Goldberg Variations,[9] Glass Pieces, Eight Lines, The Four Seasons,[10] Fanfare, Piccolo Balletto, Verdi Variations, and Dances at a Gathering.

In 1990, after dancing with City Ballet for 13 years, Boos moved to Copenhagen to accept a position as guest teacher with the Royal Danish Ballet.

Ballet master and répétiteur

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After a year of teaching at the Royal Danish Ballet, Boos received a telegram from Balanchine's longtime assistant Barbara Horgan asking him to rehearse Serenade and Theme and Variations at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Upon successfully completing this assignment, in 1992[11] he was appointed a sanctioned répétiteur for the Balanchine Trust, a select group who are tasked with setting Balanchine's ballets on dance companies around the world. As a répétiteur his job is to protect the integrity of the copyrights of George Balanchine's work in the present and for the future.[12] In tandem with staging ballets, Boos also serves as balletmaster and master teacher in order to properly prepare dancers to perform the works of Balanchine.

On behalf of the Balanchine Trust, Boos has set ballets on some of world's leading dance companies, including the Bolshoi Ballet,[13] Paris Opera Ballet,[14] Mariinsky Ballet, Het Nationale Ballet, Boston Ballet, La Scala Theatre Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet,[15] National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria,[16] Sarasota Ballet,[17] and Tokyo Ballet. In addition to his work as balletmaster and répétiteur, since 2016 Boos has served as Project Associate of the George Balanchine Foundation's Interpreters Archive. In 2021, he was appointed to Director of Video Archives of the Balanchine Foundation. In this capacity, Boos works with Nancy Reynolds to preserve Balanchine's oeuvre by recording original principal cast members and dancers who worked closely with Balanchine as they coach dancers of today.

When he is not setting ballets or conducting research, Boos teaches open classes at STEPS on Broadway as one of their guest teachers, and serves as the Head of the Pre-Professional Division at Rye Ballet Conservatory in Rye, New York.[18]

Balanchine Trust Ballets

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Ballet Dance Company
Agon Paris Opera Ballet, Boston Ballet,[19][20] Royal Swedish Ballet,[21] Leipzig Opera Ballet, Ballet Austin, Ballet Idaho, and Washington Ballet (with Vicky Simon)
Allegro Brillante Ballet Idaho,[22] Sadamatsu Hamada Ballet Company
Apollo Joffrey Ballet,[23] National Ballet of Mexico, Kansas City Ballet, Minnesota Ballet, Bordeaux National Ballet, and National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria
Ballet Imperial Tokyo Ballet (with Merrill Ashley)
Diamonds Bolshoi Ballet (with Merrill Ashley)[24][25]
Kammermusik #2

Het Nationale Ballet (with Karin Von Aroldingen), Het Nationale Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet (with Colleen Neary),[26] Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet and Louisville Ballet (with Kathleen Tracey)

The Four Temperaments

Miami City Ballet,[27] Oklahoma City Ballet[28]

The Prodigal Son Paris Opera Ballet, La Scala Ballet, Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet (with Karin Von Aroldingen),[29][30] Cincinnati Ballet (with Edward Villella), Suzanne Farrell Ballet (with Suzanne Farrell),[31] Arizona Ballet (with Ib Andersen), Ballet du Capitole, Polish National Ballet, K-ballet Tokyo, Kansas City Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Sarasota Ballet,[32] Grand Rapids Ballet, Lithuanian National Ballet
Rubies (Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra) Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre,[33] Hong Kong Ballet,[34] Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Austin,[35] Ballet Idaho, Indiana University Bloomington
Serenade Paris Opera Ballet,[36] Mikhailovsky Ballet, National Ballet of Romania, Oklahoma City Ballet, Korea National University of Arts, Grand Theatre; Poznan Opera
Stravinsky Violin Concerto Bordeaux National Ballet, Louisville Ballet,[37] Pacific Northwest Ballet (with Colleen Neary), Boston Ballet (with Colleen Neary), Pennsylvania Ballet (with Colleen Neary)[38]
Symphony in C New National Theater; Tokyo, Karlsruhe Ballet, Het Nationale Ballet School (4th Movement), Cincinnati Ballet (with Vicky Simon)[39]
Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux National Ballet of Mexico, Het National Ballet School, BalletMet 2
Theme and Variations Mikhailovsky Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Richmond Ballet (with Jerri Kumery)
Valse-Fantaisie National Ballet of Romania, Point Park University,[40] Minnesota Ballet, Ballet Vero Beach/Ballet Nebraska,[41] Ballet Idaho

Personal life

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Boos is the sixth of seven children. His father was a marine, sheriff, U.S. Marshal, and state representative.[42] His mother was a nurse and founding director of the South Dakota School of Nursing. His parents met while they were both serving in the military during World War II.

In 2013, Boos married Hajime Issan Koyama, a Japanese Soto Zen Buddhist priest and hospice chaplain.[43] The couple lives in New York City.

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References

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  1. ^ "Press Release Archives | The George Balanchine Foundation". www.balanchine.org. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  2. ^ "Press Release Archives | The George Balanchine Foundation". www.balanchine.org. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  3. ^ "Ballet-Dance Magazine - A Conversation on Staging for the Balanchine Trust". ballet-dance.com. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  4. ^ "Van Ryzin: Ballet Austin surmounts Balanchine's 'Agon'". mystatesman. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  5. ^ Serchuk, Barnett. "BWW Dance Interview: Paul Boos". Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  6. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (1986-08-18). "DANCE: WORKS AT FESTIVAL BY CITY BALLET MEMBERS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  7. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (1989-02-19). "Review/City Ballet; Cast Changes and Debuts in Balanchine's 'Dream'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  8. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (1985-06-02). "DANCE: 'POULENC SONATA'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  9. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (1984-01-07). "BALLET: 'GOLDBERG VARIATIONS'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  10. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (1981-06-22). "CITY BALLET: 'SQUARE DANCE' AND 'FOUR TEMPERAMENTS'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  11. ^ "Paul Boos: a one-man band for Vero Ballet". VeroNews. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  12. ^ Berry, Harrison. "Paul Boos Brings Balanchine to Ballet Idaho". Boise Weekly. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  13. ^ "Bolshoi Theater Brings Balanchine's 'Jewels' to Life". Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  14. ^ "Culturekiosque". Culturekiosque. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  15. ^ Macaulay, Alastair (2016-02-25). "Review: Pacific Northwest Ballet and Three by Balanchine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  16. ^ "Пол Боус" (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  17. ^ Seidman, Carrie. "Sarasota Ballet gala will feature Balanchine work". Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  18. ^ "Professional Ballet Instruction | Learn from New York City Ballet Dancers".
  19. ^ "rEVOLUTION".
  20. ^ "Review: A compelling, trailblazing journey through Boston Ballet's rEVOLUTION". The Sleepless Critic. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  21. ^ "NOCES/AGON/RITES OF SPRING". operan.se. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  22. ^ "Paul Boos on Allegro Brillante" – via YouTube.
  23. ^ Mauro, Lucia. "Joffrey delivers on Balanchine's transcendent vision for 'Apollo'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  24. ^ Stults, Raymond (2012-05-03). "Bolshoi Theater Brings Balanchine's 'Jewels' to Life". Moscow Times. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  25. ^ Parry, Jann (2013-08-14). "Bolshoi Ballet – Jewels: Emeralds, Rubies, Diamonds – London". DanceTabs. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  26. ^ "Go West". danceviewtimes. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  27. ^ Pratt, Daniel (May 8, 2019). "May 8, 2019". Dancing Times.
  28. ^ McDonnell, Brandy (April 14, 2019). "'Visionaries' of dance: OKC Ballet closing season with triple bill". The Oklahoman.
  29. ^ "Importing a Native Son: Honoring Balanchine in Russia". Observer. 2004-06-21. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  30. ^ "Evening of one-act ballets to music by Sergei Prokofiev choreographed by Maxim Petrov and Anton Pimonov. Prodigal Son. Russian Overture. Violin Concerto No 2 - - Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia". mariinsky-theatre.com. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  31. ^ Sproull, Colleen (2012-11-10). "'The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Program B' at The Kennedy Center by Colleen Sproull". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  32. ^ Seidman, Carrie. "Sarasota Ballet's take on Balanchine legacy". Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  33. ^ "Ballets by Stravinsky and Balanchine". permopera.ru. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  34. ^ "Hong Kong Ballet sparkle in belated Balanchine's Jewels". South China Morning Post. 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  35. ^ Tafich, Sofia (February 14, 2020). "Getting Restless Hearts on Their Feet". austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  36. ^ "review: paris season opens with an all balanchine evening".
  37. ^ Ellis, Kathi E. B. (2016-04-09). "Review: Louisville Ballet At Home With Balanchine". 89.3 WFPL News Louisville. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  38. ^ "Pennsylvania Ballet" (PDF). Pennsylvania Ballet.
  39. ^ "Look Who's Going to Cincinnati Ballet". Pointe. 2001-11-30. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  40. ^ "Conservatory dance concert receives critical acclaim". Point Park University. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  41. ^ "Paul Boos on Balanchine, Ballet Nebraska, and the beauty of impermanence – American Midwest Ballet". Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  42. ^ "Historical Listing of Statehood Legislators". sdlegislature.gov. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  43. ^ Vitello, Paul (2008-10-28). "Hospice Chaplains Take Up Bedside Counseling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
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