Natalia Makarova, 86, Returns to ABT to Restage Her Paquita

By Daniel Okafor

Natalia Makarova, 86, is back in an American Ballet Theatre studio, restaging her Paquita grand divertissement (the celebratory final-act suite of dances) for the company's fall season, October 21–31 at Lincoln Center. She wears a black velour sweatsuit and red Converse sneakers. She also wears, apparently without effort, the authority of someone the dance world counts among the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.

Seated at the front of the studio, Makarova traces the corps' movements with her arms, her port de bras (the carriage and coordination of the arms) carrying the expressive soulfulness of her Russian training. The dancers, in a rainbow of pastel practice tutus, inhale collectively as they move from pose to pose. They know this time with her is important.

After one run-through, Makarova delivers her verdict. "Good, good, good," she says softly. "Needs a little more panache."

Who is restaging what, exactly?

Makarova starred with Russia's Kirov Ballet, now the Mariinsky, before defecting to the West in 1970. She joined ABT, danced there roughly 15 years, and formed a celebrated partnership with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Her credentials as a stager run deep at the company: she mounted La Bayadère's "Kingdom of the Shades" in 1974 and the full ballet six years later. Her production of Paquita's Act III grand divertissement debuted at ABT in 1983.

In rehearsal, Makarova works alongside rehearsal director Nancy Raffa and artistic director Susan Jaffe, combing through each section with special attention to style. "More waist in the emboîté," she tells a quartet of women, twisting her torso to illustrate. "Feel opposition from the shoulders to the waistline." The emboîté, for the record, is a quick turning step with alternating feet — and in Makarova's classroom, it starts in the ribs.

Many of her notes concern upper-body coordination: the head must first go up to go down, or down to go up. After rehearsal she coaches principal Devon Teuscher privately. "From elbow to fingers, more expressive," she says, stroking the curve of her own inner arm. "More side to side with the body."

What does the full circle look like?

Raffa's presence gives the production a neat symmetry. In 1980, Makarova, who had briefly run her own company, chose Raffa — then a 15-year-old student — to dance in a special Broadway performance of Paquita opposite Fernando Bujones. Raffa joined ABT soon after. "To come full circle now, entrusted with passing on the lessons she taught me to a new generation of dancers, is an extraordinary gift," Raffa says. "I hope the dancers will carry the inspiration and lessons of this experience with them throughout their own artistic journeys."

In an email interview with Pointe magazine, Makarova was asked about the pride she takes in Russian ballet training. "Russian ballet training is something special known throughout the whole world," she says. "The Russian school, the Vaganova Academy, I am most proud of."

Her Paquita has a specific origin story. As a Vaganova Academy student she danced the jeté variation from the ballet at the Leningrad Conservatory. She first saw Petipa's Act III excerpt performed by the Kirov Ballet on tour in Paris in 1978, and singled out Olga Tchentchikova's Paquita for "her incredible technical ability and plasticity." "Then I decided to put Paquita on for ABT," Makarova says. "This ballet says a lot about the Russian classical way of dancing—the manner, the style, and an indescribable quality."

How do you coach three different principal couples?

Makarova is coaching three principal couples, all from different training backgrounds, and she adjusts accordingly. "I have a different approach to each individual, solo, or couple," she says. "I very much enjoy this process, as much as I enjoyed working on 'The Kingdom of the Shades.'"

She describes what she's importing: "the manner, the dignity, the finesse, the detail and stamina that they need to perform this ballet. The technique is very difficult and demands strength and professionalism." She also told the dancers the story of the full-length ballet, which finishes with a celebration of the couple getting together.

The cast includes newer principal Chloe Misseldine, plus Devon Teuscher and Christine Shevchenko, both of whom Makarova coached before on "Kingdom of the Shades." Their partners, Aran Bell and Joo Won Ahn, are, in her words, wonderful.

For the soloists and the corps, her coaching centers on musicality. "I remind them of the phrasing and how they listen to the music, to be inspired to put that into their bodies," she says. "The body is their instrument; they must use it with full strength, full devotion." The Minkus score, she adds, offers the corps "a sense of humor and, even more, dignity and pride."

What does ABT mean to her?

Asked about the company's role in her artistic life, Makarova credits ABT co-founder Lucia Chase, who gave her "total freedom" to stage "Kingdom of the Shades" in 1974. Chase, she recalls, raised money for that production, allowed ample rehearsal time, and had part of the scenery painted in Italy; Makarova also worked closely with scenic designer Pierluigi Samaritani and costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge. "I am so grateful to Lucia, who opened the new road for me," she says.

She is also dedicating the new performances to the memory of Fernando Bujones, who danced in the first production alongside Cynthia Gregory. "He danced Paquita with extraordinary brilliance," Makarova says. "His endless entrechats six were legendary" — a beating jump in which the feet cross six times mid-air, roughly the ballet equivalent of a sustained high note.

Makarova's closing argument for the revival is straightforward: "I am very happy to put Paquita on again in the 21st century, and I believe the audience will like it very much. It preserves danse classique—it is very beautiful stylistically. Now is perfect time to stage this ballet again, because there are so many talented dancers here."