Misha ha hecho limpieza en casa recientemente -yo también, pero eso no es noticia- y ha llenado un montón de cajas con cosas que ya no quiere guardar. Y como suele pasar en estos casos, se habrá preguntado: “¿Y qué hago con todo esto? ¿Lo tiro o lo doy?” Afortunadamente, nos lo ha regalado a todos.
El generoso legado de Mikhail Baryshnikov a la New York Public Library for the Performing Arts consta de 35 cajas llenas de fotografías, recortes de prensa, cartas, documentos… y videos, claro. Lo que estábamos esperando. Hay desde grabaciones suyas de ensayos con Graham, Cunningham o Robbins, a extractos de clases con su Maestro en Leningrado, Alexander Pushkin. Pinchen en el enlace de este artículo del NYTimes para ver cuatro minutos gloriosos de un Baryshnikov de unos 18 años, probando pasos, mostrando derecha e izquierda, endehors y endedans. Una gozada.
Los bailarines no nacemos aprendidos. Ni siquiera ÉL. Baryshnikov tuvo que aprender a sujetar las rodillas, a llevarse el costado de la pirueta, a batir delante o detrás… qué emoción. Mi madre siempre dice que nadie está en la cuna haciendo fouettés, pero reecontrarse de golpe con el proceso del aprendizaje es siempre impactante.
La NYPL for the Performing Arts lo pondrá a disposición de todos en un par de años, lo que tarden en digitalizarlo y organizarlo. Genial. El bailarín ha declarado, como se lee en el artículo, que “en la primera parte de tu vida, acumulas cosas. En la segunda parte, te libras de ellas”. También es emocionante sentir que llegas ahí. Por fin.
Misha was recently house-cleaning his place -as I also did myself, but that’s not on the news- and filled some boxes with those “lots of things you don’t want to keep any longer”. And as it usually happens in those moments, he may have wondered himself: “What do I do with this? Shall I throw it away or give it to someone?” Fortunately, he gave us everything.
Mikhail Baryshnikov’s extraordinary legacy for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts involves 35 boxes full of photographs, clippings, letters, documents … and videos, of course. That’s what we were expecting. There are recordings of his rehearsals with Graham, Cunningham and Robbins and also extracts from ballet classes in Leningrad with his teacher Alexander Pushkin. Click on the link and read this NYTimes article, and watch four wonderful minutes of a young Baryshnikov -about 18 year old- trying different steps, showing right and left, and endedans endehors. Fantastic.
Dancers are not born being able to dance. Not even HIM. Baryshnikov had to learn how to keep his knees open as landing from a jump, how to bring his left arm very quickly as turning to the right, how to beat front and back… What a thrill. My mother always says that no one is doing fouettés in the cradle, but to see the whole learning process, is always shocking and wonderful.
The NYPL for the Performing Arts will make it available to everyone in a couple of years, what it takes to digitize and organize it. How wonderful. The dancer said, as you can read at the NYTimes article, that “in the first part of your life, you accumulate things. In the second part, you get rid of it”. It is also exciting when you get to that second part. Finally.
* Photo New York Public Library for the Performing Arts © Elna Matamoros, 2011.
onceuponachacena.com 
Emocionante de verdad!!!!
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