DANCE / CHRIS PASLES : Stepping Into a New Role : As ABT’s Latest Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie Wants to Make His Mark--in Black Ink

The new artistic director of American Ballet Theatre would rather be spending time with his dancers than giving interviews.

“How else can I put my stamp on the company?,” Kevin McKenzie asked during a recent phone conversation from New York, where the troupe is based. “Teaching class, being in rehearsals, coaching. That’s the best use of my time.”

A former Ballet Theatre principal dancer, McKenzie, 38, was appointed artistic director in October, succeeding Jane Herman, who had taken over after Mikhail Baryshnikov departed abruptly in 1989.

McKenzie walked smack into a monumental deficit of $5.7 million.

“I had to immediately jump in and deal with the day-to-day,” he recalled. “My first thoughts were, ‘My God, how do I start? What do I do, how do I get the momentum rolling?’ ”

Money was and is the biggest challenge.

“If it’s not there, you don’t have anything to work with. Artistically, we’ve always existed on the strength of our dancing and the tremendous repertory we have. But if we’re not financially stable, all that doesn’t matter.”

After taking the directorship, he recruited Gary Dunning, an ABT alum who had become executive director of the financially plush Houston Ballet, to become ABT’s executive director. It’s the first joint leadership in the company’s history.

One of the first things they did was let six corps members go. “I hated to do it,” McKenzie said, “but it had to be done. We had to tighten our belts.

“In fact, I’ve (taken) two of them back. The company couldn’t take that much of a cut in the corps.”

At its height, during the Baryshnikov era, the company--which is performing in Costa Mesa this week--had about 100 dancers. Now it’s down to about 70. “We do need more men,” McKenzie said. “And we’re very top heavy. I have more principals and soloists than I do corps de ballet.”

How did that happen?

“Through attrition. Some people in the corps realized they were not going to advance and left. But people who were here and had advanced wanted to stay.

“Then, as money started to get less and less, we couldn’t afford a bigger corps. You have to provide for the people who are there. Most organizations just get bigger and bigger. We can’t afford to do that now.”

Limited money also rules out importing big name stars, once a tradition of Ballet Theatre. But only for now, McKenzie hopes. “The interchange is very valid,” he said, “because people can learn from one another.” Still, the return of Fernando Bujones, an international star who used to dance with ABT, is “not in the immediate future.”

Missing from the current tour are two more of the company’s biggest names, Alessandra Ferri and Julio Bocca.

“In the gap of time between Jane and my taking over, Ferri and Bocca had found other work. They took care of their lives. What could I do? They simply were not available. But they are company members. They’re very interested in next year’s plans.”

Meanwhile, McKenzie is “hoping for a rapprochement with Baryshnikov.” While a “Nutcracker” is his “first priority” for the 1993-94 season, “it’s premature to say at this point” if it will be the Baryshnikov “Nutcracker.”

McKenzie has already put his mark on this year’s plans, however, having changed some of the announced repertory for Orange County. He dropped Fokine’s “Firebird” and Ulysses Dove’s “Serious Pleasures,” replacing them with Frederick Ashton’s “Symphonic Variations” and Harald Lander’s “Etudes.”

“I tried to adhere to the heart of what was planned, but there were things I physically couldn’t produce.

“ ‘Firebird’ I retired because I didn’t feel it artistically showed Ballet Theatre to its best advantage. With ‘Serious Pleasures,’ it was partly scheduling and partly financial. It takes a tremendous amount of technical time to set up, and I felt there were so many other things Ballet Theatre could do as well or better that Orange County hadn’t seen.”

What McKenzie wants most is “to underline the theater in Ballet Theatre. That’s how it started, and that’s what attracted me to this company and defined my love for this art form.”

That means “adhering to the company’s original message: First, preserve the classics, represent them in their purest state. Two, preserve our historical repertory, our creative springboard that is uniquely Ballet Theatre--De Mille, Tudor, Robbins, Balanchine. And third, find that core of people that will be the new set of choreographers, the new Robbins and Balanchines and De Milles.”

McKenzie had recurring health problems that impinged on his dancing career, but he says his health is fine now.

“When I gave up my image of myself as a dancer, the stress was gone. I found I was the only one providing my stress. Stress is being caught reacting, instead of simply answering the question and moving on.”

He has found, he said, that giving up dancing didn’t mean that much to him. “I was surprised to find that I don’t miss it. When I get into the studio or am watching performances, I see I’ve done maybe 90% of the roles I’m watching. But I don’t have a desire to do them myself. I want the dancers to do them better than I could ever hope to.”

To do that, he wants to provide “a secure environment” for the dancers by stabilizing the financial picture. “If we haven’t stabilized this in 12 to 18 months, we’re in big, big trouble. But we’re very optimistic that that’s very achievable. So far, so good.”

* American Ballet Theatre dances through Sunday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets: $14 to $48. (714) 740-2000.