Appreciation of Dance Lures Ezralow & Others Overseas

I am writing in response to the review (Calendar, May 15) of my dance concert “Daniel Ezralow & . . . “ presented at Wadsworth Theater as part of the UCLA Performing Arts Series.

It clearly was not important to the reviewer that never before and perhaps never again will audiences in Los Angeles be able to see such an eclectic group of internationally recognized dancer-choreographers assembled on stage together in the same evening. However, the standing ovations of the sold-out audiences indicate that they did get the point.

I want to specifically address a question raised by the reviewer: “What if anything, has he [Ezralow] choreographed lately?” In fact, in the last five years I have been creating new work continually. It would have perhaps been more accurate to ask, “Why haven’t we here in Los Angeles seen what Ezralow has done lately?”

The answer simply, and sadly, speaks to the question of support for the arts in America. The support I have found for my new work is generally not in the United States but in foreign countries. Consequently, I make my new work there. And I am not alone.

The list of home-grown dancers who have found it necessary to go overseas to survive includes some of America’s best talent:

* William Forsythe, who single-handedly has turned the Frankfurt Ballet into a world-renowned company and created the freshest and most innovative classical dance since Balanchine.

* Bill T. Jones, who has taken over as the resident choreographer of the Lyon Opera Ballet, which gives him an opportunity to work on large-scale pieces with many dancers and not have to worry about where the next dollar is coming from.

* Mark Morris, whose company took up residence at the Thea^tre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and who therefore got the chance to take risks and create on a scale much larger than before. In Belgium, it is possible to experiment with full-evening works on a scale impossible, because of budgetary restrictions, for most modern choreographers in the United States.

* Lastly, director-choreographer Robert Wilson, whose artistic vision is only now becoming familiar to U.S. audiences. His work for the last 20 years has been funded abundantly in Italy, Germany and other European countries, while one can barely find his new productions in the States.

As for my new work, the reviewer need only check my frequent-flier miles or read a Japanese, Finnish or Italian newspaper to see “what, if anything” I have been doing lately.

My activities include writing, directing and choreographing full-length original dance evenings in Italy; directing, shooting and choreographing live multimedia dance works in Italy and Finland; directing, choreographing and staging dance fashion events for Issay Miyake in Tokyo and Paris, and choreographing for dance companies in Wales and Israel.

It also is important to note that the show reviewed, “Daniel Ezralow & . . .,” originated abroad. I conceived, directed and self-produced it more than two years ago in Europe, and it is just now arriving in America.

As funds for the arts dry up in America, we are coming dangerously close to losing the opportunity of seeing serious dancer-choreographers. There is little if any concert dance available for the public here; instead, we rerun musicals, hype commercial television and finance disposable items such as the Dancing Itos. This is not an environment in which an artist can survive, let alone create.

It is the responsibility of the press to criticize, but constructive criticism should seek to encourage artists to grow and, hopefully, encourage audiences to grow as well, both in understanding and size, lest [the press and critics] unwittingly serve those who would see all support for art come to an end.