Martine van Hamel

{{Short description|Dutch choreographer and teacher (born 1945)}}

File:Martine Hamel and Kevin McKenzie 1982.jpg, Martine van Hamel, and Kevin McKenzie in 1982]]

Martine van Hamel (born 16 November 1945) is a Dutch choreographer, director, teacher, retired ballerina and former Principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She was a gold medalist at the biennial Varna International Ballet Competition, the most prestigious ballet competition in the world, held in Varna, Bulgaria. She is also a recipient of the Prix de Varna, a recognition rarely awarded, for best artistic interpretation in all categories. She was one of the leading classical ballerinas in America.

Van Hamel studied classical ballet in Denmark, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Venezuela. She eventually went on to train at Canada's National Ballet School before joining the professional dance company, the National Ballet of Canada, as a soloist in 1963. She danced briefly with the Joffrey Ballet, then known as the City Center Joffrey Ballet, before joining ABT in 1970, one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. She co-founded the New Amsterdam Ballet with Kevin McKenzie which toured and performed during the ABT off-season. Van Hamel left ABT in 1992 to dance with the Nederlands Dans Theater III until 1997.

Van Hamel was the recipient of the Cue Magazine award for outstanding dancer in 1976, the Dance Magazine Award in 1983, the Dance Educators of America's award in July 1989, and the Award for Excellence from Washington College in 1992. She has taught at the Juilliard School, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and co-founded the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center.

Early life and training

Born on 16 November 1945{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000crai_a8h2 |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000crai_a8h2/page/206 206] |quote=hamel. |publisher=Oxford University Press |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Dance |date=2010 |author=Debra Craine, Judith Mackrell |isbn=9780199563449}} in Brussels, van Hamel was the youngest of three siblings of Dutch parents.{{cite news |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20075853,00.html |title=In His American Debut, Aleksandr Godunov Will Have His Hands Full with Sturdy Ballerina Martine Van Hamel |date=18 February 1980 |author=Barbara Rowes |work=People |access-date=2016-09-20}} Her father, Diederik (Dick) Alfred van Hamel, was a diplomat stationed in Copenhagen.{{cite news |url=http://hudsonvalleyone.com/2012/06/28/manette-van-hamel-dies-at-98/ |title=Manette van Hamel dies at 98 |date=28 June 2012 |newspaper=Hudson Valley One |publisher=Ulster Publishing |access-date=2016-09-20}}{{cite web |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36282/page/5391/data.pdf |title=OFFICIAL STAFFS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT |newspaper=The London Gazette |date=10 December 1943 |access-date=2016-09-21}} Her mother, Manette van Hamel (née Cramer), born in 1913 in Deventer, was a music teacher and violinist who played in a string quartet.{{cite news |url=http://www.dance.net/topic/8190538/1/Ballet-General/Inspiration-03-Interview-with-Martine-van-Hamel.html%26replies%3D1 |title=Inspiration #03: Interview with Martine van Hamel |publisher=Dance.net |date=11 January 2009 |access-date=2016-09-16 |archive-date=17 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917083435/http://www.dance.net/topic/8190538/1/Ballet-General/Inspiration-03-Interview-with-Martine-van-Hamel.html%26replies%3D1 |url-status=dead }} Martine van Hamel began ballet lessons at the age of four in Copenhagen where it was common for children to study ballet. As a diplomat, her father was routinely stationed in different countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. It was difficult for her to find teachers but she took lessons when possible. While her father was stationed in Caracas, Venezuela, van Hamel, then age ten, took classes with Henry Danton from The Royal Ballet. Danton frequently guest taught at the National Ballet of Venezuela. In 1958, she moved to Canada to study at Canada's National Ballet School with Betty Oliphant.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-ballet-school-of-canada/ |title=National Ballet School of Canada |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date=4 March 2015 |author=Michael Crabb, Katherine Cornell |access-date=2016-09-16}}

Career

File:Martine van Hamel.jpg

Van Hamel graduated from the school and was promoted straight into the National Ballet of Canada as a soloist in 1963.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/01/02/archives/ballet-spotlight-on-martine-van-hamel.html?_r=0 |title=Ballet Spotlight on Martine van Hamel |work=The New York Times |date=2 January 1976 |author=Anna Kisselgoff |access-date=2016-09-18}} She has credited Celia Franca, the Artistic Director, as being an important influence and coach during her development as a ballet dancer. She was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 1965. Early in her career, she struggled with her weight.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G1dpAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Martine+van+Hamel%22+varna&pg=PA231 |title=The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers |author=Rose Eichenbaum |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |date=2013 |isbn=9780819574886}} In an interview with Rose Eichenbaum, Van Hamel said, "I think there is a small window in your career when you have some control." She explained she was "about three pounds too heavy" and used weight as "a way of rebelling against all the forces that controlled my life."

At the third biennial 1966 Varna International Ballet Competition, the most prestigious dance competition in the world, Martine van Hamel won a gold medal.{{cite book |publisher=Dundurn Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Eq7mIUeOh4C&pg=PA124e |title=Passion to Dance: The National Ballet of Canada |author=James Neufeld |date=23 October 2011 |isbn=9781459701229}}Other sources:

{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/International-Ballet-Competitions |title=International Ballet Competitions |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2016-09-19}}
{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/08/archives/the-olympics-of-ballet-crowns-a-new-champion-a-new-ballet-star.html |title=The Olympics Of Ballet Crowns A New Champion |date=8 August 1976 |author=Walter Terry |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-10-14}}
{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/brooklyn-mack-of-washington-ballet-wins-gold-at-international-ballet-competition/2012/07/30/gJQA8lpsKX_story.html |title=Brooklyn Mack of Washington Ballet wins gold at International Ballet Competition |date=30 July 2012 |author=Sarah Kaufman |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2016-10-14}}
{{cite news |url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/winnipeg-singers-win-prestigious-choral-competition-388198982.html |title=Winnipeg singers win prestigious choral competition |date=25 July 2016 |newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press |url-access=subscription |access-date=2016-10-14}} She danced variations from Marius Petipa's La Bayadère, Kenneth MacMillan's Solitaire, Antony Tudor's Dark Elegies, and the pas de deux from Le Corsaire with Earl Kraul. Van Hamel was also the recipient of the seldom awarded Prix de Varna for best artistic interpretation in all categories.{{cite web |url=http://www.abt.org/education/bios_faculty/vanhamel_martine_edubio.asp |title=Martine van Hamel |publisher=American Ballet Theatre |access-date=2016-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324213335/http://www.abt.org/education/bios_faculty/vanhamel_martine_edubio.asp |archive-date=24 March 2012 |url-status=dead}} She was welcomed back to Canada with a ticker-tape parade. She left the National Ballet of Canada in 1969 to dance for one year as soloist with the City Center Joffrey Ballet, now known as the Joffrey Ballet.{{cite web |url=https://national.ballet.ca/Tickets/Virtual-Museum/Don-Quixote/Don-Quixote-2 |title=Don Quixote |publisher=National Ballet of Canada |access-date=2016-09-16 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924195837/https://national.ballet.ca/Tickets/Virtual-Museum/Don-Quixote/Don-Quixote-2 |url-status=dead }}

In 1970, van Hamel was offered a position in the corps de ballet at American Ballet Theatre, one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2007/feb/18/dance |title=One step closer to perfection: The best of Balanchine lights up London – but Stravinsky in Birmingham must not be missed |access-date=2016-10-14 |date=2007-02-18 |work=The Observer |author=Jennings, Luke}} She was quickly promoted to soloist in 1971 and then to principal dancer in 1973. "She became established as one of the leading classical ballerinas in America," according to The Oxford Dictionary of Dance, which further described her as "a tall, strong dancer with a technique that embraced both a muscular power and a delicate expressiveness." Clive Barnes of The New York Times wrote "her persona is shy, but she is exceedingly womanly, and she bounces happily on the modest but confident trampoline of her personality."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/07/21/archives/the-dance-martine-van-hamel-co.html |title=The Dance: Martine van Hamel & co |date=21 July 1975 |author=Clive Barnes |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-09-20}} Diane Burns, the dance critic for the Orlando Sentinel, has called van Hamel the "American Ballet Theatre prima ballerina and one of the most formidable female dancers to emerge from the dance boom of the 1970s and early '80s."{{cite news |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1993/07/25/dancer-answers-age-with-artistry/ |title=Dancer Answers Age With Artistry |date=25 July 1993 |author=Diane Burns |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=2016-09-20}} At {{convert|5|ft|7|in|m|1}} tall, van Hamel is difficult to partner because on pointe she is taller than many of her leading male counterparts. The Los Angeles Times noted that "she has lost coveted roles due to her height" despite "all the celebrated majesty of her dancing."{{cite news |work=LA Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-05-ca-9227-story.html |title=It's Transition Time For Martine Van Hamel |date=5 July 1985 |author=Lewis Segal |access-date=2016-09-20}}

Van Hamel was the recipient of the 1976 Cue Magazine award for outstanding dancer.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1982&dat=19761215&id=zRZgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1186,3000701 |title='The Nutcracker' At Kingston Dec 21 |newspaper=The Evening News |date=15 December 1976 |access-date=2016-09-20}} On 21 March 1983, she was the recipient of the Dance Magazine award alongside fellow recipients John Neumeier, director of the Hamburg Ballet; Michael Smuin, a director of the San Francisco Ballet; and Jeannot Cerrone, general manager of the Houston Ballet.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/26/arts/dance-award-winners.html |title=Dance Award Winners |date=26 January 1983 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-09-20}} The awards were presented by Francis Ford Coppola, Erik Bruhn, Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins.

In the late 70s, van Hamel alongside ABT partner Kevin McKenzie, co-founded the New Amsterdam Ballet which was officially incorporated on 24 August 1982.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/13/arts/a-ballerina-ventures-into-choreography.html?pagewanted=all |title=A Ballerina Ventures Into Choreography |date=13 May 1984 |author=Jennifer Dunning |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-09-20}} Van Hamel served as the Artistic Director and McKenzie as the Associate Artistic Director and choreographer.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gmVf7jGPpE0C&pg=PA200 |title=Encyclopedia of Vermont |author=Nancy Capace |date=1 January 2000 |publisher=Somerset Publishers |isbn=9780403096022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.company-detail.com/company-new-amsterdam-ballet-inc-789748 |title=NEW AMSTERDAM BALLET, INC. |publisher=Company-detail.com |access-date=2016-09-20}} During the ABT off-season, van Hamel, McKenzie, and other ABT dancers toured and performed with the New Amsterdam Ballet all over the world. The "semipermanent chamber group" focused on contemporary ballet works by new choreographers.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19931024&id=WXkhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3852,6375911 |title=New Amsterdam Ballet Distinct, cohesive |date=24 October 1993 |author=Wendy Liberatore |newspaper=The Daily Gazette |access-date=2016-09-20}} The company continued to operate before closing in September 2013.{{cite news |url=https://itsartlaw.com/2014/03/28/muses-in-bankruptcy-court-a-look-at-us-arts-and-cultural-institutions-finding-themselves-in-bankruptcy-and-out/ |title=Muses in Bankruptcy Court: a look at US arts and cultural institutions finding themselves in bankruptcy and out |author=Lesley Sotolongo |date=28 March 2014 |publisher=Center for Art Law |access-date=2016-09-20}} In July 1989, van Hamel, Terry Orr, and Savion Glover received awards from Dance Educators of America for their work as dance teachers.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19891224&id=E9cqAAAAIBAJ&pg=6632,3541809 |title=Judy Jamison is new artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company |newspaper=Deseret News |date=24 December 1989 |access-date=2016-09-20}} Van Hamel has been a guest choreographer for companies such as The Washington Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalenc0000unse_q4s8 |title=The International Encyclopedia of Dance |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |author=Selma Jeanne Cohen |isbn=9780195173697 |via=HighBeam Research |url-access=registration}}

After twenty years, she left ABT in 1991 and joined the Nederlands Dans Theater III. The same year, van Hamel, McKenzie, Gregory Cary, and Bentley Roton founded the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center as a facility to host national and international artists.{{cite news |url=http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2014/08/28/kaatsbaan-performance-coming-saturday/14764283/ |title=BalletNext to perform at Kaatsbaan on Saturday |date=29 August 2014 |author=Stefanie Schappert |newspaper=Poughkeepsie Journal |access-date=2016-09-20}} There van Hamel has been the Program Director of Extreme Ballet, a three-week intensive training program, since its inception in 1991.{{cite news |url=http://pointemagazine.com/inside-pt/issuesdecemberjanuary-2011august-advantage/ |title=The August Advantage |date=18 November 2010 |work=Pointe |author=Amy Brandt |access-date=2016-10-14}} In 1992, Washington College presented her with the Award for Excellence for her contributions in the arts.{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/washingtoncolsum1992unse |title=Martine van Hamel Makes A Stunning Response |date=August 1992 |publisher=Washington College |format=pdf |access-date=2016-09-20}} Van Hamel left Nederlands Dans Theater III in 1997 and worked as choreographer and director. She returned to ABT in 2004 to teach at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and to occasionally perform character roles with the professional dance company. She joined the faculty at the Juilliard School in the same year.{{cite news |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-125228542.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210180721/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-125228542.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2018 |title=Juilliard |author=Karen Hildebrand |date=1 December 2004 |newspaper=Dance Magazine |via=HighBeam Research |access-date=2016-09-20}}

Personal life

In 1972, van Hamel's father, Diederik, retired after serving as Consul General to the Netherlands in New York City.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/03/classified/paid-notice-deaths-van-hamel-diederik-a.html |title=Paid Notice: Deaths VAN HAMEL, DIEDERIK A. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=3 September 1997 |access-date=2017-06-05}} Along with Manette, his wife, they moved to Woodstock, New York. Diederik built and played the viola. Manette founded the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra and played the violin and piano. Her father died on 31 August 1997, and her mother, on 12 June 2012. Martine van Hamel has two siblings, Alfred and Jan-Willem.

Van Hamel married McKenzie, who is the Artistic Director of ABT.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/arts/dance/21rock.html |title=Kevin McKenzie Keeps American Ballet Theater in a State of Permanent Renewal |author=John Rockwell |date=21 May 2006 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2016-09-15}}{{cite news |url=http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/kevin-mckenzie-burlingtons-billy-elliot-comes-home-to-take-a-bow/Content?oid=2242166 |title=Kevin McKenzie, Burlington's Billy Elliot, Comes Home to Take a Bow |work=Seven Days |date=7 November 2012 |author=Paula Routly |access-date=2016-09-16}} Since 1999, she has sung with the New York Choral Society.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/19/arts/ballet-theater-review-memories-as-detours-en-route-to-death.html?_r=0 |title=Ballet Theatre Review; Memories As Detours En Route To Death |author=Jennifer Dunning |date=19 May 2003 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-10-14}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20120324213335/http://www.abt.org/education/bios_faculty/vanhamel_martine_edubio.asp ABT biography]
[http://search.alexanderstreet.com/preview/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cvideo_work%7C2249245 The Olympics of Dance: Varna, Bulgaria 1966] – Video of the 1966 Varna International Ballet Competition
[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3228c5 Martine Van Hamel & Patrick Bissell performing Sylvia -Pas De Deux (Leo Delibes/George Balanchine/Andre Eglevsky)-(1984) on dailymotion.com]

Category:1945 births

Category:Living people

Category:Dutch ballerinas

Category:Prima ballerinas

Van Hamel

Category:20th-century Dutch ballet dancers

Category:21st-century ballet dancers