[Adta] More thoughts about Ruthanna Boris

[skdmt2]

Hi Cynthia, Stephanie & Judith,& everyone,

 

Thank you all for your special remembrances. They are so vivid & I
appreciate having your memories to add to my own.

 

 I just read the San Francisco Chronicle clip & excerpted this one quote
because it touches on an issue that relates, I believe to Ruthanna's
relationship w/our profession.

 

 The author said: "She was relentless," said Erickson, who recalled that Ms.
Boris insisted on the unorthodox use of a drum during rehearsals to drive
home the exact rhythmic structure of the dance. "She wouldn't let down on
her expectations, so it was a matter of everyone else rising to the occasion
and coming up to her level." 

 

Regarding our profession, I don't think that Ruthanna's expectations were
necessarily "right or wrong", just that she believed in them so strongly
that it might have been difficult for her to see beyond them to include
other perspectives.

 

 

I believe that this trait probably spilled over into other aspects of her
life & sometimes may have worked for her better then other times. I recall
an ADTA conference at Asilimar in CA in the 70's where I found myself
greeting Ruthanna as she arrived, on crutches, in the lobby. She had to make
arrangements w/ the management to be able to get about at Asilimar, & this
was not an easy feat using crutches. She also shared w/ me the very tedious
procedures she had to endure daily in preparing for each day - hot baths, a
regimen of exercise, etc. Her ability to persevere, day in & day out, I
believe, was an amazing quality.

 

 

I hope that others who knew Ruthanna or have special memories of her will
continue to share them in this forum. We were indeed fortunate to have had
her as part of our profession and this aspect of her life was not captured
in the more public media pieces re her life.

 

 

Susan kleinman, MA, ADTR, NCC

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: adta-bounces at adta.org [mailto:adta-bounces at adta.org] On Behalf Of
Cynthia BERROL
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:11 PM
To: ADTA at adta.org
Subject: [Adta] More thoughts about Ruthanna Boris

 

To Judy Bunny, my thanks for alerting us to the

passing of Ruthanna Boris. And to Stephanie Katz, I

was moved by your incisive recollections of Ruthanna;

they truly capture the woman I remember,  one whose

passion propelled her activist spirit into the various

projects she tirelessly pursued. 

 

Although she's mostly characterized in the obituaries

that I read as a noted ballerina, choreographer and

teacher, my memories of her are during her years of

devotion and dedication to dance/movement therapy in

California. It was a time when participation in the

former ADTA Northern California Chapter had been

waning and few were attending meetings that Ruthanna

took the reins as President. Rising to the challenge,

she presided with an energy and determination that

helped recharge our dimmed batteries. And, it was at

Board meetings in her apartment in El Cerrito that I

came to know her and to discover two especially

endearing attributes: she was a wonderful raconteur,

relaying  relaying many vivid and captivating stories

about Mr. B (George Balanchine) ; and, she was a

fabulous cook (a talent she had admired in Mr. B). At

one of our meetings I was so impressed with an

extravagant pasta shrimp salad she had prepared for a

small group of us. I decided I had to have the recipe,

which she generously shared. Subsequently, on the

occasions I considered making it, simply reviewing the

numerous components, in addition to the time and

effort obviously required for preparation, quickly

dampened my enthusiasm. The recipe still sits, under

the letter "P" in my Pasta file-my  rating of

"excellent" pencilled in the upper right

corner-untouched, unused.

 

I recall Ruthanna speaking a number of times about her

intention to write a book about Mr. B, whom she

admired and regarded with great reverence. I also know

that Ruthanna did a lot of writing re the  different

causes that incited her passion. Does anyone have

information about her personal papers? It would be

important to determine if she had preserved any

material or notes about Balanchine, so they could

somehow be accessed and archived. 

 

Finally, the San Francisco Chronicle had a very nice

obituary about Ruthanna (Tuesday, January 8) that

included some comments of former members of the

Oakland ballet with whom she had worked. Web site

access is: 

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/09/BAG3ANF6S41.DTL

 

 

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