This fall, Charlottesville Ballet will perform the WWII era piece, “Letter to My Love,” as part of its UpFront – Salute celebration of Veterans Day. The dance theater work was originally choreographed for the Charlottesville Ballet in 2011 by Rainey Lacey Jarrell, and you can hear Rainey discuss the personal significance of the piece in her Choreographer Interview.
Below is an interview with Charlottesville Ballet Patron, Jerry Deily, whose story has since become an integral part of the dancers’ experience in learning the ballet. Jerry first came to see “Letter to My Love” in 2011, and since then he has been an avid supporter of both Charlottesville Ballet and of Rainey’s choreographic work.
1. How did you first find out about Charlottesville Ballet?
In 2011, 7 years after my wife died and 1 year after I’d ceased working regularly in a machine shop, I started filling my empty time with various arts-related activities (concerts, opera, dance). As part of that I’d been to a performance of the PVCC dance program, and must have come across some notice, probably in the Daily Progress everyday Best Bets section, of a Cville Ballet performance in the same Dickinson Building venue. Maybe I was induced to sample ballet back then due to the movie “Black Swan”, since at the time “Swan Lake” was my favorite of only 2 ballets I’d ever seen, and those over 50 years before.
2. What was it specifically about “Letter to My Love” that resonated with you so personally? Was it the music? The story? Or something in the choreography?
What got to me was the final scene where telegrams are received by service wives. [Don’t want to give a spoiler here but] it triggered an early childhood memory of a day my college-age sister must have received one regarding her new husband. I liked the musical selections that were familiar music when I was young, and the final musical number was an ideal close.
3. How has “Letter to My Love” impacted your opinion of ballet or dance in general?
It and other Cville Ballet programs I’ve attended have given me an appreciation of the broad scope of the ballet genre. And I’ve gained tremendous respect for the physical agility of the performers (e.g., spins by the dozen, aerial twists, partner hoists).
4. If there was something you wanted to say to a new audience member coming to the ballet for the first time, what would you say?
You will see performers who are supreme athletes, better conditioned than perhaps in any other sport. Their ability to integrate memories of long sequences of music with their multiplicity of physical moves is easily underappreciated. The whole of music and fluidity of motion surpasses other dance genres, in my opinion.
5. Do you feel differently each time you see “Letter to My Love” performed by a new cast?
I haven’t noticed any difference. I think that speaks to the professionalism of the performers in consistently carrying out the vision of the choreographer. But the emotional impact remains, perhaps only slightly lessened by familiarity.
You can see “Letter to My Love” on Saturday, November 7 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm. Tickets are available online, or by calling the Charlottesville Ballet Box Office at 434.227.7592.