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July 11, 2003/Tamuz 11 5763, Vol. 55, No.46
New approaches bring ballet to everyone
ALISA SLOAN
Special Sections Editor
Support the local arts.
That's one of the messages that David Eichler, marketing and communications director for Ballet Arizona, wants to convey.
At a time when local organizations - Jewish and otherwise - are in need of increased contributions and local businesses are limiting hours as the result of decreased consumer dollars, it's easy to forget that the local arts scene is also dependent on the community.
Happily, the Valley's arts organizations are enticing locals with top-notch productions. Ballet Arizona has even lowered ticket prices.
Another of Eichler's messages is that the ballet wants to project a more user-friendly image. From affordable ticket prices (a family of four can see a ballet for $30) to groundbreaking productions (such as an original full-length ballet), Ballet Arizona is offering local audiences an appetizing taste of culture - designed to go down easy.
"People have perceptions of ballet, whether they're fears or discomfort based on what the guys are wearing or some of the music," admits Eichler, "but there's so much athleticism, the dancers are all young."
And the audience doesn't need prior knowledge of ballet in order to enjoy the performances. "It's easy to say that there's something for everyone, but (there) really is," says Eichler.
Likewise, he says, "in this economic climate, and in a time where the arts really have to fight for their life ... it becomes increasingly important for people to not be complacent." Not just about the ballet, he continues, but "about anything they love or have loved that has the potential to get swallowed up by modern society and the clutter of what the year 2003 is."
Eichler, along with his wife and dog, came to Arizona a year and a half ago from a stint in Silicon Valley where he worked in marketing for a public software company. Prior to that, he worked in Hollywood for 11 years.
A native of New York, he spent his childhood in Southern California. Despite their geography, his parents were dyed-in-the-wool "East-Coast Jews" who, says Eichler, "refused to let me think of myself as a Californian."
"I got bar mitzvahed," he explains, "but ... it was that emphasis on education and being well-rounded, and that sort of stereotypical nice Jewish-boy thing."
A nice Jewish boy with an interest in being of service to his community.
Once they arrived in Phoenix, says Eichler, "I was really determined to find a situation where I knew I could genuinely make a difference. I'm not really programmed to go into a big company and just be another brick in the wall."
After a great deal of networking, he happened to see a job advertisement in the paper for Ballet Arizona and was instantly interested. During the initial interview, he related how his background shaped his professional life.
"My mother was a concert pianist in New York (City) in the '60s, classically trained, and my father was an attorney," says Eichler. "So I'm able ... to use that upbringing as sort of an example for why my marketing skill set is pretty unique. I'm able to combine the creative and the business in ways that most people can't."
Though he is a ballet fan, Eichler never professed to have expert-level knowledge. "More than anything I saw (the job) as a great opportunity to be in a creative environment and do something that would really just suck me into the very fabric of the community," Eichler explains.
His bold approach to bringing ballet to the public also helped him during the interview process. "I see there being enormous potential in the (arts) development of this city," says Eichler. "When I met the whole board of trustees for the first time, I looked them all in the eye and said, 'Everyone here thinks that they're in the business of ballet, that we're selling ballet tickets.' And I said, 'With all due respect, you're all wrong. We're in the business of live entertainment.' "
His goal, as marketing and communications director, is to attract people who are not fans to the performances.
"That's ultimately the difference between scraping by and selling out - reaching that other, larger group."
His new marketing campaigns use "much less traditional imagery to sell the ballet," he says. The new approach is irreverent, not stuffy, and ticket prices have been lowered "to send the message that contrary to the perception, ballet is not only for the rich, the smart, the elite, the effeminate," adds Eichler.
The 2003/2004 season begins with the Ballet Under the Stars program.
"These are the free concerts that we put on at night in parks around the Valley," explains Eichler. "It's done in conjunction with our education and outreach program."
Members of the troupe reach 40,000 children each year, says Eichler, visiting schools and hospitals, giving free performances and teaching children about body image and movement.
The next program, to be held at Symphony Hall, is "Swan Lake." The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra will perform the score, and collaborating with the symphony "is a big deal," says Eichler, "because in years past we did not have the luxury of having the live music, for financial reasons."
This year's performances of "Swan Lake" are especially meaningful, says Eichler, because the company's prima ballerina, Yen-Li Chen-Zhang, will be retiring at the end of the season. She has been with Ballet Arizona for 13 years.
Next up is "The Nutcracker," also with The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra.
The next performances are the Winter Rep series. "We don't use the 'repertory' word anymore because I think it's a little off-putting to people," says Eichler. "Last year I called it a pu-pu platter."
In April, the season continues with Ballet Arizona Original Collection I at Symphony Hall. "This year, director Ib Andersen is going to be creating - from scratch - story, character, sets, costume, choreography, all of it. A full-length ballet," says Eichler.
June brings a George Balanchine festival, which celebrates the 100th birthday of the famed choreographer.
There are approximately one dozen Balanchine protégés still directing ballet companies, Eichler explains, and Ballet Arizona has one of them.
The final show of the season will be a tribute to Yen-Li.
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