Saturday Special: Interview with Eva Maze

Today I am beginning a new series! Interviews with dancers, authors, choreographers etc. to be presented on select Saturdays - I'm calling them Saturday Specials. If you are interested in being featured, simply email me with a request.

Today's Saturday Special features Eva Maze, author of the fascinating memoir "With Ballet in My Soul: Adventures of a Globetrotting Impresario".  Here is a synopsis of the book:

A life spanning close to 100 years is noteworthy, if only because of its longevity. The rich life of a woman committed to a professional vision ahead of its time, filled with glamour, excitement, and adventure, is truly remarkable. Narrated in her own words, this is the story of such a woman, Eva Maze, who, from the time she left Romania as a teenager in 1939, dreamed of being a ballet dancer, and through a series a circumstances, became instead one of the most successful theatrical impresarios in Europe – with a career spanning more than 40 years.

Now in her nineties, Maze looks back at the path and passion that led her from Bucharest to the United States as an immigrant, and then, as a married woman, back again to Europe and Asia, where she found her professional calling. 

Set against key historical events of the 20th century, including the building of the Berlin Wall, the massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, as well as the rise and fall of Pan American Airlines, Maze’s fascinating past is brought to life through a combination of serious commentary and amusing anecdotes about the risks and rewards of the business side of theater and dance, some of the personalities who were part of those worlds from the 1940s to the 1990s, her own motivation for being an impresario, and her personal life. Her narration is supported by more than 250 captivating historical and modern images going back to her birth in 1922. 

Representing artists and companies abroad from a vast array of talent in the performing arts of the time – including The Alvin Ailey Dance Company, The Living Theatre, and The Swingle Singers – this unique woman became a prolific producer of more than 100 different types of theatrical programs from the world of dance, music, mime, cabaret, and drama.

Interview with Eva Maze

(1) What motivated you to write this book?

Life doesn’t always turn out the way you intend it to, but I can say that the one

I have led has been very long and fulfilling, and that I am grateful for having lived among so many wonderful cultures around the world. I just wanted to share my own personal experiences (and their historical context) with others – beginning with my life in Romania – in the hope of inspiring young people of all types and backgrounds, and especially women, to believe in themselves, set goals, pursue their own dreams, but also to remain open to other options when things don’t turn out professionally the way you want them to. Beginning with my childhood days in Bucharest, my dream was to become a ballet dancer, but though I studied ballet in New York and London (at an advanced age) and did some performing on stage, those days were numbered. Through a series of circumstances that began with my love for ballet and led me back to Europe as a married woman after immigrating to the U.S. and graduating from college, my professional calling instead became that of a successful European impresario (theatrical producer). For more than 40 years, I ended up touring and representing some of the most fascinating 20^th century performing artists, companies, and productions from the world of dance, theatre, music, mime, and cabaret, including The Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Broadway’s West Side Story, the Living Theatre, and the Swingle Singers. It was important to me that their stories also be featured in the book.

(2) What is your earliest memory of ballet?

Seeing my first ballet, Swan Lake, at the Bucharest Opera House in Romania at the age of seven. I was mesmerized.

3   You seem to be fearless and completely unafraid to try new things. Why do you think this is?

As an only child, I was a bit spoiled, but was encouraged by my parents to try different things, especially by my mother who was a very positive person, and always supported me in whatever I wanted to do. Though we lived a middle-class lifestyle in Bucharest, I was also exposed to the arts, including music, ballet, literature, languages, concerts etc. at an early age – very much in keeping with a European upbringing. Also, I was a naturally curious child with a vivid imagination, and always interested in new experiences. It was this curiosity in other cultures that finally convinced my parents to move to the United States shortly before World War II broke out in Europe and the Nazis marched into Romania. My insistence to visit the World’s Fair in NY at the time probably saved our lives.

4   Are ballet dancers are more difficult to work with than other artists? If so, why do you think that is?

Yes, because ballet is an extremely precise and demanding art form – and it is grueling. To be admitted into a ballet company (and rise to the top levels), ballet dancing requires talent, motivation, and total commitment – often at the expense of a “normal lifestyle”, which, at times, can lead to loneliness. Much is expected of dancers from their teachers, choreographers, and the audience itself, and, as the perfectionists they are, they, in turn, demand much from themselves and others. Being a ballet dancer requires a certain type of personality that is tenacious and driven. While the end results can be extremely fulfilling when successful, the frustrations can also lead to difficult interactions with others.

(5) What do you think is the most difficult aspect of starting ballet again in adulthood?

Molding your body to the demanding discipline of the ballet poses and steps, and getting your body to respond. As a young child, muscle memory and basic steps become engrained into your body and mind if you start early enough. They become second nature to you, and you build on them as you get older and advance with the difficulty of the steps and choreography, especially on toe. Starting later than your early teen years becomes more difficult, though there are some highly talented ballet dancers who began in their mid to late teens (Misty Copeland comes to mind, who started at 13). I also think developing a personal style becomes more of a challenge the later you start, and you tire more easily.

(6) What advice do you have for others who want to go back to ballet as adults?

I would say to keep your body very flexible, to be driven, and to maintain a passion for it. Also, to leave your options open for other opportunities and types of dance forms, such as modern or contemporary dance, in case ballet proves to be too much of a challenge. I was advised to take up character dancing because I was already in my early twenties when I started ballet in earnest. That, however, lasted only for a few years and, through a series of circumstances, my short ballet career took a turn for what led to a new – though related – profession: that of an impresario/producer, where I ended up touring many ballet companies myself.

(7) What memories do you have of Margot Fonteyn, Moira Shearer or other famous dancers you worked with?

I remember training with both of them in class in London just after the War, and exchanging conversations with them as we waited to take turns at the bar. Margot Fonteyn was a very elegant woman and always very pleasant. Of course, she was a beautiful dancer as well. Moira Shearer was very pretty and a good dancer. She had just completed the ballet movie, The Red Shoes.

(8) What rituals, habits, routines or superstitions did you have or observe in other dancers?

Some rituals/ superstitions I remember are the ones of wishing dancers a successful performance by telling them “merde” in French, or “Hals und Beinbruch” (break a leg) in German prior to going on stage. I also noticed at times that some dancers made a point of putting the right or left ballet shoe on before the other. Also, there were some dancers with whom I interacted who were self-conscious about the shape of their bodies, and when photographed, had the habit of asking a photographer or cameraman not to focus on those parts of their bodies they deemed to be a problem or less attractive – such as over-muscular calves, under-developed insteps, or poorly aligned backs. Because of the nature of ballet, dancers are unusually self-conscious of their bodies.

 (9) Is there a country you haven’t been to that you would like to visit?

I have had the wonderful opportunity of traveling and living around the world my entire life, both because of my own work as a producer and impresario, and that of my husband’s, who was employed by Pan Am for close to 50 years. Besides living in the U.S., I have been to all of the countries in Europe, South America and Asia, as well as North and West Africa. Two countries I would have loved to have visited – and didn’t – are Australia and New Zealand.

(10) Do you have any regrets, or anything you wish you done differently in your life?

No, I set specific goals in my life and achieved everything I wanted to achieve,

including having children.

(11) What advice would you give students hoping to pursue a career in dance?

To be very disciplined, perseverant, and goal-oriented. Also, not to be afraid of failure (which is often momentary), and when things do not work out the way you want, to accept the disappointment without dwelling on it too much, learn from it, and then pick yourself up and try again. I think this can apply to anything you do in life. Never give up, and don’t be afraid to go in a different direction. If you remain open and positive, you will create your own path and a path will be created for you.

(12) What are some of your favorite ballet movies and books?

Besides Billy Elliot, which takes place in an English coal town, and White Nights, with Mikhail Baryshnikov, set in the Soviet Union, my favorite ballet movie would be The Red Shoes with Moira Shearer (whom I had the privilege of knowing from my London ballet classes in the late 1940s). A fairy tale based on the conflicts of a young ballerina, who falls in love with the composer of a ballet, and an impresario who represents the ballet company, it is reminiscent of the Nijinsky-Diaghilev scandal of the Ballets Russes era, and leads you to a very surreal and sad ending. I especially remember Moira Shearer’s fiery red hair…

(13) What do you hope readers will learn or take away from the book?

That it’s OK to be different and pursue your dreams, even when facing obstacles; that it’s important to set goals, challenge yourself and applaud your uniqueness; that patience is a virtue and will be rewarded; that, when one door closes, another will open; and, above all, that you maintain a healthy sense of self and passion in whatever you decide to pursue.

Thank you Eva!
"Ballet in My Soul"can be purchased here: http://www.moonstonepress.net/

or on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Ballet-Soul-Adventures-Globetrotting-Impresario/dp/0983498385/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487949844&sr=8-1&keywords=Ballet+in+My+Soul