Mikhail Baryshnikov -- Still In The Limelight -- At 51, The Ballet Superstar Finds New Strength In Modern Dance

Mikhail Baryshnikov. The name conjures the image of dance in all its forms. He is the romantic prince of classical ballet, the carefree hoofer of television specials, the glamorous actor/dancer of Hollywood film and, most recently, the serious practitioner of cutting-edge contemporary work.

This week, Seattle audiences will have the opportunity to see him perform in the moderately sized Meany Theater. Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project is making a three-day stop there on a tour to celebrate the company's 10th anniversary.

There are still plenty of tickets available for all three nights, an unusual situation with a Baryshnikov performance. And when a dancer of this caliber is 51, you can't bank on future engagements, so it's a rare chance to see a legendary performer who is, in some ways, doing the very best work of his career. The big ballet leaps are long gone, but the physical intelligence, honed by years of working with the greatest modern choreographers of the past 30 years, makes Baryshnikov one of the most interesting dancers performing today, just as he was when he danced the tragic princes of "Giselle" and "Swan Lake" years ago.

When Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet Union in 1974, sprinting for a waiting car after a performance of the Kirov Ballet in Toronto, he leapt to international stardom, dancing first with American Ballet Theater and then with New York City Ballet. Handsome, a bit of a womanizer, he soon was treated by press and fans with the same passionate adulation as a rock star. An Oscar-nominated performance in the film "The Turning Point" (1977), and a starring role in "White Nights" (1985), helped to make him a household name.

In a phone call from New York, his accented voice is deep and slow, as if he's saving his energy for other things. When he says, "Hello, Mar-r-r-ry," he rolls the R's almost carressingly, and it's easy to see why women of all ages have been swooning for him ever since his leap to freedom in the West. He modestly dismisses the idea that he was the one who popularized the role of the male ballet dancer.

"I think you're exaggerating. In this country before me were a great many wonderful dancers, some of them American such as Jacques d'Amboise, and some European such as Erik Bruhn and (Rudolph) Nureyev. Of course, the whole attitude towards male dancers has shifted. It's become much more respected and accepted, and being a dancer has become sort of privileged and fun, and a great occupation. But it was already beginning to happen 25 years ago. When I arrived in this country the dance scene was really very bright."

Baryshnikov now lives outside of Manhattan near the Hudson River with former ballerina Lisa Rinehart, their three children and a houseful of dogs. (An older daughter lives with her mother, actress Jessica Lange.)

"My youngest children sometimes travel with me when I tour," he said. Asked if any of his children have shown an interest in following in his footsteps he laughs.

"If they decide, they will decide. I will not push them to any direction. The girls take classes in school, a little bit, but not seriously, you know."

His own childhood, by all accounts, was difficult. Born in Riga, Latvia, the son of a stern Soviet military officer, he was 11 when his mother committed suicide. That same year he was admitted to Riga's School of Theater, Opera and Ballet.

Two years ago he revisited Riga and danced in the opera house there, dedicating the performance to his mother's memory. When asked if he looks back at his country of birth with any nostalgia or regret, Baryshnikov's answer is emphatic: "Never."

Part of the lure of the West for Baryshnikov was his fascination for contemporary dance forms. His exposure to modern dance in his youth was minimal, but it was enough to make him want more.

"I knew some of the names, I heard about Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham and Jose Limon, you know, all those people. When I was 17, Alvin Ailey came to Russia and I saw a couple of his company's performances there, of "Revelations" and "Cry." That was my first glimpse of Americana and of the contemporary dance world. That was probably the extent of it, along with little pieces on television, a few seconds here and a few seconds there."

Ever since his defection, Baryshnikov has made up for lost time. The list of choreographers he has worked with reads like a Who's Who of modern dance: Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Trisha Brown, to name just a few. Merce Cunningham is making a solo for him at this time that will be ready for the Lincoln Center Festival this summer. Baryshnikov's voice becomes animated at the mention of the 80-year-old Cunningham. "Merce is amazing. I can't find the words. But he is just extraordinary."

Ten years ago, when Baryshnikov, in partnership with choreographer Mark Morris, formed the White Oak Dance Project (named after the Florida Plantation of its chief benefactor, George Gilman), he did not foresee the company's longevity.

"It was intended to be just a project with Mark. But then people wanted us back and we started to commission pieces to other choreographers and to do some important revivals. . . . We wanted to have a really good time and go places and dance with the people we wanted to dance with. And here we are, after 10 years."

Baryshnikov created White Oak in 1989, after he was dismissed from his role as artistic director of American Ballet Theater. It was said that the repertoire he chose for ABT was too modern for the board's taste.

"Now a lot of classical dance companies are commissioning pieces to contemporary dance choreographers. When I started doing it a long time ago at ABT, it raised a few eyebrows. Some people didn't like it: To bring downtown choreography up. But those were some of the most interesting things. I was really looking for a dance, not a modern dance, or a contemporary dance, or a neoclassical dance. I was just looking for dance.

"I think we are not that far apart - classical choreographers and modern choreographers - their intentions are the same. Of course there are different styles and different techniques. But I'm convinced that the dancer of the future would be the most versatile and the form would be very eclectic. Now, more and more dancers in big classical companies are required to be very flexible, that they would be able to do neoclassical style like Balanchine one day, then a Paul Taylor, and the next day go to `Swan Lake.' I think in a few years it would be a must."

Baryshnikov's transition from ballet star to contemporary dancer was gradual.

"It took me more than 20 years and working with all these people directly, people like Twyla, I could pick it up over time. I had no problem. It's just that I'm not built as modern dancers usually are. I'm much lighter on my feet. My gravity is different. You know, modern dancers are such big guys, meaty and juicy, and I'm a bit dryer than I would like to be in this work."

He adds, with characteristic understatement, "But I have different qualities." ------------------------------- Baryshnikov in Seattle

The White Oak Dance Project will present a selection of works from the following list (the final schedule is not yet announced) at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Meany Theater, University of Washington, Seattle; 206-543-4880, $75. Each night, Baryshnikov will dance both solos and group dances with the members of his company. The works, with comments by Baryshnikov:

-- "Dance with Three Drums and Flute," a solo created for Baryshnikov by Kabuki dancer/actor Tamasaburo Bando: "I worked with him last year in Japan. We danced traditional and non-traditional dances and duets in Tokyo for 25 performances. By the end of that season he choreographed for me. I think it's very beautiful and very minimal. There's so much in modern dance that we took from movements like this. It's a lovely piece and I enjoy it."

-- "MacGuffin or How Meanings Get Lost (Revisited)," by Neil Greenberg, based on a cinematic term coined by Alfred Hitchcock, set to music by Bernard Herrman for the classic film, "Psycho": "He uses a text projected on the screen at the back as support of the movement and clarifying the images. The MacGuffin, that little thing that actually tilts the whole plot of the film, that's what inspired Neil to do this piece."

-- "Vessel," a world premiere by former Twyla Tharp dancer Amy O'Brien. Set to piano music by Chopin, it will be performed by Raquel Aedo, Emily Coates and Emmanuelle Phuon.

-- "Glacial Decoy," a 1979 work by Northwest native Trisha Brown, featuring a set by Robert Rauschenberg and performed by Aedo, Coates, Phuon and Ruthlynn Salomons.

-- "The Argument," by Mark Morris, featuring Baryshnikov in a suite of five duets to music by Robert Schumann. "I've traveled with Mark's company recently. In Boston we performed a premiere of the argument and did a tour with Yo Yo Ma. Mark sort of rechoreographed it because in his company it's done by three couples and in our group I dance with three women."

-- Other works on the list include "Two Lies," by Lucy Guerin, and a duet with Baryshnikov and Aedo.