ANN REINKING: A BEAUTIFUL LEGACY LIVES ON BY JESSICA
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The loss of Ann Reinking hurts quietly in my heart today. Until her loss, I didn’t realize how much she is in my brain, in my soul, my spirit, and my work, and I am so lucky to have known her briefly. Before it becomes a reality that she is gone, I want to get this all down so I remember, and so everyone knows. While she is being remembered for the exquisite dancer she was and the choreographer she became, I thought it was important to put down in writing the impact she had on so many members of the theatre community through her apprentice program for high school and college students, the Broadway Theatre Project in Florida. This program shows so much about her character and her lasting impact. I now work as a director and choreographer in theatre and film, and I am currently focused on creating works of comedy. The night before Ann passed, I had the impulse to write her and thank her for pointing me in this direction, as I was beginning to have some distinct success. Working with her showed me where I should go at the impressionable ages of 18 and 19—at the apprenticeship’s final performance, I performed a big comedy scene and I realized her guidance made that possible. Her values and teachings are fully a part of me, and she taught me lessons I hope to carry on in my work, leading by example on set or in a rehearsal room. These include a commitment to excellence, demanding this of oneself and others; backing away when necessary to let an actor shine; and creating damn fine transitions.
“She was one of us, experiencing what we were experiencing emotionally; though she was a director, she was always somewhat of an ensemble member—always a dancer.” When I went to the Broadway Theatre Project, I was challenged, humbled, pushed to my limit. I hadn’t been around that level of dance excellence before, and I met people from
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all over. I would say, “I’m from Chicago— the city!” in a never-ending and fruitless competition with the daring musical—the reason why, of course, we were all there. For our culminating performance at the cavernous and gargantuan hall that was the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, I got the opportunity to act in Charles Ludlam’s humorous riff on Medea and play the titular role. I remember cracking up a room of people during rehearsal and especially Ann, who was hilarious herself, and this was great encouragement. Annie—as she was known to those who worked with her—knew quality when she saw it. She was a regimented artist in that—well, technique is freedom, and Annie brought this poise and confidence with her wherever
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she went. The demands of training in ballet offered her a perspective and clear lens of what was hard work and what wasn’t. This, combined with an unadulterated sense of class and kindness, was how Annie made her impact on so many of us. Annie called upon her colleagues to come to Florida and work with us or for a Q&A. In the period I attended, I took dance classes with Gwen Verdon and heard Stanley Donen speak about filming Singin’ in the Rain, a conversation that has stuck with me to this day as a filmmaker. We heard from Marilu Henner, James Naughton, and Jeff Calhoun—and I remember feeling the vibrations of Gregory Hines’ footfalls at his master class. It was one of those hypersurreal out-of-body experiences, and I told SPRING/SUMMER 2021 | SDC JOURNAL
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