WalkYourTalk: Interviews with Artists who make the Difference: FINIS JHUNG
The Lightness of Being in a Gentle Daily Homage to Life in Dance
While New York City lived an amazing 1970’s dance boom, several popular dance studios were thriving and one of their most eclectic teachers was a former Joffrey and Harkness Ballet Principal, admired and respected by all: Finis Jhung. With a charm and a quick eye, a natural caring for the dancers helped him create besides his popular classes, and meeting major challenges, his popular CHAMBER BALLET USA. There are few selfless artists like Finis dedicating their life of service and still have fun with it. This is a humble tribute to a truly historical figure on the never-ending American Dance Horizon. ( studio photo by John Pregulman of Finis teaching)
WalkYourTalk: You first invited me to choreograph “Songs of a Wayfarer”, a trio for your company (Chamber ballet USA), in 1983, a wonderful experience. I cherish the experience because there was no pressure (& I loved Ellen Troy). There was a perfume of both Harkness and Joffrey, both companies where you were a principal dancer. Your comment? Finis: My performing background on Broadway, San Francisco, Joffrey, Harkness Ballet Companies, gave me a lot of experience performing academic and story ballets. In 1981, while teaching packed classes in my own studio, there was a need for a small professional touring company to perform in colleges and towns throughout America. My friends warned me not to get involved, but I was determined. By the time the company folded in 1986, I had spent my savings and bank loans. Nearly half a million spent so was my hair I lost, lol! From 1981 to the closing of the company in June 1986, the ever-changing due to lack of bookings and funds CBUSA always had a small but energetic Staff, a dedicated Board of Directors, employed over 38 different dancers, and performed 29 different ballets. We performed your beautifully choreographed Song of the Wayfarer in 1983 and 1984. Yes, Ellen Troy was a standout dancer with powerful techniques and boundless energy. She was one of the main reasons I felt compelled to create CBUSA!
WalkYourTalk: WalkYourTalk: I knew nothing of ballet when I saw you perform with the Harkness ballet in France (Arenes de Cimiez in Nice?) surrounded by amazing artists and your quiet energy and individual qualities stood out. There was an air of effortlessness, and your career was blooming but you decided to stop. Why and how did this happen?
Finis: By the time you saw me perform in Nice, I was in peak form thanks to early teachers like W.Christensen, Mme. Pereyaslavec, Joffrey, Mme Volkova, Stanley Williams, and Ben Harkarvy. In 1965-66, Erik Bruhn (my inspiration and role model) mentored me, allowing me to watch him make up and warm-up. From 1967 on, David Howard was our company teacher, my personal coach, gave me private lessons, and notes after every performance. In Barcelona, 1966, I converted to Nichiren Buddhism (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) I received all that I prayed for: Brief Biography in Dance Magazine, promotion to principal dancer, only dancing “white tights” ballets, and overcoming my double tour nightmare. By the time we were in residence in Monte Carlo, 22 members of the Harkness Company were chanting and happier than ever. In 1968 while relaxing at the pool in the Monte Carlo casino, I had my “Red Shoes” moment (when Moira Shearer ends her life jumping off the balcony.) I was sunning near that very same balcony and suddenly decided I too would end my life - in ballet – not by jumping (!) but by quitting ballet and devoting my life to achieving World Peace through NSA (Nichiren Shoshu of America). In January 1969, I resigned from the Harkness Ballet. (Variations for Four by Anton Dolin. Photo by Fred Fehl, Courtesy of Gabriel Pinski)
WalkYourTalk: Your experience as a dancer is vast and you were also on Broadway, as a dancer and a teacher. It feels you took jobs for more than just the artistic reason. Your approach even as a teacher was different. What motivated you as a dancer and how did it influence you as a teacher? Finis: I grew up in very poor circumstances in Honolulu during World War II. My parents divorced and my mom worked very hard to have enough money to raise her 3 boys. In 1946, nine years old, inspired by Hollywood musicals and ballet photos, I told my mom “When I grow up, I am going to be a famous dancer in New York and Hollywood.” In 1955 I went to the University of Utah where I had my first professional ballet lessons from W. F. Christensen (Mr. C.) In 1959, I graduated and served in the National Guard for six months (we were all expected to do some kind of military service). After completing my military duty, I planned on auditioning for professional ballet companies in NYC. In January 1960, I was an army clerk-typist in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and received a telegram from Rodgers & Hammerstein asking if I’d like to be in Flower Drum Song on Broadway. I got into shape (no ballet for six months) flew to New York, was hired, and In February 1960 I was doing doing double tours on Broadway in Flower Drum Song. Classes with Mme Pereyaslavec, in an entourage of legends like Alicia Alonso, Allegra Kent, Royes Fernandez, Jonathan Watts, Margot Fonteyn and Anthony Dowell, I was not a classic Russian dancer with perfect turn-out, trying so hard to be “perfect” until I joined the Joffrey Ballet in 1962. Thankfully Bob Joffrey never insisted on perfect “Russian” positions. In 1966 in Cannes, company director George Skibine presented me with a bottle of champagne because in his fifty-five years of ballet he had never before seen a dancer perform 16 double tours each night (in two of his ballets) in a single week. Erik Bruhn was the guest star of the Harkness who mentored me, showing me how to make up, and letting me watch him as he warmed up before the shows. I would visualize Erik making his perfect double tours with incredibly fast spotting. I would also remember Mr. C in Utah and sing to myself: “Yum-pah-pah-pum! (Plié-spot-spot-land!) In 1969 I quit the company, and for the next three years worked as a private secretary to an investor named Myron Piker. I never took a ballet class or saw many performances. In fact, to prove I could be happy without any reminders of a glamorous ballet career, I burned all my memorabilia: films I had taken of Erik on stage, beautiful portraits by Michael Avedon, and all my books on ballet. In 1972, Mr. Piker closed his office. I was out of a job, and asked my Buddhist leader what I should do, and he said, “teach ballet.” I asked Wilson Morelli if I could teach in his studio. I watched him teach a class and sat there, baffled. I couldn’t remember what the steps were called! In desperation I ran to the bookstore to buy ballet technique books. I called David, who encouraged me and gave me tips. I began chanting like a demon, trying to remember classes and exercises I had been taught. On my first day of classes, there were only four students. Disaster! I was dismayed but not defeated. Chanting helped me overcome so many obstacles I was determined to be a successful teacher. I visualized the studio packed with students – I would chant them into being. And I did. Each day, new faces from Paul Taylor, Ailey, Feld, Joffrey, ABT and William Forsythe from Ballet Brio. Yes, THAT William Forsythe! Within a year, my classes outgrew Wilson’s studio. In 1973, I moved uptown and built my own studio on West 72nd Street. My teaching philosophy was based on what I had learned from Mr. C, Madame Perey, Bob Joffrey, Madame Volkova, Stanley Williams, Erik Bruhn, Rosella Hightower, and Davd Howard. I used these Buddhist ideas: Life is full of infinite possibilities and changes from moment to moment. All problems can be overcome. Once you learn the laws of dance (the mechanics of movement – which muscles to use, how use them, when to use them) you will be your personal best. It’s all cause and effect. Your present being is the result of your past actions. In ballet terms, preparation equals result. In 1974, needing a larger studio, I found a very large loft on Broadway and 77th street. Till 1987 a privileged place for all the professional companies and Broadway stars like Chita Rivera, Gwen Verdon and gypsies from all the hit shows. Gillian Lynne (yes, the choreographer of CATS) brought John Curry. Each morning, before class, I’d follow David Howard’s example of writing down all class exercises; he used a notebook. I used colored index cards in a file box, to catalog and select the exercises for all classes. I chanted very hard for ideas on how to develop uniquely innovative teaching methods to make ballet more enjoyable and easier to learn while preserving the qualities that make it such a great performing art. The studio was filled from morning to night 7 days a week inspiring me to create a small touring ballet company: Chamber Ballet USA. This kept me doubly busy both teaching and directing from 1981 to 1986. In 1987 I gave up my own studio and taught at Richard Ellner's Broadway Dance Center where my packed classes included many Japanese jazz dancers (since they didn't speak much English, I thought of using toys: a spinning top for pirouettes, a bouncing ball for pushing down to jump, a bow and arrow (with a suction cup) for the arc of a grand jeté - one day I shot the arrow and it landed on the forehead of Japanese dancer) plus future Broadway choreographers Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton) and Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, etc). It was here at BDC that I created a new class for adult absolute beginners which took me to a new level of creative ballet teaching.(below photo by Zachery Freyman)
WalkYourTalk: We have a fun parallels like at the beginning of the Harkness Ballet (promoted Principal Dancer by the founder), and I was invited in the last years by Mrs. Harkness on my first working permit. You were a Buddhist leader at SGI and later I did the same in Belgium. Maybe the spiritual background was the red line that took me to your company. Please feel free to elaborate on why a spiritual life was/is so important for you? Finis: Since I first began chanting in 1966, I have never stopped. I eventually took on important roles in the organization, leading my own Empire Chapter, choreographing shows for NYC members and conventions, performing short dances at the Head Temple, and giving study lectures. My last onstage appearance after I quit the company in 1969 was performing our own version of Flower Festival in Genzano with Harkness chanters Robert Vickrey, Robin Welch, Salvatore Aiello, Marina Eglevsky, James Dunne, Warren Conover, and David Howard at the Head Temple in Japan. I joined NSA - Nichiren Shoshu of America - not SGI. Had I known there was an organization, I would never have accepted the Gohonzon! In 1976 most of my group as well as chanters in other groups quit NSA - it had become too political and emphasized the lay leaders over the priests. Practicing Buddhism every day has given me so much happiness. All my childhood dreams have come true and year by year, no matter how threatening the difficulties I faced, I overcame all of them. I feel so fortunate to begin each day sitting before my altar where I reflect on my life and chant for a better future for myself and my son Jason, my family, friends, students the world over, and all people everywhere. (Taking a bow: Elisabeth Carroll, Finis Jhung, Marina Eglevsky; Balanchine's Minkus Pas de Trois; photo by Gerry Ramback)
WalkYourTalk: How does ballet continue to have a special meaning for you today? It’s indeed rare that a teacher like you is still active. At ABT. Irina Kolpakova, at 92, is still coaching actively and taking the subway home. You are in great shape. Any secrets to share? Finis: No more double pirouettes or petit allegro - I only teach my "adult babies" once a week - I’m lucky to have Mayumi Omagari who demonstrates beautifully as my teaching assistant. What interests me is teaching people who have no aptitude or ideal body for ballet and it keeps me going working with intelligent people who have always loved ballet and enjoy exploring the technique, musicality, and artistry. Most of my "regular" babies know my barre exercises which haven't changed much since the pandemic. I take the subway to and from Pearl Studios in mid-town 8th Avenue and 35th Street. Since my first video in 1995, today millions of student and teachers around the world study and teach from my more than 50 instructional videos and use my orchestrated CDs composed by Scott Killian. I consider myself 95% retired and am making up seeing movies and reading books I never had time for while teaching 20 classes weekly and flying on weekends to studios all over the USA. Since I do all my viewing at a big Mac on my desk, I have a timer which rings every 15 minutes and reminds me to stand up and move about, or hang from a door bar, or pull on the kitchen sink to stretch my lower back. Some of these exercises are included in classes on DVDs. They are all available to stream from my website. (Grand Pas Espagnol by Ben Harkarvy: Helgi Tomasson, Elisabeth Carroll, Lawrence Rhodes, Lone Isaksen, Finis Jhung, Marina Eglevsky-Photo: Fred Fehl, courtesy of Gabriel Pinski)
WalkYourTalk: Many have lived traumas, of all kinds, and dance has always been a support for many. Is that reflected in your approach to students and of course in your years of teaching? Finis: Most certainly! I welcome any adult who has a desire to learn ballet dancing and is willing to work hard for 90 minutes. That is all I have asked since I first started teaching in 1972!
WalkYourTalk: This is no doubt an odd question, but you worked with professional and amateur dancers, and from all walks of life, and no doubt some have stunned you. What are a few of your most wonderful memories in dance and/or life in dance? Finis: Getting to know Erik Bruhn. Dancing alongside Harkness dancers like Helgi Tomasson, Lone Isaksen, Larry Rhodes, Elizabeth Carroll, and Marina Eglevsky in Ben Harkarvy's Grand Pas Espagnol, MacDonald's Zealous Variations, Balanchine's Minkus Pas de Trois, and Anton Dolin's Variations for Four. I am filled with joy recalling being on the Parthenon in Greece, the Coliseum in Rome, descending to the tombs of the Pharaohs in Luxor, dancing in the Maryinsky in St. Petersburg, and performing in Monte-Carlo’s historic theater Amazing rewards for a poor little boy with far-fetched dreams growing up on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!
WalkYourTalk: Do you feel that we still have the choice to be free as an artist and as a human being? AI is becoming very prevalent, more and more and it feels the only way to exist may well be to be the friend of tomorrow’s technology as opposed to fighting it. Your thoughts? Finis: Buddhism has taught me over and over that we have the power to live and shape the future by living each day with determination and courage and hope. With intelligence, we should learn to make the most of today's technology.
WalkYourTalk: Lastly, I wanted to commend you on such an amazing life of service in dance and for your efforts to help create a better world. We were both in an important Peace Movement and I feel that each individual has a different way to find that inner peace before a wider demonstration. LOL. With other words, I had found the SGI Shakubuku tiresome because it seemed that hundreds of people were interested without pushing them when they saw the result of our practice and not the marketing. One can never force anyone to use the same tools we choose. Your own practice provides you still today with a satisfaction and happiness? If so (or not), what would you do differently the next time around? (lol) Finis: I stopped trying to convert people when I left the organization because the organization stresses group activities and "follow the leader" over quiet self-reflection and individual determination. In my classes, I use my experience, knowledge and abilities as well as the videos to enlighten people to discover new ways to think. Through my technique ordinary people without any special artistic abilities can learn to do things they never thought possible thereby becoming empowered to think differently and to discover new ways to solve their own personal problems.
WalkYourTalk: Thank you very much for this interview and of course for finding you back! After all the ballet family is huge but also at the same time, easily found back! It’s been a true pleasure reconnecting. Be well dear friend. Finis: Thank you! On with our dance of life! (photo: R.Vickrey, J. Dunne, R. Welch, M. Eglevsky, W. Conover, S. Aiello with Finis in a Bournonville-inspired ballet at SGI, Tokyo-Japan)
