[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E724-E725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE RETIREMENT OF HEINZ POLL FROM THE OHIO BALLET

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. THOMAS C. SAWYER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 1998

  Mr. SAWYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise one of the best 
teachers that I have ever known. The classroom has not been his stage. 
Rather the stage has been his classroom.
  Heinz Poll, the founding artistic director of Ohio Ballet, taught 
choreography to dancers; he taught dance to an audience that expanded 
from Akron, to the Northeast Ohio region, then nationally and 
internationally; and he taught everyone in the dance world that the 
province of ballet is not solely New York and Paris.
  I know it seemed improbable to many of us in Akron, Ohio, 30 years 
ago when Poll founded the precursor Chamber Ballet, that this company 
would become a national asset. But Heinz Poll's vision and drive soon 
made it evident that what was Akron's treasure could be shared with the 
world.
  We are grateful that Heinz Poll will be leaving to his dancers many 
of his works. He has also spent his last years with the Ohio Ballet 
setting the stage for those who follow in his steps. They will be hard 
to fill.
  I ask that Monday's article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer detailing 
Mr. Poll's work be included in the Record.

                 Heinz Poll To Retire From Ohio Ballet

        [From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Monday, Apr. 27, 1998]

                           By Wilma Salisbury

       Heinz Poll, founding artistic director of Ohio Ballet, will 
     step down next spring after 31 years at the helm of Akron's 
     nationally renowned dance company. He announced his 
     retirement Saturday before the final performance of the 
     company's 30th anniversary season at the Ohio Theatre in 
     Playhouse Square.
       ``This is the right time,'' he said. ``I can help the 
     company in transition. It's much better if it's a slow 
     transition. I'll be around to help if they wish so.''
       Poll, 72, said he has spent two years working on strategic 
     plans for the company's future. Board president D. Lee Tobler 
     said the trustees are dedicated to protecting Poll's legacy.
       ``Heinz's contribution to the world of dance is truly 
     remarkable,'' Tobler said. ``His work is full of life and 
     true artistry. He has created an outstanding national as well 
     as regional company which will be perpetuated in the coming 
     years.''
       Tobler will head a committee of board members that will 
     launch a national search for Poll's successor.
       The new artistic director is expected to be in place by 
     January. Poll will stay on until the end of the 1998-99 
     season.
       ``They will want someone who appreciates Heinz's vision and 
     will keep his major works alive. I don't think anyone is 
     looking for a big change,'' said associate director Barbara 
     Schubert, longtime trustee and a member of the search 
     committee.
       Staff members realize, however, that it will not be easy 
     for someone else to fill Poll's shoes.
       ``Most people came to see Heinz's company,'' said artistic 
     administrator Jane Startzman, a former Ohio Ballet dancer. 
     ``It's going to be a whole different thing. There will be a 
     new artistic director with his own vision.''
       The announcement of Poll's retirement comes at a time of 
     transition for Ohio Ballet. General manager Howard Parr left 
     the company two weeks ago to take a position with Akron Civic 
     Theatre. A new general manager has been selected and will be 
     announced this week. Eleven members of the company will not 
     return next season. But six dancers and two key members of 
     the artistic staff--ballet master Richard Dickinson and 
     rehearsal assistant David Shimotakahara--will stay.
       Poll has hired nine new dancers and two apprentices for the 
     1998-99 season. They will begin rehearsals in June for the 
     company's annual Summer Festival.
       ``The new dancers coming in are strong people. I'm eager to 
     work with them,'' Poll said.

[[Page E725]]

       Born in Germany and trained at the famed Folkwang School, 
     Poll started his international career with German ballet 
     companies, then worked for 11 years with the National Ballet 
     of Chile. He spent two years with a French ballet company 
     before coming to the United States to perform, choreograph 
     and teach.
       An invitation to teach in Akron led to the founding of the 
     Chamber Ballet, the eight-member student company that 
     developed into Ohio Ballet. The company made its debut in 
     1968 dancing Poll's ``Elegiac Song,'' an anti-war ballet that 
     was lighted by Thomas R. Skelton, the internationally 
     renowned lighting designer who served as the company's 
     associate director until his death in 1994.
       Over the last 30 years, Poll has choreographed more than 60 
     works for Ohio Ballet. To make his work available after his 
     retirement, he has willed 17 of his best ballets to 10 past 
     and present members of the company.
       ``These dancers have given of themselves for so many years. 
     They are faithful to the company. They deserve something,'' 
     Poll said. ``They should earn the money from the ballets. 
     They have not made that much as dancers.''
       In retirement, Poll plans to divide his time between his 
     farm in northern New Jersey and an apartment in Northeast 
     Ohio. He intends to travel the world, write his memoirs and 
     possibly choreograph new ballets. ``If I feel I want to do 
     something, I will propose it here or maybe for another 
     company,'' he said.
       Poll also joked that he has a secret ambition. ``I'm going 
     to become a ballet critic,'' he said.

     

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