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4RKASContinued from page 4he Frankfurt AM Opera, as wellis in Cologne and Dusseldorf, in-itead of at the Paris Opera Ballet is stated in his brochure. He now ilso says that he danced at the Hamburg State Opera under the lirection of Peter von Dyke as a »tar performer.The Oxford reference book lotes that a P. van Dyk, not van Dyke, became the director of the Hamburg Opera in 1959 and im-nediately put “particular empha-*is on collaboration with Balanchine” who revived many )f his ballets for the state opera. Based on these dates, Arkas only •pent a few months as a star per-ormer before moving to Paris to ake more lessons.Arkas said that he was forced to :hange his name from Abel to ^uBall in France to avoid the ‘persecution” and discrimination hat Frenchmen showed toward Hermans follow ing World War II.He said that he arrived in the U.S. n 1963 and received his green:ard, entitling him to employmentn 1965. His passport has both the ^uBall and Abel names on it. He subsequently changed his name igain, to Arkas.None of the names that he hasjsed are listed in the Oxford wok, the Ballet Guide or the Dic-ionary of Modern Ballet. Al-hough he never has claimed that hey are listed, star performers at nany companies are noted in hese works. For instance, Renault is named in many reference works.Arkas said that he opened his Studio Vacker in 1987 on the ^remise that he would be very se-ective in accepting young stu-ients. He only wanted those who :ould become talented dancers ind were dedicated to achieving iiis goal.NORWALK NEWS, Thursday, December 17, 199229He says that over the years he has given many scholarships to students who could not afford to pay, and even arranged for many of them to get free rides to and from the studio.Because he was so selective, he said, the total enrollment for students under 16 was 30 from the day he opened until October of this year. That is when he said his entire class of seven young students was taken out of the school en masse at the instigation ofGoodman.“I was never confronted by any of the parents, or given an expla-keep dancing and not retire.”Arkas also notes with pride that he taught actress Joanne Woodward when teaching at another studio, and that actor Christopher Plummer is a regular customer for his exercise classes. Neither could be reached for comment.Arkas also showed a letter from Mortimer Levitt, chairman of The Custom Shop Shirtmakers and founder of the Levitt Pavilion in Westport. The note congratulates Arkas on a show he produced at the pavilion last summer.“Keep up the good work. It was First class, really,” the letter readsional conduct and an apparent lack of teaching experience.She said Arkas breached professional conduct by trying to borrow $2,000 from a student. On top of that, she stated, his “teaching technique was not good for children. I would not recommend him as a teacher.”Angela Tobias, owner of the Angela Tobias Dance Center in Norwalk, fired Arkas after becoming suspect of his credentials and for what she considers his poor and improper methods of training her young students.She said that he seemed toomeone finally blew the whistle on him.'-Carol Sumner, ballet teachernation,’ he said. “They just marched in here and took the students’ things out of the lockers. They treated me like I was a child molester.”He credits the mother of Roberto Mallozzi, a student and assistant, with helping him getover the shock.Ernest Verina, a 45-year-old businessman who owns die Mansion Clam House in Westport, takes ballet lessons from Arkas to keep in shape. He said that regardless of what name Arkas uses he[Arkas] is “an outstanding person.” Cindy Bernier, who said that she is the co-artistic director of the New England Dance Theater, based in New Canaan, called Arkas “the greatest teacher I have ever had.”She said that the charges against him are essentially meaningless. “I am not interested in them,” she said. “This man inspired me toin part.Interviews with professional teachers in the area paint a less complimentary picture of Arkas.One is Carol Summer, who currently teaches ballet at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Prior to thatshe was director of the AmericanBallet Academy in Stamford, and artistic director of the American Ballet Company.Many of her former students are performing with ballet companies around the country. Her dance career is well documented in magazines and books. The Oxford Dictionary of Ballet notes that Sumner became a soloist at the New York City Ballet in 1963 - a major role with a leading company.Her comment on Arkas: “Someone Finally blew the whistle on him.” Sumner hired Arkas for the academy in Stamford but Fired him soon after for unprofesknow only one bar exercise that he had the students repeat over and over day after day, preventing them from progressing.“If you want to build your body by weight lifting, you don’t just do one arm lifting exercise all the time,” she said as an analogy. “But that is essentially what he was doing with the bar exercise.” She also said that he encouraged exercises for young girls that require stretching on a machine. “You can harm 12-year-olds doing that,” she said. “You have to let them get on the floor and stretch to their own capability.”Tobias said that parents should always ask the teachers to prove what they claim. “A person who claims to have been a performer can show articles written about her or programs of ballets she appeared in,” Tobias said. “You can even show a union contract.”She said that Arkas is “bad forPan Arkas.the profession.”Nanette Valias, owner of the SoNo Dance Academy, said that she has questioned Arkas’ credentials since he First opened his studio.Arkas dismisses all criticism from other teachers by claiming that they are envious of his superior talent. As a result, they attackhis reputation every chance theyget, he said.Arkas said that he answered the Goodman suit on Dec. 8 to avoid losing the case by default. Now, he is preparing a detaileddenial of the charges. He had 30days from the initial return dateof Nov. 24.The suit is seeking more than $ 15,000 in damages.
Newspaper Details
Norwalk News Trader
Norwalk, Connecticut, US
Thu, Dec 17, 1992
Page 28
Full Page
Clipped by
Kim S.
CT, USA 26 May 2020
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