Let's Have a Look at... Irene Hogarth-Cimino... from Ballet Hispanico!
There is little about Irene Hogarth-Cimino that would suggest she could shimmy and shake, undulate her long spine, wiggle her hips, or fit in smoothly with the sensuous Latin dancers that make up Ballet Hispanico's roster. Nor is it easy to believe that this strikingly beautiful, classically trained young woman with a soft-pitched voice and a divinely elegant accent could portray
the sinister "Persefone, Queen of the Under-world" in Ballet Hispanico's new ballet "Orfeu In The Carnaval of Souls" for which she received dream-like personal reviews from New York Times critic John Rockwell. She has challenged her classical roots to serve her in an entirely different venue and in so doing, has become a first rate artist. Hogarth-Cimino has found her dance home in a ballet company devoted to Latin music, spicy choreography, and Hispanic folklore.
As a young girl living in her home town of Durban, South Africa she was trained in the Cecchetti method under the tutelage of teachers who had worked with ballerinas Monica Mason and Deanne Bergsma of the Royal Ballet Company in London. Her early performances were the classics, a few Balanchine pieces, and ethnic dances included to please the growing audience of South African theatergoers. After high school she entered the University of Cape Town Ballet School where she continued her training in dance and academics and began to perform with the Cape Town Ballet.
"My dream was to come to New York," Hogarth-Cimino recalled. "I never saw a major ballet performance until I came here. Only videos and films of local dance companies were available to us at home. I was nineteen when my parents finally consented to let me come to New York and stay with my godmother, but only for a visit."
When she returned home in 1990, Nelson Mandela had come out of prison. The first democratic vote was held in 1994, and it was then that the government emphasis shifted to furthering human rights and upgrading the educational possibilities for its citizens. Ballet seemed at the bottom of the list of priorities. "I rejoined the NAPAC (Natal Performing Arts Council) dance company in Durban," she said, "but by then the government had cut money for what they called Eurocentric' art. They were only interested in promoting art indigenous to the people of South Africa. So any dancers lost their jobs and had to leave for Europe to find work. It was a huge tragedy for the dance world in Africa."
In 1994 Hogarth-Cimino returned to her godmother's New York apartment -- this time for good. "It took me two years to get a visa," she recalled. "I was told I had to have a company to sponsor me, and adequate explanations as to why I should take the place of an American dancer seeking work."
It was a frustrating time for her, taking classes and trying to stay in shape for the possibility that she might find a job. Two young men entered her life bringing about a fairy tale turn of events - Septime Webre, the director of American Repertory Ballet in Princeton, who hired her, and Stephen Cimino, a darkly handsome young actor/composer, with whom she fell in love. Webre sponsored her application for an "01 visa" (meaning she was obliged to work only for Webre's company), and Cimino married her changing her legal status to a resident alien. She is now free to dance anywhere, but knows she will stay with Ballet Hispanico for the remainder of her career.
"At Ballet Hispanico, I am given so many opportunities," she said, "I have the chance to dance such a variety of roles, the chance to teach children, and to set the repertory on new company members. Yes, I did hang up my pointe shoes for a while until this year when Alex Magno, the choreographer of 'Orfeu' thought to put 'Persefone' on pointe." She laughed when recalling how Magno's idea hit her as being impossible. This meant she must drag out her shoes long since packed away, head back to the barre, and begin the endless echappes once again. "My feet had to transition quickly from heels and barefoot to the wooden box."
Tina Ramirez, the company founder and director, has promised Hogarth-Cimino a home when her performing days are over, and this idea pleases her immensely. "I am a note-keeper. I write everything down. All the rehearsal notes for everyone, all the choreography, all of Tina's corrections, -- everything, because I know they will be important in my future."
Meanwhile, her married life has fit in perfectly with her career. Cimino's musical training plus his acting experience, allows him to give his wife hints on fleshing out a character. He attends all her performances, and passes along corrections, not only to her, but to the musicians as well. Music fills their small West Side apartment with Cimino's band members dropping in to rehearse. She put her hands to her head in a small gesture of amazement. "Oh dear," she exclaimed, her dark eyes widening.. "Eight guitars, one propped up in every corner. 'Lucky,' (the 120-pound canine member of the family) hardly has a bit of room to move."