Dancing into town

'Keep your elbows lifted, even when your arms are crossed over your chest - as though you're in a bar, having a drink."

So said the Pennsylvania Ballet's new artistic director, Ángel Corella, as he taught a recent company class in preparation for the dancers' debut under his leadership this week. His unexpected suggestion, whimsical but clear, is typical of his style. It achieved the intended result.

For 90 minutes, Madrid-born Corella led 40 dancers in exercises that gave them ample opportunity to display their distinctive bodies and impressive abilities. (Later, he said, "The dancers are amazing. I was pleasantly surprised when I got here.")

Wearing jazz shoes, black Nike trousers, and a black shirt with lime-green accents, the 17-year American Ballet Theatre veteran looked as handsome as he does in his publicity photos, and considerably younger than his 38 years. Speaking quickly, with just a hint of a Spanish accent, he set the combinations in a straightforward, professional tone, then walked around the room, gently correcting positions of errant limbs.

As the class continued, he told jokes, gave practical advice, and even a mini-dance history lesson. Then, as the dancers' applause signaled the end of class, he grinned and broke into a spirited "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" tap-dance step.

The overall feeling in the room was one of energy and excitement, seeming to reflect the confidence of ballet board cochair David Hoffman, who said in a July release announcing Corella's appointment, "Ángel has the power to make Philadelphia one of the most exhilarating dance cities in the world."

After the class, Corella commented that he thought some of the dancers seemed "shy, as if they don't want to show off their great technique. The audience needs to see that they believe in themselves."

He added: "Look at me: I'm not tall" (5 foot 8) "and I don't have the best physique - I always had to be thinner than normal to look longer. But I managed to be a guest artist with the Kirov . . .. It's about personality. You have to say something, be honest and not afraid of being judged."

Anyone who has seen Corella perform knows about his extraordinary technique. He is justly famous for his impossibly high leaps and gasp-inducing multiple pirouettes. He can also be the perfect cavalier, supporting his ballerina with elegance and ease. What sets him apart from other, merely sensational, male technicians is his obvious joy in moving, an emotion he communicates to enthusiastic audiences.

And, like other height-challenged but bona fide male superstars - among them 5-foot-7 Mikhail Baryshnikov and ABT's 5-foot-6 Herman Cornejo - Corella always "dances tall," dominating the stage and seeming perfectly matched with his female partners, no matter how tall. As PAB audiences are aware, in recent years the company has included quite a few smaller-than-average male dancers, several of whom - notably redheaded Alexander Peters - have distinguished themselves in a wide variety of roles.

Corella is passionate, intelligent, and charming, even when sitting. During an hour-long chat in his tiny office at the ballet's new school and studio building on North Broad Street, he did a creditable Russian accent, mimicking the great ballerina Natalya Makarova, who first recommended the 19-year-old to American Ballet Theatre, where he quickly became a star. He also displayed photos of his two beloved dogs. What he did not do was play the diva, even though he has been an international superstar for two decades.

Today, his resumé includes honors and awards, guest spots with nearly every major ballet company in the world, TV ads for Rolex watches and Spanish wine, and appearances on the Spanish version of Dancing With the Stars. He has memorably danced with animated alphabet letters on Sesame Street. His replica is in the Madrid Wax Museum.

Though he will tour Spain as a performer until the end of this year - a commitment made long before he was offered the PAB directorship - he clearly is moving away from the stage. The first step was in 2008, when he fulfilled his dream of creating Spain's sole classical ballet troupe. Barcelona Ballet lasted only a few years, folding in 2013 in the face of financial difficulties, including tax structures and the global recession, which hit Spain particularly hard. (A Philadelphia link: Corella's older sister, Carmen, with whom he is close, danced with PAB from 1996 to 1998, then joined ABT, where she rose to the rank of soloist before returning to Spain. She now runs the school originally affiliated with Barcelona Ballet.)

In August, Corella landed in Philadelphia with a mandate for change after the departures last spring of longtime artistic director Roy Kaiser and executive director Michael Scolameiro. Within weeks of his arrival, the new interim executive director, David Gray, announced the dismissal of seven other veteran staffers. Two former PAB stars - ballet master Jeffrey Gribler and ballet mistress Tamara Hadley, both with the company since 1975 - were gone, along with former dancer William DeGregory, director of the ballet's school and Pennsylvania Ballet II; another ex-dancer, Michael Sheridan, assistant to the artistic director; and several others.

When a new leader joins an organization, personnel changes - and the resulting rumbles - are inevitable. Much has been written about the clear-cutting of staff stalwarts, but although Corella admits the firings were not handled well - there was no formal announcement or acknowledgment of service - he repeated that they were "not a reflection on the older staffers," whom he did not know.

He prefers to look ahead, to "a lot of exciting opportunities." Though he couldn't brand the 2014-15 season, much of which was already planned, he revised the Oct. 16-26 inaugural program to include four short works: Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Jeu de Cartes by Alexei Ratmansky, and two duets, Christopher Wheeldon's Liturgy and Jerome Robbins' Other Dances.

The duets are company premieres, and, as Corella pointed out, it's amazing that the Balanchine and Robbins Foundations granted permission to add them on such short notice.

"Not many companies are allowed to do Other Dances," he noted, adding that Isabelle Guérin, a former Paris Opéra Ballet star known for performing the piece, is setting it on the company.

Though he is not especially interested in doing choreography ("PAB needs the best choreographers," he said, "and I'm not one of them"), Corella believes he can do a good job of staging an existing work - like Don Quixote, one of the full-length ballets he would like to add to the repertoire. Mainly, though, he intends to be artistic director. "It's a big responsibility," he noted, "to artistically excite the audience . . .. The city should feel this is their company."

His plans run from fast and inexpensive (putting a more conspicuous sign on the school's building) to the long-term - expanding, mainly by promoting from within and focusing more on the school. So far, he has brought in only two new dancers, both from Cuba, known for producing excellent ballet artists.

Then there is the perennial challenge facing all U.S. arts groups: fund-raising. Corella eagerly asserted, "I love it. When you're fighting for something you believe in, that's not work." More pragmatically, he added, "I know it's part of the job."

As a longtime ABT star, Corella is both familiar and comfortable with the obligations involved in engaging with potential philanthropists. He also has some ideas for expanding the ballet's support base.

"Everyone should be fighting to give money to the company," he exclaimed.

Pennsylvania Ballet's "Press Play"

Thursday through Oct. 26 at the Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Streets. Tickets: $30-$125 Information:

215-893-1999 or www.paballet.org

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