Photo By Natalie Hager

Native Cincinnatian and SCPA grad Darius Crenshaw is back home -- and lending his talents to the Cincinnati Ballet. He'll perform in this weekend's production of Swan Lake at downtown's Aronoff Center.

Dancers suffer for their art -- sore muscles, endless rehearsals, the inherent physical strenuousness, not to mention the passion and discipline it requires. If you're a dancer, getting a call for a private meeting with Peter Martins is a good day. It gets even better when the illustrious ballet master offers you a job many dancers dream of -- a position with the New York City Ballet.

The dancer in question is Cincinnati's own Darius Crenshaw. He's been freshly hired as a soloist with Cincinnati Ballet, making his local re-entry debut in Swan Lake this weekend. He arrived back in town just in time to perform in the technically demanding world premiere production, choreographed by artistic director Victoria Morgan and Devon Carney, the company's master-in-chief.

It's been an unusual season for the Ballet already: This news comes on the heels of the announcement that several dancers were picked up after Indianapolis' Ballet Internationale closed its doors in November. Morgan comments, "It's been unbelievable, very strange and wonderful."

Crenshaw was born into a musical family; his mother plays piano and his brother plays bass. "In my family, you either play an instrument, or you sing, that's the rule." Clarinet was his ticket into the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). He multi-tasked at SCPA: music, drama, then dance "got to him." He acknowledges that he chose classical ballet partly because not many African Americans are doing it.

What's more, he relishes a challenge. At 15, he wanted to audition for the School of American Ballet with senior Jay Goodlett (whom he admired), but his mother said he needed to be 16 before he could attend their summer program in New York City. CityBeat recognized his emerging talent: he was on the cover of the Feb. 23, 1995 issue!

After high school graduation, Crenshaw spent a few years at the School of American Ballet, where he was voted outstanding student of the year and received a prestigious Wien Award. Then Martins invited him to join the New York City Ballet. Although his training and experiences there served him well, after eight years he needed a break. He headed to Los Angeles to try some commercial work, especially Hip Hop, another of his passions. Just before he signed with a talent agency -- only two weeks after his arrival -- he received news that his mother was ill. So he returned to Cincinnati and sought work.

"But of course, being me, I can't just work at any old job," Crenshaw says. "I have to do what I love." So he approached Cincinnati Ballet.

Morgan says, "It's very odd for someone in the middle of the season suddenly to be looking for a job. If you're a quality, high-caliber dancer, you have a job. So I did want to do my homework, and he got rave reviews from everyone I talked to."

Cincinnati Ballet board member Sheila Cohen, who spent 20 years leading SCPA's dance department, also acted as Crenshaw's mentor.

"Darius constantly grew as an artist," she says. "He not only showed unusual talent, but he never wavered from pursuing the highest standard possible. Over the years we have spent lots of time together, and it is such a pleasure to see the child grow into such a wonderful human being, as well as such a wonderful dancer."

Jennifer Dunning, dance critic for The New York Times, offered a glowing compliment concerning Crenshaw's 1998 New York City Ballet performance in Balanchine's Stars and Stripes: "Darius Crenshaw stood out in the corps for the extra snap and sparkle of his dancing." (He is slated to play a featured role in Cincin-nati Ballet's upcoming production of that classic work.)

Although it was midseason, the timing was perfect: soloist Benjamin Wardell was leaving to join Lines, a more contemporary outfit in San Francisco, so there was an open position.

"Darius just unexpectedly dropped in out of heaven," Morgan says.

When she first saw him dance, she was struck by his clarity of movement and mentions how specific he was with the timing of the tendu, a precise gesture emphasizing articulation of the foot. That's not all: "He's got beautiful port de bras (arm movements), a beautiful facility and a really, really strong jumps and solid turns. He's sort of every artistic director's dream."

Aligning with Morgan's observations, Crenshaw reveals that he's always concentrating on his feet and on being as technical as possible. "I know that in classical ballet, a lot of African-American dancers aren't viewed as technical dancers. I mean, they're viewed as beautiful dancers, but technicalities aren't their strengths. So I'm always trying to work on that."

Practicing pirouettes prior to a large group rehearsal for Swan Lake, Crenshaw would prepare, launch, spin -- and spin, often five or six times.

"I like to turn. That was the thing my boss (Peter Martins) at NYCB always teased me about. He'd say, 'Darius, I see you after class -- you're always turning. You have those. You don't need to work on those.' "

Does he suffer for his art? "Yeah, you do suffer. But it's a small price to pay because it's doing something you love and you have the ability to do it. I wouldn't trade it for anything." ©