A Dedication to Jeffrey Kirk

by Mavis Staines, Artistic Director and CEO

Jeffrey Kirk, NBS graduate (class of ‘79), embodied everything that NBS aspires to nurture in its students. Passionate about dance, he brought integrity and commitment to his training and served as an inspiration to others. Following graduation, Jeffrey joined the Hamburg Ballet and under John Neumeier's mentorship developed into an extraordinarily powerful dramatic dancer.  So it was heartbreaking for the dance community when Jeffrey reported that he was HIV positive. Just a few days prior to his death, Jeffrey rallied his strength and urged me to meet with him. He wanted reassurance that I was resolved to educate NBS students to be self-respecting artists, as committed to taking care of themselves as they were to their art form.

It was during that visit that Yondering was conceived. I got to know John [Neumeier] well during those last few days of Jeffrey’s life. Witnessing his unwavering support of Jeffrey, and knowing how inspired Jeffrey had been by Neumeier's mentorship, compelled me to ask John to create a ballet especially for NBS students. It took four years to organize and bring to fruition but in February 1996 Yondering sprang to life. During the entire creation period, I felt that Jeffrey's spirit was present, for the work flowed from John and was embraced by the students with a remarkable degree of courage and openness. Jeffrey would have loved this ballet because he understood, better than most, the mystical transformation each of these young dancers will experience each time they share their work with an audience.

For me, the closing moments of the ballet, danced to Stephen Foster's refrain "Why should the beautiful die?”, celebrate Jeffrey's all too brief career and so I dedicate these performances to his memory.