Steven Caras sets up a shot.By Hap Erstein
The old saying, attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald, declares that there are no second acts in American life.
But West Palm Beach’s Steve Caras has had a second, third and fourth life, re-inventing himself at regular intervals or at least tackling and mastering new careers.
He began as a classical dancer in the New York City Ballet, mentored by the great George Balanchine as what Caras calls “his youngest male, least-trained dancer.” Then Balanchine had a hunch about Caras’s talent with a camera, so he encouraged him to become the company’s photographer.
When he moved to South Florida, he taught classes and became the ballet master for the Miami City Ballet. Eventually, he specialized in fund-raising for Edward Villella’s troupe, a skill he later employed for Palm Beach Dramaworks.
But he has had to put that job on hold for yet another one, assisting filmmakers Deborah Novak and John Wittig in the creation of a documentary about himself, Steven Caras: See Them Dance. It receives its first public viewing Thursday at the Kravis Center’s Persson Hall, before airing at various public television stations around the country. Caras estimates he will be busy appearing with the film on pledge breaks for the next three years.
This cinematic journey began nearly two and a half years ago, when Caras got a phone call from Novak asking to meet with him. He assumed they wanted to use some of his photos for a project, a frequent request.
“Deborah did most of the talking and she started to tell me in detail about my life, since my starting dancing at 15, the bullying that accompanied it, the issues with my father about it, then my getting into the New York City Ballet just three years later,” Caras recalls. “And she went on and on. It was puzzling that she knew so many personal things about me.
“She had been fascinated quietly with my career and has watched me reinvent myself over and over again, in order to remain in reach of my beloved ballet world,” he says. “I was kind of stunned when they said they would like to profile my life, saying it’s an interesting story, very Billy Elliot-esque in my beginnings. Against all odds at a time and at a place when ballet was not what boys dove into without consequences.”
Caras’s reaction to the idea? “At first I thought it was my friend Sean fooling around. And then I recognized it was for real and I was stunned. But thrilled.”
He liked the filmmaking husband-and-wife team from the start, and simply went with his initial positive impression. He is glad he did, saying, “Very much so, which is not to say that there haven’t been tense moments. Because unlike a major motion picture, there is a very lean team and the budget coincides with the leanness of the team.”
Caras estimates he was interviewed and filmed in action – on a photo shoot and conducting a dance class – for about 12 hours, most of which wound up on the cutting room floor. In addition, the film features dancers and choreographers Peter Martins, Jacques D’Amboise, Virginia Johnson, Kay Mazzo, Allegra Kent and Sean Lavery, as well as fine art and photography expert appraiser Sarah Morthland, the executive director of the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center, Jacqueline Z. Davis and Mia Michaels from TV’s So You Think You Can Dance, all talking about Caras.
Steven Caras today.The Kravis premiere screening came about because of a special request by Caras. “I had asked early on if it was possible, before it airs on television, to do a screening in my hometown, because I have really embraced South Florida as my home,” he explains. “And they said yes and the Kravis Center said they would love to put it on their calendar.”
Following the screening, Caras and Novak will be interviewed live by Wall Street Journal drama critic Terry Teachout.
And Caras made one more request that was granted – each couple in attendance will receive a DVD of See Them Dance, unavailable in stores, but destined to be a coveted public television pledge thank-you gift.
“On the DVD is a bonus feature called, ‘All About Steve.’ It’s me speaking at an informal lecture about my life,’ he says. “Can you believe it?”
STEVEN CARAS: SEE THEM DANCE, Kravis Center, Persson Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Thursday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $20. Call: (561) 832-7469.