Des Moines, Baryshnikov, and Me

CBS news published an article about the phenomenon of being fascinated with all things to do with celebrities. "It's called being "star struck," the author Christine Lagorio stated, "and it's a phenomenon that is not only bigger than life - it's bigger than ever"

Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D., spokesman for the American Psychological Association and professor emeritus of media psychology at the California State University at Los Angeles stated the very need to find an idol and follow him is "programmed into our DNA."

"What's in our DNA, as a social animal, is the interest in looking at alpha males and females; the ones who are important in the pack," says Fischoff. We are sociologically preprogrammed to "follow the leader."

Source: A New Age Of Celebrity Worship
March 3, 2006 | by Christine Lagorio

ABC News also reviewed this phenomenon in 2005. Thye reported on a study done on adult male rhesus macaque monkeys. The experiment involved offering thirsty monkeys a choice: their favorite drink, in this case Juicy Juice cherry juice, or the opportunity to look at computer images of the dominant, "celebrity" monkey of their pack.

Despite their thirst, they chose to look at the pictures. But they were not willing to give up the juice to look at pictures of subordinate monkeys.

Source: Status-Conscious Monkeys Shed Light on Celeb Obsession by Jake Tapper

It is reassuring to know that my own fascination with celebrity is related to my DNA. At the time of this story, in the early 1980's, I was a stay at home mom. I would often tag along with my husband when he attended an out-of town meeting. It was our chance to stay at a nice hotel, go swimming, see some sights, and do a little shopping. We lived in Western Kansas and the closest mall was 3 and ½ hours away. So any excuse to go somewhere was an adventure.

On this particular trip we were staying at the Renaissance Savery Hotel, a historic hotel in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, pictured here. I had two small children at the time, a boy about 3 and a girl about 6 months old. While my husband attended his meetings, I would lounge around the room catching up on my reading and my son would watch cartoons on tv. This was a big treat for him, as we only got one tv channel living out in the country.

It was summer and the weather was warm and humid. We quickly learned that this prestigious hotel was not designed for children, as it had no swimming pool. Luckily, right across the street was the beautiful Brenton Waterfall and Reflecting Pool in Nollen Plaza. I was in the habit every afternoon of taking the children there to cool off and have some childlike fun.

One afternoon we were having fun at the pool, pictured here, when I saw a string of very well dressed people going by. I mean, we are talking evening gowns and tuxedos here. I asked someone what was going on. They replied that the American Ballet Company with Mikhail Baryshnikov was in town and playing at the Civic Center next door. In fact, they were staying at my very hotel!

If you have forgotten who Mikhail Baryshnikov is, let me refresh your memory.

He is a Soviet-born Russian American dancer, choreographer, and actor, who, along with Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev, is considered one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century.

Soviet dance styles were more traditional and Baryshnikov was not allowed to do the more creative dances he had seen in the West. Shorter than most dancers, he could not tower over a ballerina en pointe and was usually given the secondary parts.

He defected to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in western dance.

Baryshnikov did freelance work for a while, then he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer to learn George Balanchine's style of movement. He later became artistic director with the American Ballet Theatre, also in New York.

Baryshnikov made his American television-dancing debut in 1976, on the PBS program In Performance Live from Wolf Trap.

During the Christmas season of 1977, the American Ballet Theatre production of Tchaikovsky's classic ballet,The Nutcracker, appeared on television, It has remained one of the most popular and most often shown television production of the ballet.

He played a famous Russian womanizing ballet dancer, in the 1977 film The Turning Point, for which he received an Oscar nomination.

He co-starred with Gregory Hines and Isabella Rossellini in the 1985 film White Nights, choreographed by Twyla Tharp, and the 1987 film Dancers.

Source Wikipedia

Did you know that a little bit of hero or celebrity worship can be good for you? An article on Time.com entitled "Celebrity Worship: Good for Your Health?" by Alice Park, explores this concept.

Shira Gabriel, a psychologist at the University at Buffalo, found that a little bit of hero or celebrity worship may be good for us. She conducted studies that focused on how admiration from afar affects self-esteem.

She was fascinated by how people were obsessed with Michael Jackson during his trial. She explored one possible reason that people act this way - the vicarious pleasure they get from following the life of a famous person.

"Perhaps some people who don't feel good about themselves and are not able to get what they want out of a real relationship because of a fear of rejection, can feel a connection with a celebrity and get something positive out of that," says Gabriel.

"Because people form bonds in their mind with their favorite celebrities, they are able to assimilate the celebrity's characteristics in themselves and feel better about themselves when they think about that celebrity," says Gabriel. "And that is something these individuals can't do in real relationships because their fear of rejection keeps them from getting close to people."

Gabriel acknowledged that her results did not condone celebrity worship as a mental health treatment. A little can be helpful, but a lot can be harmful, as in the cases of stalking. A constant yearning for a life you feel you cannot have can even be detrimental to a person's self-esteem.

Photo above is of Michael Jackson fans waving flags in support of him during the trial. Published under a Creative Commons License, Author rafael rozendaal

I hurried back to our hotel room, ready to share my exciting story with my husband, only to find out he had an even more exciting story to tell. He was on the way back from a trip to our car when he saw a tv news reporter struggling to carry all his camera equipment. He offered to help carry his equipment to a nearby club. It seems that there was a press conference scheduled right after the ballet, and Baryshnikov was going to be interviewed.

The reporter was so grateful that he offered my husband a press pass to watch the interview. Hubby was a smart man. He knew his wife was a Huge Fan of Baryshnikov. He thought it over and decided his life would not be worth much if he took the reporter up on his offer. So he took the pass and came to the hotel to give it to me!

"Find something nice to wear," he said. "The interview is going to be in a very fancy club."

I looked at him with that look. We were technically on vacation. I HAD nothing nice to wear. We made another trip to the car and found something that didn't look terrible, although probably would never pass as tv reporter garb.

Still, I used my pass to get into the club and stood next to the tv cameraman. And stood, and stood, and waited, and waited. Wow, this was really exciting. I did notice that the waiters in this club probably made more in tips in one night, than we did in a month.

Finally, the ballet let out and the ballet entourage showed up. I was literally standing 3-4 feet away from Mikhail Baryshnikov! The first thing I noticed is that he was very short. Well, of course, we have established that he is shorter than most male ballet dancers. But that has never affected his performances. I also noticed that he looked just like an ordinary person. I guess we expect celebrities to be larger than life.

I went back to the hotel and got in bed. What an adventure. I couldn't wait to tell all my friends about seeing Baryshnikov in person (and I am sure by the time I get done writing this, I will be able to spell his name right on the very first try!)

Life, it seems, often has its own agenda. Thus it did not surprise me when our youngest woke up that night with an earache. This seemed to happen every time we went out of town. Rather than waking up the entire hotel, my husband and I took turns walking the halls with her, while the other one tried to sleep.

During my shifts, I learned a lot about the city of Des Moines. Getting bored by going up and down the elevator, I ventured out of the lobby and found the downtown Des Moines, climate-controlled, enclosed skywalks. This system of enclosed bridges connecting many of the downtown buildings was just beginning to take form in the 1980's. Now they extend for 4-5 miles. They allow pedestrians get from place to place in comfort during bad weather.

What an adventure for a woman from western Kansas. I carried the baby back and forth over the street, looking out at the city lights. I am sure the city planners never envisioned it to be used to sooth a crying child.

Skywalk Photo Courtesy of the Greater Des Moines Convention & Visitors Bureau

Up until now, everything I described actually happened. But now we dive into my fantasy life. You see, after many trips up and down the elevator and walking the skywalk, I got bored when it was my turn to walk the baby. So I cannot be held responsible when my finger lingered near the elevator button labeled, "Penthouse." After all, I thought, it was probably locked to anyone who didn't have a key.

I am not sure if Mikhail (we were on a first name basis now) was even staying in the Penthouse. But I imagined that he was. And what do you know? My finger pushed the button and up we went, to the Penthouse floor, my heart pounding in my chest. The baby was sleeping quietly by this time, thank goodness.

I wasn't sure what to expect when the doors opened. I stepped out into a smaller version of the lobby with some doors that evidently led to the Penthouse Suite. My imagination took over.

My new "friend" Mikhail, or Misha as his close friends call him, hears a sound from outside the suite. Curious, he opens the door and finds a charming young lady standing outside. She is holding an adorable child in her arms. Overcome with compassion for the woman who appears to be worn out with caring for this child, he invites her into the suite for drinks.

I'm afraid that is as far as I got with my fantasy, because the whole point of carrying the child kind of ruined anything else more romantic that could have happened in my imagination. So I got in the elevator and went back to my room, just thankful that I hadn't embarrassed myself by actually being found standing in the lobby of the Penthouse Suite.

The next morning I took the kids to lobby. The baby was entertaining herself by cruising around the lobby in her walker. I noticed a group of people coming from the dining room to check out.

It was the members of the American Ballet Company, including my dear friend Misha! He was wearing blue jeans and a baseball cap and I wouldn't have recognized him if I hadn't been so close the night before (at the interview, not the penthouse - tsk, tsk, now who has an imagination?)

Being a shy Kansas housewife, I did not have the courage to ask for an autograph. But I stored away the pictures in my memory to take out at later time when life on the prairie got a little dull.

White Nights is one of my favorite movies. I never get tired of seeing it.

White Nights (released in 1985) is a story about two dancers, both defectors. Baryshnikov plays a Russian ballet dancer who defected to the US (I guess it wasn't hard to get into character). Gregory Hines plays a professional tap dancer who defected from Vietnam to Russia. They are thrown together when Baryshnikov's character crash lands in Siberia and he is held prisoner.

The movie got some bad reviews but I really liked it. I was really impressed with the dance sequences and I also liked the story line. The dance that Hines and Baryshnikov do together is outstanding.

Gregory Hines died of cancer in 2003, which leads me to appreciate this movie even more.