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Fathers and Sons: Two Families United By Dance
By Nancy Wozny
 How
many male dancers can claim to have a dancing father? Two
father/son duos from different parts of the dance spectrum,
the Smiths and the Sarabias, have intriguing tales, both
still in motion and neither ordinary.
The story behind Joseph "JoJo" Benjamin Smith and his son,
Jason Samuels Smith, is not the usual raised-at-the-studio
father/son scenario. Before Jason was born in 1980, one era
of his father's career had ended: JoJo's Dance Factory, one
of Manhattan's first mega dance studios, had been sold to
Frank Hatchett. Jason's parents
divorced before he was born, and his father frequently
traveled to Latin America during the '80s, so Jason had
little contact with JoJo until he was in his teens. The
relationship the two men share today was forged while both
were ensconced in their professional lives, proving that
it's never too late to develop a meaningful father/son
relationship.
Both Smiths have made a mark on the dance world, JoJo in
jazz and Jason in tap. JoJo, now 70, is well known as the
man who advised John Travolta and his co-stars in the film
Saturday Night Fever.
A longtime teacher, some of his famous students include
Barbra Streisand, Barbara Walters, Debbie Allen, Olivia
Newton-John, Phylicia Allen Rashad, and Brooke Shields. As a
performer, he appeared in the 1964 Off- Broadway revival of
West Side Story
and
A Joyful Noise
on Broadway, among other shows, and he and his company,
JoJo's Dance Factory, toured with The Fifth Dimension.
Jason, 27, first came to the
world's attention as a teenager performing on
Broadway in
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.
He stayed with the show in various parts, including the
lead, for the duration of the show, from 1996 to 1999. In
2001 he founded a tap company, ACGI (Anybody Can Get It),
which has toured nationally and internationally. The
recipient of an Emmy and an American Choreography Award for
his choreographic tribute to Gregory Hines in the 2003
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon,
Jason is also the founder of a jazz-influenced hip-hop band,
JaJa Productions. Though he tours the world teaching and
performing, his most recent achievement is a new tap shoe he
designed for Bloch.
Jason's performance in
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk
proved a turning point for his relationship with his father.
JoJo says he was blown away by his son's dancing: "He was
amazing, and I'm not saying that because he's my son." It
was also one of the few times that Jason's mother, Sue
Samuels, a well-known jazz teacher, and JoJo came together
to watch their son dance. For Jason, "it was great to see
them together and sharing in my success."
One of the Smiths' most profound father/son moments occurred
quite by accident
when both happened to be at St. Nick's Pub in Harlem. It was
the first time JoJo had seen his
son, then 16, dance
spontaneously, and the first time they communicated through
dance and music. "Dad jumped onstage to play the congas, and
I jumped on the wood," Jason says. "It was a magic moment. I
had a lot to get off my chest, and I did it with my feet. It
was another way to communicate with each other."
Tap dancing runs in the family. JoJo's father, Joe Smith,
was a tap dancer who performed on Broadway in the early
1900s. "He taught the Nicholas Brothers," says JoJo, who,
like his own son, did not grow up alongside his father. "I
learned about my father's life as an adult." His mother,
Anna Grayson, danced with Katherine Dunham's company, and
JoJo studied with one of Dunham's most famous dancers and
teachers, Syvilla Fort. He recalls the excitement of going
to his first class with Fort: "I remember turning the corner
and hearing the sound of those congas." Thus began a
lifelong passion of playing and teaching percussion.
But JoJo started his career as a tap dancer. "I remember
tapping on the radio with a microphone at my feet when I was
9 years old," he says.
For the teenaged Jason, "learning that my grandfather was a
famous tap dancer was huge for me. It was a pivotal piece of
information," he says now. Learning his family history
strengthened the tie to his art form; now, he sees rhythm as
a place where his father and he come together. "Both of our
lives revolve around music and dance. I combined his two
talents into one skill. We also share a passion for
percussion."
Although Jason never trained with his father, he believes he
may have received some of his father's teachings secondhand,
through his mother. "Her style was influenced by his style,"
Jason says, "although I am definitely inspired and
influenced by my father's abilities on the drums."
Today, JoJo stays on top of Jason's performances but doesn't
like to give him career advice; Jason appreciates his
father's interest in his work. "When I see him after a show
he has that proud look," he says. The two men see each other
regularly outside of dance, too. Getting together for New
York Knicks games ranks high on their bonding activities.
"We are both diehard Knicks fans," says Jason, "even when
they lose."
Teaching also unites the two. "Once you know more than the
other people in the room, it's time to share your
knowledge," says Jason, who started teaching as a teen and
is as passionate about teaching tap as he is about dancing.
Recently he moved in with his father while his house was
being renovated. "It worked out great, because we are both
night owls--with the exception of Saturday mornings," Jason
says. "To wake up to my father's Saturday morning drumming
class--well, that's really amazing. I had to soak that in."
Both Jason and JoJo are known for pushing their genres into
new territory. JoJo incorporated salsa into his lyrical
brand of jazz; later, when he studied martial arts, he added
an Eastern influence to his classes. Jason takes the same
kind of broad approach to tap. He ventured into film as the
co-star in Dean Hargrove's
Tap Heat,
an award-winning short film. In
India Jazz Suites
he collaborates with kathak master Pandit Chitresh Das,
exploring the common language between tap and kathak.
JoJo is impressed with Jason's farreaching interests and
talent. "Every time I see him dance, my jaw drops to the
floor. I am in such awe," he says. "I have never seen
anybody do what he can do, and I've seen everything." Last
February Jason's sister, Elka Samuels Smith, organized a
tribute to her father in New York City, at which Jason
performed. Videos of JoJo's performance career delighted the
guests as well as Elka and Jason, who had never seen some of
the footage. "Jason was awesome," says JoJo. "And to see
myself dancing all night on the wall--well, that was amazing
too."
 THE
SARABIAS--ROLANDO, 25, AND DANIEL, 23, AND THEIR FATHER,
ROLANDO SENIOR--have
the opposite story. The boys grew up with their father, but
they live apart now, Rolando senior in Cuba and his sons in
Miami, where they dance with Miami City Ballet. (Rolando is
a principal and Daniel a soloist.) The elder Rolando retired
two years ago from the National Ballet of Cuba, where he was
a first soloist, after a 35-year career, but he continues to
coach and teach at the company's school.
The boys grew up right under their father's ballet barre and
spent their early childhoods immersed in company life.
"Ballet was always a part of our life," says Rolando, who
started dancing at age 5, after two years of gymnastics. "We
were always watching class, rehearsals, and going to the
ballet. I am told that I did my own version of the
Don Quixote
solo at age 4."
Rolando and Daniel say their father never pressured them to
become dancers. Still, there was an element of destiny. "It
was as if someone whispered in my ear, 'You will be a
dancer,' " jokes Rolando. "I remember thinking, when I was
young, that one day I could be just like my father. I have
some videos of him dancing when he was young, and it was
beautiful to see."
Daniel, who started dancing at 7, soon followed in his
brother's footsteps. Through their years at the National
Ballet of Cuba school, Rolando senior helped his sons with
partnering and the nuances of characterization.
Because of their strong family ties, the brothers say that
leaving Cuba to dance in the United States was the hardest
decision of their lives. But defection appeared to be their
only choice for expanding their careers. Daniel defected in
2002 while on tour with his father in Mexico. Revealing his
plans was one of the most difficult moments a son can have
with his father. "I told him [I was going to defect] five
days before I left," says Daniel. "Of course he didn't want
me to go, because I was only 19, but he understood why I was
making that choice. And he never told me not to go."
Rolando followed his younger brother's lead a few years
later, defecting through Mexico in 2005. His father was on
tour at the time, so the young man made the decision alone,
telling only his mother, Midalis Oquendo Chavez. "[Daniel
and I] had to leave for our profession," he says. "My father
knows I am capable of making my own decisions about my
future. When he found out, he was mostly worried, the way
fathers worry about their sons."
After short stints in other companies (Daniel with Boston
Ballet and Rolando with Houston Ballet), the brothers
reunited at Miami City Ballet, where they are dancing the
works of contemporary choreographers and learning Balanchine
style. "This is entirely new to us and we are learning more
and more all the time," Daniel says. "We are dancing the
works of so many contemporary choreographers now. It's so
good--we are enjoying everything." The brothers even got a
chance to dance together in Twyla Tharp's
Sinatra Suite.
Thrilled with the challenges on their dance plate, they say
that Miami has turned out to be a near-perfect situation.
What's missing, though, is the connection to their parents.
"We miss our family every day," says Rolando. "It's so hard
to be far from the people that gave us everything." They
stay in touch via email and phone, plus a once-a month
Webcam visit. "It's so great to be able to see their faces,"
Rolando adds. "We spend most of the time talking to our
father about dance and keeping him up-to-date on everything
we are learning."
Both brothers credit their father as an important influence.
"He taught us discipline and to work hard every single day,"
says Rolando. "And most important, to respect our teachers."
Their father had strict ideas about preparing for a
performance that the two try to adhere to in their
professional lives. "Party after the performance, not
before," was some of his father's wise advice, says Rolando.
"He used to always say to relax and save yourself for the
performance."
The two Rolandos shared the stage many times at National
Ballet of Cuba, the younger man in lead roles and his father
in character roles in
Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote,
and
Copp�lia.
But the three Sarabia men "danced all together just once or
twice," says Rolando. "It was amazing to be onstage with my
father."
As
badly as the family would like to reunite, much will need to
change before that can happen. New leadership in both the
United States and Cuba could change the travel limitations
most Cubans face. For now, phone visits keep this family
together--along with a lot of love. "We are so lucky to have
a perfect father, and not just in our professional life,"
says Rolando.
Both brothers say they feel honored to be carrying out the
family tradition in the United States, and someday hope to
return to Cuba to visit and dance. They are grateful for
what they have found in Miami: togetherness and a rich
artistic life. "My father was my first inspiration, and now
Rolando has taken over that role," says Daniel. "It's like a
chain."
Above captions:
After years of separation,
JoJo Smith and his son, Jason Samuels Smith, have bonded
through their art form--plus a shared obsession with the New
York Knicks. Photo
courtesy Divine Rhythm Productions.
Rolando Sarabia x 2: father and
son. Photo courtesy International Ballet of Houston.
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