The Arthropologist

Butterfly Amy Fote: The Houston ballerina's Madame Butterfly swan song

Houston Ballet artists Amy Fote and Jessica Collado in Madame Butterfly
Photo by Amitava Sarkar
Amy Fote and James Gotesky in the Houston Ballet's production of MadameButterfly, choreographed by Stanton Welch
Photo by Amitava Sarkar
Amy Fote in Madame Butterfly choreographed by Stanton Welch
Photo by Maarten Holl
Amy Fote in Madame Butterfly choreographed by Stanton Welch
Photo by Maarten Holl
A scene from Madame Butterfly featuring artist Amy Forte
Photo by Amitava Sarkar

A butterfly flapped its wings and — you know the story — something big happened in Texas.

The result was butterfly Amy, as in Houston Ballet's renowned principal dancer Amy Fote. The 2012-2013 season opens with Stanton Welch's tragic Madame Butterfly, which premiered Thursday night and runs through Sept. 16, featuring Fote returning to the very role that brought her here.

Let me explain.

In 2004, Fote was performing Madame Butterfly at the Royal New Zealand Ballet when ballet master Steven Woodgate discovered her talents and quickly passed the info on to Welch. A year later, Fote left her position as a principal at Milwaukee Ballet, loaded up her Audi and headed to Houston to take up her position as a first soloist. Known for her flawless technique and emotional interpretations, Fote was promoted to principal in 2006. She became an audience favorite and one of mine as well.

Known for her flawless technique and emotional interpretations, Fote was promoted to principal in 2006.

"It was a whirlwind," Fote recalls of her first few weeks in Houston.

Butterflies are not forever, and Fote's run in Houston Ballet is not either: This Madame Butterfly will be her last. Although one of Houston's best-loved ballerinas spins her last pirouette and takes her final bow this December in The Nutcracker, Fote considers the entire fall season her swan song.

But the ballerina is not disappearing without the appropriate fanfare, as the Jubilee of Dance on Nov. 30 will serve as a tribute to her impressive career.

I met Fote before she even unpacked that Audi, when she had already been cast as Titiana in Onegin. We chatted about her hometown of Milwaukee, decorating, cooking and, of course, becoming Titiana. When she later sent me a recipe (which turned out to be way over my skill level), I was touched and reminded that, underneath her prima ballerina veneer, there was a real person quite tied to the world around her. Turns out, all of that shows up in her dancing.

"I'm ready to take the next step," Fote tells CultureMap. What exactly that next step is has yet to be determined. Right now, she's focused on flapping those great butterfly wings one more time.

The last dance

Welch's signature story ballet is famous for its breathtaking pas de deux, which is full of go-for-broke partnering, and Fote excels in the airspace, never dropping character as she flies about the stage or leaps into her lover's arms. It's a dream role for a ballerina exactly because of its mix of pyrotechnics and emotion. Fote is ready to bring it on.

"Butterfly is so close to my heart. I don't want to anticipate it, but let it happen," she says. "The role is so heartfelt and moving. It's a role any dancer would hope to do. The emotional arc gets inside you. Cho-Cho-San is so trusting of Pinkerton. She thinks that she is so special, and doesn't see what's coming at all when Pinkerton abandons her."

Over her eight years with the company, Fote has danced Butterfly with Ian Casady, Simon Ball and Nicholas Leschke, enjoying what each dancer has brought to the role of Pinkerton, the dashing ne'er-do-well who leaves Cho-Cho-San.

"It's wonderful to have a new partner. I develop a different rapport with each partner. They speak to me in their own ways," says Fote, who is now partnered with James Gotesky.

At almost 40, Fote is in her prime — and what's even more amazing, she has never been injured.

Fote looks back on her time at Houston Ballet as a gift. She already had an established career at the Milwaukee Ballet before arriving here. There was even a time she thought of retiring after leaving Milwaukee, but Houston came into her path and added yet another chapter to her career.

"I've done so many things here," says Fote. "It's been so inspiring to be here. I am pushed every day to do my best, and that I get to do Butterfly again is bittersweet."

At almost 40, Fote is in her prime — and what's even more amazing, she has never been injured. "My body has been good to me, I've treated it well. I have good genes maybe," she adds, modestly.

The ballerina who always left us breathless is ready to confront the big unknown of life beyond dance. She will be missed, by myself and many others.

"I might be still for a bit," quips Fote. "I promise to let you know. It's a work in progress." Fote is staying open for the calling of the next step in her life. With a bounty of talents and interests, I have no worries. I suspect that she's not done giving her best to the arts.

Fote deepened my dance watching. It's not all about the steps, flash and technique (although Fote has those in spades), but what is held back from the audience, which makes them feel and think for themselves.

While writing a feature story on her career in Dance Magazine, I asked her about her nuanced performances, the way she lets us in to her interior drama. "I want the audience to lean in a little bit," she told me. This fall, they will be leaning in for the last time.

Amy Fote talks about the role of Cho-Cho-San in Madame Butterfly:

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Movie Review

Timothée Chalamet cements star status in new movie Marty Supreme

Courtesy

Timothée Chalamet

In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also earned an Oscar nomination for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.

Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).

Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.

Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.

Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.

Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.

Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.

Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.

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Marty Supreme opens in theaters on December 25.

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