The School of Dance Ballet Department is gearing up for its end-of-semester showcase. “Classique” premieres April 10 at the Marriott Center for Dance in the Hayes Christensen Theater. The program includes “The Kingdom of the Shades” movement from Act II of “La Bayadère,” coached by School of Dance faculty Maggie Wright Tesch and Justine Sheedy-Kramer. It also includes “Paquita,” coached by visiting répétiteurs Rex Tilton and Allison DeBona. All costumes are designed and made by the School of Dance Costume Shop in collaboration with the ballet coaches.
A Classical Affair
I visited the first rehearsal of “The Kingdom of the Shades” to take notes on the start of the rehearsal process, and visited three weeks later to take pictures. “La Bayadère,” choreographed by Marius Petipa, is noted as one of the most technically demanding classical ballets, as over 20 dancers need to be completely in sync with each other as they move with ease and an almost dreamlike quality on stage.
“La Bayadère” tells the story of Nikiya, who is a temple dancer who has fallen in love with a warrior named Solor. Nikiya is poisoned by her rival Gamzatti and dies in Solor’s arms. Then, Solor dreams of the Kingdom of the Shades, where he is reunited with Nikiya, seeing her portrayed as an amplified vision of over two dozen dancers in all white with scarves draped across their arms.
When learning an already existing ballet, the dancers and coaches regularly reference the steps and movement qualities of previous performances. Tesch and Sheedy-Kramer watch the dancers try new movements and then they herd the dancers to a monitor in the corner of the dance studio to watch clips of past performances by American Ballet Theatre, the Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet. At this point in rehearsals, it is important to make sure the dancers have a strong understanding of the steps and are aware of formations and what pathways to make as they move around the stage and each other.
The Work Begins
This early in the rehearsal process, there are lots of problems to solve. “Shades,” as the dancers call the movement, have many counts that need to be precise so the corps de ballet, a large body of dancers, look as if they are moving together as one. The dancing needs to look effortless and cohesive, with “a flutter of bourres,” Tesch called out, as the dancers moved across the stage.
As the School of Dance does not usually perform with live music, the music recordings need to be adjusted to the pace of the dancers. There will be six shows of “Classique,” so it is also important to ensure that casting works well for the “Shades” pas de deux couple, four soloists and corps de ballet.
Ballet for One, Ballet for All
Ballet has been around since the 15th century with “La Bayadère” first being performed in the late 1800s in St. Petersburg. There is a lot of discussion within the ballet world about how to preserve and interpret ballets that continue to be performed by new dancers in new places. Tesch wants the dancers to enjoy their time dancing “Shades” and wants them to look great while doing it. Tesch and Sheedy-Kramer reference multiple different versions of the “Shades” movement to pick and choose flourishes that fit what aesthetics they are going for and what steps the dancers enjoy and look best at dancing.
For example, there might be two variations of a transition step before a big jump for the corps de ballet. For some steps Maggie finds the dancers should “steal a count,” using musicality to make the steps work best. In the male solo variation in the pas de deux (dance of two) the men get to pick which manege (step in a circle) they want to dance. This variability between the casts makes for a very exciting show for the audience, where you are seeing the same ballet but with slight changes in some of the tricky steps to showcase the dancer’s strengths.
The “Classique” show is a beautiful presentation of the School of Dance’s classical ballet skill and storytelling, and it will be remarkable for audience members. For more showtimes, access to the digital program, and more info from the School of Dance, check out dance.utah.edu.
