"It is exhausting. Toward the end of the piece, the dancers are just literally throwing themselves into the steps. The dancers have to get down the basic survival instinct in this piece. And I think that brings out the aesthetic of the work."

Tetley's work is more physical and more wild than that of Nijinsky, who was the first to choreograph a piece to the Stravinsky score, said Kåge. "Glen's work is one of the first to merge ballet with modern dance. The style is very much in the Martha Graham style, not the pseudo-contemporary style. It is complex, and Glen's choreography pushed the dancers into the ground.

"Even the music is full of tension. Stravinsky starts the piece with a bassoon, which usually plays at a low range. But the opening notes are high in the register, and that already sets the mood for the piece."

Kåge has wanted to bring "The Rite of Spring" to Ballet West since he came on board as artistic director in 1997. But he hesitates to say that now is the perfect time to bring this challenging work to the company. "There's never a good time to do this. It's all just a matter of when the piece is available. And I don't think a company is quite prepared for it. You get it and then you go with it. But I did have some people in mind for certain roles when we found we were going to do the piece this year. And I talked with Bronwen in length about the company."

Staging the ballet with different companies is one of Curry's jobs. "It's difficult when you come to a company you don't know," she said. "I usually talk with the artistic director, who knows the dancers, and I take advice from them.

"There was an advantage with Jonas because he was a great Tetley dancer. So he had a good idea of what is involved in this work and which dancers would be best for the roles."

Curry said her main job is to bring out the dancers' personalities in the work. "Glen's productions are so difficult physically. There are times when you know what you're supposed to do, but your body won't let you do it. But Ballet West is a very good company. The dancers are high level, and that's pleasing to me.

"When I first came, I had everyone learn the movement. That gives everyone a chance. Then I whittle the cast down."

---

E-mail: scott@desnews.com