|
 |
Ballet West laced up for 'Faun'
Jerome Robbins piece will be Utah premiere for Olympic program
By Scott Iwasaki
Deseret News dance editor
Jerome Robbins' "Afternoon of a Faun" is subtly sensual. That's what Jonas Kage, Ballet West artistic director, likes about it.
"The more we mature, the more subtleties appeal to us," Kage said during an interview before rehearsals in the Ballet West offices at the Capitol Theatre. "This work is a beautiful work that is like a dream."
"Afternoon of a Faun" will be a Utah premiere during Ballet West's official Olympic program, which will hit the stage Saturday, Feb. 23. Curtain is 8 p.m. Tickets range from $15-$45 and are available through all ArtTix outlets or by calling 801-355-ARTS.
"The work opens like the audience is seeing a ballet studio," K towards the end, and then something happens and one of the dancers leaves. It's just beautiful."
Jean-Pierre Frohlich, assistant ballet master at New York City Ballet, has staged the work for NYCB and is a member of the Jerome Robbins Rights Trust, which oversees the late Robbins' choreographies.
"The challenge is trying to forget the audience is there," Frohlich said during a telephone interview from his New York City office. "It's basically a work that depicts two human beings acting like they are ballet dancers in the studio. They are acting like themselves."
However, just because the dancers act as themselves in the work doesn't mean it's easy to do. "While the steps are a little complicated, it's very difficult to keep the focus on maintaining the feel of the work," said Jessica Harston, who, along with Seth Olsen, will dance "Afternoon of a Faun."
"The audience is the mirror," Harston said, "and the idea is to sustain the illusion that there is a mirror in front of us. We can't look down or let our eyes drift, because then the whole point of the dance is gone."
Olsen added, "I remember watching a video and having Victor Casteli (who staged the work on Ballet West), telling me not to do what the dancers on the video were doing. I, personally, make the mistake of researching too much for a role and find myself surprised at rehearsals. So when Victor told me not to do what the other dancers were doing, it helped."
"The choreography is Mr. Robbins'," said Frohlich, who danced the work under the direction of the choreographer himself. "And he told me what he wanted. He knew what he was doing, and I had to go in and be open about it."
Frohlich likes the lack of pretense of "Afternoon of a Faun." "Mr. Robbins loved simplicity. And with his enormous background in theater, the dancers just had to trust him. And he was right 98 percent of the time."
Olsen and Harston both feel the Ballet West Olympic performance has come upon them like a hurricane. But the two have danced together so often that there weren't any problems working with each other.
"The fact that we know each other so well as dancers has made it possible for us to do this piece," Olsen said. "Otherwise, I don't think we could have done it."
"(Seth) knows when I'm on and he knows when I'm off," Harston said. "And that helps us take care of problems quickly. Hopefully so the audience won't realize what's happening."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com
|
|
February 17, 2002
|
