The Royal New Zealand Ballet is bringing the never performed in New Zealand Roland Petit ballets of Carmen and L’Arlesienne to Dunedin on its national tour. Rebecca Fox finds out what makes these works so special.
One memory stands out for Italian dancer Luigi Bonino: holding Rudolf Nureyev’s hand on the stage of The MET in New York after a performance of Roland Petit’s Notre Dame de Paris.
‘‘I was a huge crazy fan of Nureyev. I was one of those groupees screaming and here I was dancing with him. It was amazing.
‘‘I still get goosebumps [thinking about it] now.’’
It is experiences like this and others — he has danced with prima ballerinas Zizi Jeanmarie (Petit’s wife), Margot Fonteyn, Natalia Makarova and Alessandra Ferri — Bonino has had during a 35-year career with French choreographer Roland Petit that Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers are soaking up.
Bonino is in New Zealand to ‘‘stage’’ the RNZB’s productions of Petit’s Carmen and L’Arlesienne.
The role of artistic director of Roland Petit repertoire, given to him on the death of Petit in 1987, sees him direct dancers in productions of Petit’s ballets in the correct dance style and moves of the works.
‘‘It is a big, big responsibility to try and do exactly as he wanted.’’
This is especially important given the ballets will be showcased around New Zealand during the RNZB tour.
‘‘Many people who don’t know him will come. Roland Petit ballets are for everybody. It’s very easy to understand — he does a good story.
‘‘Here you have a fight, love, sexy pas de deux [a duet].’’
It is a challenge for Bonino and the dancers who are attempting the works for the first time as Petit’s style is quite different from traditional classical ballet.
From their first ballet lessons as pre-schoolers, dancers are taught to open their toes in a ‘‘v’’ but Petit’s ballet calls for their toes to be parallel a lot of the time.
‘‘It’s not the same balance. It is difficult.’’
Another difference in Petit’s ballets is that they call for a lot of emotion and touching.
‘‘Sometimes they are afraid, shy to show emotion, shy to touch, but with Roland Petit a woman is a woman and a man a man, and you touch. It is not like classical ballet.’’
Bonino himself had to learn Petit’s ways after first rehearsing for him as a young dancer.
‘‘For me that is it.’’
He loved going to the studio each day as he was never sure what Petit would have in-store for him.
‘‘It was so easy for him to create. He had so much fantasy; also his musicality was so important. He never did a move without a reason.
‘‘Every movement meant something, which is what is difficult to explain to dancers.’’
Petit’s choreography and music is closely intertwined and very precise.
He found Petit to be a funny man who was very determined and passionate about his work.
‘‘He could be very difficult sometimes. He had a strong personality.’’
While Bonino danced many parts in Petit’s ballets, ‘‘little by little’’ he began to take on an assistant’s role to the choreographer.
‘‘Then he began sending me around the world to stage his ballets.’’
Petit encouraged Bonino to try choreography himself, but Bonino could not see how he could better what Petit had created.
‘‘It’s impossible. So many choreography people think is fantastic; for me is very bad.
‘‘You must know what you can do well, even in dancing. Not everyone can dance everything.’’
Carmen is a work Petit wrote for his wife, dancer Zizi Jeanmarie, and is considered his most important work.
‘‘To stage Carmen, every girl wants to be her, but it’s impossible to be like her.’’
It requires the dancer ‘‘to be Carmen’’, to ‘‘feel’’ the role.
‘‘Carmen is very, very feminine, very strong, very different from traditional female classical ballet roles like Giselle.’’
Petit came to New Zealand as a result of his relationship with the RNZB’s artistic director Francesco Ventriglia, who he met as a young dancer at La Scala in Italy.
‘‘Roland liked him very much.’’
As a result of Petit casting Ventriglia in main roles, he became a principal dancer.
‘‘I’m very happy to be here. It’s an incredible chance to bring Roland Petit to New Zealand for the first time.’’
For RNZB dancers Madeleine Graham and Natalya Kusch the experience of working with Bonino is invaluable.
Graham, a Melbourne-trained dancer who has been with the company since 2012, is one of the leading ladies in L’Arlesienne, her first major role with the company, and is also dancing in Carmen.
‘‘It’s exciting.’’
She could not believe it when she was selected for the role as all she had hoped for was a chance to learn the role.
‘‘It’s been my dream to get to do it.’’
The lead role meant ‘‘one on one’’ time with Bonino in rehearsal.
‘‘He has such a wealth of knowledge and is able to demonstrate both the male and female role right in front of you.
‘‘You can see the passion in his eyes and when he does it, it makes you want to do it just like him. It helps so much.’’
Rehearsing from 9am to 6pm every day made for some tough days and required listening to her body, wearing compression leggings at night, icing her feet every day and eating a balanced diet.
The different style of dancing that Petit requires made rehearsals even tougher.
‘‘You have to give a lot from within yourself as each dancer interprets the role differently.
‘‘It’s been great to find that within myself.’’
When she does get a break, she finds herself madly sewing point shoes as the schedule means they are going through their shoes.
‘‘Our point shoes are not lasting very long dancing seven hours a day.’’
For Kusch, the role of Carmen came along at the perfect time after a difficult period when she became disillusioned with dance.
Originally from the Ukraine, she has danced in Europe mostly with the Vienna ballet before taking up an opportunity to dance in Australia — a lead role in Romeo and Juliet proving to be the clincher.
Her role with the Australian Ballet Company had not worked out and she was planning a return to Europe before she got called up for Carmen.
‘‘I’ve always dreamed of dancing this role. I never thought I’d get the opportunity as the role did not suit me.’’
The RNZB thought differently, so Kusch is spending the year with the company.
‘‘It’s completely different to what I’ve done. Very challenging, very romantic, it tells a story.’’
After a long period of not dancing, the rehearsal schedule was punishing.
‘‘It’s very intense physically and mentally, but I love it. I’m growing not just as a dancer, but as an artist.’’
Working with Bonino was ‘‘amazing’’, she said. She felt like spaghetti sometimes and found the different feet positions very challenging.
‘‘He’s incredible. He’s got me to open myself to be angry or sad. To mentally feel the role.
‘‘Every day is exciting to come to work.’’
It is her first time in New Zealand and she is loving living in Wellington.
‘‘How lucky am I?’’
She has found the company to be very welcoming and inspiring and on top of that she is able to go for a swim in the sea after work.
‘‘I love the water so much. The fresh air is amazing.’’
Once her time with the RNZB is over she plans to return to Europe, where she has some gala performances lined up and hopes to find a full-time dance role.
To see
Carmen with L’Arlesienne, Regent Theatre on Saturday at 7.30pm and Sunday at 4pm.
