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Tamara Rojo shakes off the pink satin ribbons to put sex back into ballet Tamara Rojo shakes off the pink satin ribbons to put sex back into ballet
(6 months later)
Ballet is often seen as the perfect treat for a little girl: a confection of pastel tulle and gauze, where all the dancers should expect from an audience is the odd gasp of delight, or a sigh of contentment at a well-executed pirouette.Ballet is often seen as the perfect treat for a little girl: a confection of pastel tulle and gauze, where all the dancers should expect from an audience is the odd gasp of delight, or a sigh of contentment at a well-executed pirouette.
But Tamara Rojo, Spanish star of Covent Garden and new head of English National Ballet, wants to bring down the curtain on such saccharine assumptions. Pink satin ribbons have restricted classical dance for too long, Rojo believes. It is time to reclaim her art form for the adult themes of sex and intense personal drama.But Tamara Rojo, Spanish star of Covent Garden and new head of English National Ballet, wants to bring down the curtain on such saccharine assumptions. Pink satin ribbons have restricted classical dance for too long, Rojo believes. It is time to reclaim her art form for the adult themes of sex and intense personal drama.
"As some companies try to sell more tickets, they have become safer, offering more family shows like The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty," said Rojo, 38. "We forget that the one thing ballet can do is passion and overwhelming emotion. It can do it better than words, better than even Shakespeare sometimes.""As some companies try to sell more tickets, they have become safer, offering more family shows like The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty," said Rojo, 38. "We forget that the one thing ballet can do is passion and overwhelming emotion. It can do it better than words, better than even Shakespeare sometimes."
Rojo, who grew up in Madrid, is about to begin her first full season at the ENB's Coliseum home and the programme is full of sensuality and eroticism. "Audiences will be surprised. It is not that I want to frighten them; but challenge them, yes," she said. "These pieces are about grown-up relationships and make no apology for how complicated and raw these relationships can be."Rojo, who grew up in Madrid, is about to begin her first full season at the ENB's Coliseum home and the programme is full of sensuality and eroticism. "Audiences will be surprised. It is not that I want to frighten them; but challenge them, yes," she said. "These pieces are about grown-up relationships and make no apology for how complicated and raw these relationships can be."
Ecstasy and Death will start on 18 April with Czech choreographer Jiri Kylián's Petit Mortin, in which male dancers partner fencing foils as well as women. Next comes Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, Roland Petit's acclaimed piece created to a Cocteau libretto, which Rojo will dance. The third ballet, in which Rojo also stars, will be Harald Lander's powerful Etudes. It is a programme clearly designed to enliven a West End weighed down by too many Sugar Plum fairies.Ecstasy and Death will start on 18 April with Czech choreographer Jiri Kylián's Petit Mortin, in which male dancers partner fencing foils as well as women. Next comes Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, Roland Petit's acclaimed piece created to a Cocteau libretto, which Rojo will dance. The third ballet, in which Rojo also stars, will be Harald Lander's powerful Etudes. It is a programme clearly designed to enliven a West End weighed down by too many Sugar Plum fairies.
"In the past there was more risk-taking and more daring," she said. "So I have chosen these ballets because they represent the best of 20th-century choreography, and particularly the choreography of Europe," said Rojo. The interpretations will be steamy, it is clear, and will not disappoint those who welcomed the signal given by Rojo's rebranding of her company in January, when dancers were photographed in revealing Vivienne Westwood costumes. The choreography itself is sacrosanct, however. "We don't need to be any more explicit. It is explicit enough," she said. "We will not be changing any of the steps. It is like a text. You don't need to change the words of Hamlet to give a fresh performance.""In the past there was more risk-taking and more daring," she said. "So I have chosen these ballets because they represent the best of 20th-century choreography, and particularly the choreography of Europe," said Rojo. The interpretations will be steamy, it is clear, and will not disappoint those who welcomed the signal given by Rojo's rebranding of her company in January, when dancers were photographed in revealing Vivienne Westwood costumes. The choreography itself is sacrosanct, however. "We don't need to be any more explicit. It is explicit enough," she said. "We will not be changing any of the steps. It is like a text. You don't need to change the words of Hamlet to give a fresh performance."
The Kylian, she said, is "one of his masterpieces" and she is delighted to stage the late Petit's work too, having worked with him. "That was a man who was very excited about women. His wife, the dancer Zizi Jeanmaire, was a strong woman on stage and definitely not like a little girl. There is a lot of passion in this piece. A man is about to lose his life and there is a predatory woman, which I am enjoying in rehearsal!"The Kylian, she said, is "one of his masterpieces" and she is delighted to stage the late Petit's work too, having worked with him. "That was a man who was very excited about women. His wife, the dancer Zizi Jeanmaire, was a strong woman on stage and definitely not like a little girl. There is a lot of passion in this piece. A man is about to lose his life and there is a predatory woman, which I am enjoying in rehearsal!"
Unusually, Rojo is to dance as well as run her company, a trick pulled off by some of her ballet heroines, such as Alicia Markova, the prima ballerina assoluta who co-founded the ENB.Unusually, Rojo is to dance as well as run her company, a trick pulled off by some of her ballet heroines, such as Alicia Markova, the prima ballerina assoluta who co-founded the ENB.
So, a century after the riotous Paris opening of the radical Diaghilev ballet of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Rojo is hoping to prove classical dance can still be stirring. Male dancers, she argues, must also be allowed to dominate the stage and show off. "We will tour with Le Corsaire in the autumn, and this is a show where in one evening you can see four star male dancers on the stage, really challenging each other," she said. The ballet, choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Adolphe Adam, is a 19th-century classic, based on Byron's poem, and tells the story of a pirate who loves a beautiful harem girl. Its passionate pas de deux made Rudolf Nureyev famous when he arrived in London in the 1960s and danced it with Margot Fonteyn.So, a century after the riotous Paris opening of the radical Diaghilev ballet of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Rojo is hoping to prove classical dance can still be stirring. Male dancers, she argues, must also be allowed to dominate the stage and show off. "We will tour with Le Corsaire in the autumn, and this is a show where in one evening you can see four star male dancers on the stage, really challenging each other," she said. The ballet, choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Adolphe Adam, is a 19th-century classic, based on Byron's poem, and tells the story of a pirate who loves a beautiful harem girl. Its passionate pas de deux made Rudolf Nureyev famous when he arrived in London in the 1960s and danced it with Margot Fonteyn.
The ENB will be the first British company to perform the complete work, which is being designed by Bob Ringwood and will open in Milton Keynes, before visiting Southampton, Oxford, Bristol, London and Manchester. "Nureyev fearlessly took control of the stage and was a massive influence on the ENB, so I want to take that on. I want to show the technical brilliance of my male talent. They are amazing artists and they are here because they can't live without dance. I want to unleash that on stage."The ENB will be the first British company to perform the complete work, which is being designed by Bob Ringwood and will open in Milton Keynes, before visiting Southampton, Oxford, Bristol, London and Manchester. "Nureyev fearlessly took control of the stage and was a massive influence on the ENB, so I want to take that on. I want to show the technical brilliance of my male talent. They are amazing artists and they are here because they can't live without dance. I want to unleash that on stage."
Male dancers compete rather like rappers, she said, to prove who can jump highest or spin fastest. It is a competition she wants young boys and men who do not like ballet to come to see. "Boys don't get introduced to ballet in the same way," she said. "It is not very often that a family decides to take a boy to the ballet. But once they are introduced they really enjoy it, and men particularly love the mature themes."Male dancers compete rather like rappers, she said, to prove who can jump highest or spin fastest. It is a competition she wants young boys and men who do not like ballet to come to see. "Boys don't get introduced to ballet in the same way," she said. "It is not very often that a family decides to take a boy to the ballet. But once they are introduced they really enjoy it, and men particularly love the mature themes."
She hopes she is developing a new generation of superstars. "That is my challenge. I have these amazing stars in my company, some of the most handsome men and beautiful women. And I think we know people come to see beautiful people." A real ballet superstar, Rojo said, shows integrity. "They might not always be physically perfect, but there is complete commitment and respect. They try to do something that goes beyond the ego."She hopes she is developing a new generation of superstars. "That is my challenge. I have these amazing stars in my company, some of the most handsome men and beautiful women. And I think we know people come to see beautiful people." A real ballet superstar, Rojo said, shows integrity. "They might not always be physically perfect, but there is complete commitment and respect. They try to do something that goes beyond the ego."
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