A Body of Work by David Hallberg

Author:David Hallberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Touchstone

CHAPTER 26

My Bolshoi debut was Giselle, partnering Natalia Osipova. The opportunity to dance again with her, in her home theater, was one of the biggest personal bonuses of coming to Bolshoi. I immediately immersed myself in the flow of my Giselle rehearsals. First, I had a solo call for an hour, when I would work meticulously on one jump and step after another. Then, time with Natasha, running the ballet from beginning to end, for an hour and a half. I was in heaven.

Sasha and I deconstructed Albrecht, the male lead. Most of Albrecht’s dancing is reserved for Act II, so Act I builds his character and allows for just a few moments of expression through actual dancing. Those moments were regarded with the same importance as a major variation in the second act. Sasha explained them anew. In the climax of Giselle and Albrecht’s initial flirtation there is a small moment when he playfully chases her around the stage in a series of jetés. Sasha had infinite ways of telling me how to approach this circle, a mere twelve counts that I, beforehand, didn’t realize deserved such attention.

I was finding a way back into the classical repertoire. For years, I had wanted a way to make Sleeping Beauty or Swan Lake something personal, something that felt true to myself and not dictated by generations of expectation. I had begun to do that with Yuri and, as I rehearsed Giselle with Sasha, I realized more clearly than ever that the opportunity to do so had always been there. Because it had to come from inside. My task was to find the drive and the individuality in the work, critical intangibles that Sasha fostered but could not supply. His responsibility had to begin and end with giving me the information and enabling me to make of it whatever I could. It was empowering to recognize that, ultimately, I was the one holding the reins.

* * *

WHEN IT CAME time to perform Giselle, the work Sasha and I accomplished in the studio had to transfer to the stage.The comfort and growth I felt in the studio would have to amount to something in public. The expectation and pressure to prove myself were enormous. I could feel it all around me: from Sergei, Sasha, the other coaches, the dancers, the media. I was scared of that first show, when everyone would judge and scrutinize.

I was lucky that Natasha would be my partner. I knew that she would calm my nerves just by dancing next to me. Still, I kept asking myself, Will I be able to live up to expectations?

* * *

NATASHA AND I would be dancing on what is known as the New Stage, a secondary stage that was used throughout the six-year renovation of Bolshoi Theatre. Twenty minutes before the curtain went up, Liusia, the main stylist for the male dancers of Bolshoi, put the final touches on my hair and makeup. A friendly woman, quick to laugh and try her English out on me, she chatted with me while she worked.

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