This week’s blog started with you, our Backstage Pass readers and Facebook fans. Several of you posted questions you would most like to ask someone at the National Ballet and we went straight to the source and had our dancers and staff answer them for you. Here they are:

Q: What is it like to return to dancing after being on maternity leave?
- Carly

A: from Lisa Robinson, Second Soloist

I am really excited to come back to work after having my baby girl Kaliani last May. I was fortunate to be able to bring her in over the summer while taking pilates classes with former Second Soloist and current Pilates Instructor Je-an Salas. These classes were a huge help in getting me strong enough for classes this season. It also helps to have the support of other colleagues who are mothers who also made the transition back to dance. I look forward to getting back onstage and having that physical and artistic satisfaction that comes with dance back in my life again.

Q: I’ve always wondered how the rotation of performers is decided. Who decides upon the [casting] rotations and how does this affect a dancer’s day? Do dancers have any input into these decisions and what happens then in the event of a sudden illness or injury? It seems like a rather difficult schedule to orchestrate and must have a variety of variables that would influence choices. Do union rules for time off or the challenge of the role affect these decisions?
- Ceris

A: from Sophie Letendre, Scheduling Manager

The artistic staff, along with Artistic Director Karen Kain, cast each ballet. Often times, dancers are cast in more than one role in a ballet. This makes it very difficult to schedule their rehearsals as well as the performances they will dance. Many things have to be considered when we schedule the dancers for their daily rehearsals such as:

- How many rehearsals for a specific role are needed per week until they get onstage?
- Who are they dancing with?
- Are they available to rehearse at the same time their partner is available?

The schedule must be correct so that the dancers know where they must be at all times. And yes, there are many union rules to follow which complicates things but are a necessary part of the world of performing arts. Because we have many casts for most roles and each dancer performs many roles, when one person is sick or injured it creates a domino effect for our rehearsals and, of course, for the performances. The person replacing the injured dancer would normally already be cast to dance another role in the production. They too would need to be replaced and so on…

There are many more aspects that come into play when I schedule the dancers every week like their availability, the staff’s availability, their workload, the specific times certain ballets must be rehearsed, available pianists, last-minute changes, costumes fittings, etc. It sure keeps me on my toes!

Q: I always wonder how difficult it is for the dancers to be rehearsing multiple pieces at one time – how do they keep all that choreography in their heads? I realize that many of the dancers have performed the classical pieces many times before but then there are all the new works that are often performed as part of the mixed programmes. I find it overwhelming to just think about all those steps!
- Fee

A: from Christopher Stalzer, Corps de Ballet

It can be a bit overwhelming at first but after a couple years of practice we get used to it. If dancing four or five ballets at a time wasn’t enough, many of us also dance more than one role in the ballets! For me, that is when it gets complicated. There are different counts, positions and directions so it does get overwhelming at times but it helps to go over the choreography right before going out on stage for each performance.

Q: I’ve noticed that there are not many performances done for each production, why is that? Is it because it takes a lot of training for each production? How long in advance do dancers start preparing for a production?
- Denais

A: from Joanna Ivey, Assistant to the Artistic Director/ Project Manager

The number of performances programmed is based on financial considerations - how much it costs for the company to rent the theatre and book the crew, etc., vs. how many tickets are likely to sell to cover those costs. Months of work go into preparing for a role. For example, a dancer appearing for the first time as Prince Florimund or Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty in November will have been learning the role and perfecting the steps since the beginning of September. It is an enormous amount of hard work for often only one or two performances per cast. (There are six casts of Principal and Soloist roles in The Sleeping Beauty and only 11 performances). Of course, everyone considers themselves lucky to perform roles in these magnificent ballets for an audience – it’s what dancers live for. But, if there were no limitations due to scheduling and production costs, most dancers would prefer to spend far more time onstage.

Q: What ballet is Heather Ogden most excited for and who is it choreographed by?
- Brigitte

A: from Heather Ogden, Principal Dancer

I am most excited for The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev, in which I dance Princess Aurora. It has always been a favourite role of mine and it is great to be coming back to it.

[Photos: Top, Lisa Robinson backstage at a dress rehearsal for Jewels. Photo by Bruce Zinger. Centre, Christopher Stalzer. Photo by Sian Richards. Above, Heather Ogden with Artists of the Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.]

I have just returned from my native Bratislava, Slovakia, where I participated in two gala performances celebrating the 60th anniversary of SLUK (Slovak Folk Art Ensemble), a company where I began my professional career almost 50 years ago. The company was then a 180-member ensemble made up of 60 dancers, a choir of 50, a full orchestra and support staff. The company was and still is a State-run professional ensemble, performing at a high level and presenting very diverse Slovak folklore. The company is substantially smaller these days and still travels extensively around the world. From inception in 1949, the company was housed in a 19th century castle just outside of Bratislava. In the 1980s, they had a new building built for them beside the castle. The plan was to renovate the castle for use by the President and the Government but they are still renovating it today.

Because I was underage [just 15 years old] at the time, my parents signed my first contract on November 20, 1959. I danced with the company until 1968 when I moved to Canada to join The National Ballet of Canada. Over the years there were many anniversaries, celebrations and get togethers at SLUK but I was never able to attend. It had been my dream to dance once again in Bratislava but it never materialized. I was absolutely ecstatic when SLUK invited me to be honoured and to celebrate this milestone with them. Then my ecstasy changed to uncertainty when I learned that they actually wanted me to perform!

Over the years, they had heard of my success with the National Ballet and were always proud of me – their native son – making it in the world. I would, however, have liked to show myself off in my prime. I was not sure what they were expecting to see from me now, a 65 year old dancer.

I have visited my hometown many times over the almost 42 years I have been living in Canada. Less often, however, since my parents passed in 1989 and 1991. On my visits, I always dropped in on the dancers at SLUK, the ballet dancers at the National Theatre and at the Academy where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts before coming to Canada. I gave some classes and it was always very nice to hear that they had been following my career.

The current General Manager of SLUK, now almost 50 years old, claimed that he was present at my audition in 1959! I wondered how that could be. As it turns out, the woman who auditioned me was pregnant with him at the time. She and her husband were long time dancers, colleagues and friends of mine. I was also very happy to spend time with Juraj Kubanka, my former Artistic Director and a great choreographer. He is now 82 years old and still working.

On previous visits, I had acted as a tour guide for my family but this visit was very different; it was for me and me alone. I was picked up at the airport, driven around, looked after and pampered in a way that made me feel so special. There were TV, radio and newspaper interviews. I was taken to concerts, performances and receptions. Fortunately, I still had time for my two cousins, the only family I have left there, to take a few walks down memory lane.

On my second day, I was in the studio working to find out if I was able, without embarrassing myself, to do a one-minute solo from a dance that I had performed in over 40 years ago but in a much different role. With the help of a massage therapist and Advil, it was going to be all right.

The Saturday night gala was attended by the President of the Republic and other dignitaries as well as alumni, many of whom I had not seen for 42 years. The second performance was televised. Thankfully, both performances went very well. The nostalgia for me was indescribable.

The whole experience was priceless! It brought back so many memories from my youth. The lasting memory of this trip for me is the experience of being back in the studio with SLUK dancers. It sort of closed a circle in my 50-year career as a professional dancer. Who could ask for more?

[Photos: 1. Tomas Schramek in performance, circa 1965. 2. Tomas with Juraj Kubanka 3. The cast of the SLUK gala 4. Bratislava 5. Rusovce Castle. Photos courtesy of Tomas Schramek]

Would you rather run 10 km or dance one hour of rehearsal? I think I would choose the rehearsal. However, on Sunday, September 20, I ran my first 10 km race. I ran alongside three members of the administrative staff, Teri Worthington-Coombs, Johnny Vong and Jennifer Burton. All of us were up early that Sunday morning to catch the 10:00 am ferry over to Centre Island. The race started at 11:15 am on what was a very idyllic day.

As we left the starting line, I saw how many people were running. There were a lot! I was amazed to see so many people out participating in an activity that is so basic and yet very beneficial for one’s body; a father running with his child in a three-wheeled stroller, elderly runners, runners with minor injuries marked by braces and even a blind woman who had an assistant running with her. These are only a few of the many different types of people who participated.

Running on Centre Island was definitely a pleasure. The route was generally flat with a couple sections on grass and the final stretch along the boardwalk on the south side of the island. Having the last two km along the open water of Lake Ontario on the boardwalk was a great motivator and made finishing the race a thrill. I surprised myself by finishing in a little over 56 minutes. A previous attempt at a 10 km run during training had taken around one hour and five minutes.

I trained for seven weeks, running three to four times per week, gradually increasing my distance. Toward the final two weeks of training, I found it hard to maintain my running schedule as my dancing schedule became more demanding. It was definitely a challenge trying to balance the two but the running provided my dancing with many benefits.

Finishing the race was quite a conflicting moment for me. I wanted to jump in celebration for finishing my first race but I also just wanted to gulp back a few litres of water and sit down for the rest of the day. After I drank a couple glasses of water, the biggest feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction took over and I felt great.

Now I can cross “run a 10 km race” off my list!

[Photos: Marissa Parzei (#506) with Johnny Vong (#773), Jennifer Burton (#93) and Teri Worthington-Coombs (#812).]

I am sitting in the Vancouver airport waiting to board a flight back to Toronto after a wonderful week of performances on the west coast. I was so disappointed when our Western Canada tour of The Sleeping Beauty was cancelled earlier this year but I was thrilled to find out I would be one of ten dancers who would still perform in three cities in British Columbia. This was especially exciting for me as our second stop was my hometown of Nanaimo.

Our first performance was in Victoria and was really well received. My parents were there and we drove home to Nanaimo together afterwards. The next day, when the rest of the company arrived, my parents hosted a barbeque. We had some great food and laughed all evening. Near the end of the evening Gerard Roxburgh, our Company Manager, received a text message from the theatre informing him that there was no chair for Principal Dancer Sonia Rodriguez to sit in for the pas de deux from Lady of the Camellias. We did not travel with one as the crew did not anticipate a problem finding a chair in each city. As soon as Gerard announced there was no chair, all eyes started scanning my parents’ house for one while my Mom and Dad tried to figure out what was happening and why we were trying to steal their furniture. In the end, my mom remembered a chair which sits in my grandfather’s condo three floors down. It was perfect! The crew helped my mom bring it to the theatre in the morning and it looked great. It was really bizarre to see my parents’ chair sitting backstage when I arrived the next day.

Our programme opened with James Kudelka’s Musings followed by George Balanchine’s Apollo. We concluded the evening with a pas de deux from Lady of the Camellias and the Act III pas de deux from The Sleeping Beauty. The performance in Nanaimo was my busiest and most exciting because, in addition to performing in Musings and one of my all time favorites Apollo, I made my debut as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. Principal Dancer Guillaume Côté was my prince and he was such a generous partner and helped me keep my nerves in check. Luckily, it also helped that I was so busy with hair and costume changes during the intermissions that I didn’t have much time to get nervous.

The performance went really well and I enjoyed it so much. I have always loved performing at The Port Theatre for many reasons. Besides it being my hometown theatre, the local crew is so friendly and does a great job. I always look forward to seeing General Manager Bruce Halliday, Technical Director Jim Kent, past Lighting staff member Mike Bowen and Programming and Development staff member Sandra Thomson. I have known them since the first time I performed at the theater when I was 17 and they have always been very kind and welcoming. The audience is also a highlight since they are always warm and enthusiastic. The night ended with a reception hosted by David Brooks and the law firm Ramsay Lampman Rhodes, which took place at the theatre. It was a fantastic night.

Following our time in Nanaimo we travelled to Vancouver to perform in a fundraiser, IGNITE, for Ballet BC. It was great to take class with some old friends and get inspired by the other dancers. I also enjoyed meeting Emily Molnar, the Interim Artistic Director. The evening went really well and I hope it helped Ballet BC on their road to recovery.

After all the excitement, I was able to spend a few days with my family and get a little rest before heading back into rehearsals for our Fall Season in Toronto. It was such a treat to be able to do this and I am looking forward to making my Toronto debut as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty in a few weeks, as well as dancing in the Ottawa tour at the beginning of November.

[Photos: Top, Jillian Vanstone after her performance in The Sleeping Beauty. Centre, the view of the Port Theatre from Jillian’s parents’ balcony. Above, Jillian with David Brooks. Photos courtesy of Jillian Vanstone.]