Finis Jhung Workshops

Finis: From time to time we see dancers from The Paris Opera, and I have always been terribly impressed with their extraordinarily high level of technique and artistry. They definitely have something that American dancers don't. What makes the difference?

David: I think it's the culture, and the way they're brought up in the school. They're groomed so well, from such a young age, and they are so aware of what one day they may step into, when they join the company. There's such a sense of pride, in knowing that they're representing The Paris Opera Ballet, where so many great choreographers and artists like Nureyev have worked.

Finis: Ah ha. I think that's what I see in you. You have a sense of being groomed, of manners, of stage deportment. You step out on the stage with such purpose and command, unlike some other leading American male dancers who don't seem to realize they're on stage in front of an audience. How long were you in the ABT Studio Company?

David: One year, and then I was taken into the main Company.

Finis: And how did you feel about it?

David: When I first got in, I was 19, and I was obsessed with trying to be seen. Coming from the lStudio Company, which had only 12 dancers, I felt like a little fish in the big ocean. It was so interesting to learn how the company worked, because it was very different from being in high school, and being in the studio company.

Finis: How so?

David: You know, you have to work very hard, of course, because being in a ballet company requires a very demanding work ethic. In rehearsal periods, you're working seven hours a day. In performance periods, you're rehearsing four or five hours a day, and then performing until 11 PM. It was so interesting for me to observe, up close, how other dancers reacted to the heavy work schedule.

You really have to start being conscious of your body, and what it needs. You need to take care of yourself, so you don't get injured or suffer strains. There's nothing worse for a dancer than being unhealthy, and unable to respond to the demands of the job.

In the Studio Company, we all danced in every ballet, so we were very energetic, ready to take on the world. But in the main company, it wasn't like that. You're standing in the back, learning peasant dances, or a mazurka with the whole corps de ballet. So to speak, you're learning at the bottom of the totem pole. But what is interesting, as I reflect on it now, is that it all turned into a process for me. I wasn't just going to just get into the company and become a star, although it does happen. It's different for each dancer.

Finis: Most of us start at the bottom. The first thing I did in The Joffrey was the rake dance in La Fille mal Gardée.

David: Being in the corps is very nerve-wracking. Your first couple of performances are probably the scariest you'll ever experience, because you think the artistic staff and the audience are only watching you, and waiting for you to screw up and fail. You think they're all just waiting to see if you can do it. But once those few performances pass, it gets a little easier, and you start to grow with your roles, and become more comfortable, and confident. And slowly that's when bigger roles start to occur. Casting comes up, and you're learning a soloist role, or understudying a principal role.

Finis: How soon did that happen for you?

David: My first big thing was Benno in Swan Lake, after I had been in the company for six months. I did the pas de trois in the 1st act.

Finis: That was pretty quick! Were you surprised, or did you feel you were ready to be given a chance?

David: Well, at first, watching dancers such as Angel Corella and Jose Manuel Carreno, I couldn't see myself dancing the way they did. They are such strong bravura dancers. As time passed, and I performed more and more, I started getting feedback from the artistic staff and people who came to the ballet and talked to me after performances; some people said I reminded them of Erik Bruhn, or a young Peter Martins. I certainly hadn't had them in mind when I was dancing! At ABT, it is very rare, I feel, to see a lyrical danseur noble. And that is actually where I feel the most comfortable. I love to watch the dancers do Basilio in Don Q, and The Slave in Corsaire, but I don't think of myself doing those roles. I think I'm more suited to Sigfried in Swan Lake, or Prince Désiré in Sleeping Beauty.

 

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©Mikhail M Logvinov		    
©Rosalie O'Conner		  
©Andrea Mohin/The New York Times