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Finis: How so? Wendy: She would show me a step, and my approach would not have been the same as her approach. I didn't know if I should try to make it like her, or if it was OK to make it my own. Jenifer Ringer (another City Ballet Principal) was also learning the part, and I thought she would be so much more appropriate for the part. Jenifer and I talked with each other throughout the learning process, and we tried to really support each other, because we've known each other a long time, and worked together a lot. And, we actually know how completely opposite we are, and we really respect each other for that. I also felt the music (Fauré) was too flowery for me; kind of like the icing on the cake. I prefer more dramatic music; heavy and pulsing like Stravinksy. This was so far from that! It only came into place for me with the orchestra dress rehearsal. Finis: OK, you're on stage, and ... Wendy: I was not really looking forward to it, because I hadn't found myself in the piece. So I decided to almost just throw it away, in the sense of not worrying about what I was gong to do with it, and just go out there and trust that something right would happen. And, it happened. I had fun! I found what it meant to me, in the performance, although I hadn't had a solution before hand. Finis: Well, that's amazing for me to hear, because I saw you dance the piece, which I hadn't particularly remembered favorably, I loved every moment of you. You did so much with that music and the movement. You did as Balanchine said: "See the music and hear the dancing." You added another dimension: the smell of romance. Wendy: I actually remembered something Tanaquil LeClerq (a famous Balanchine Ballerina) had told me, years earlier. She just said "be yourself." I found that It's important to know how to make good judgments, and to use what people tell you to best advantage. So when I approach a part nowadays, I'm thinking, "how do I bring myself into the piece?" and use that as a guide. Finis: What else do you think of? Wendy: Generally, Balanchine ballets aren't narrative ballets, they don't have plots, but they do make you feel something emotionally. Everyone feels different things, so what is the strongest expression I can give from my understanding of the choreography and the music? Finis: I love the Balanchine quote: "You see, dancing is the ability to look well while you are in space. It's covering space in time." Wendy: Sometimes, when you connect a piece of the choreography with a phrase in the music, it hits you like a bolt of lightning. You fall in love with that particular moment in the piece. And then you start sculpting on that, and loving it more and more the more you rehearse it. I think the audience feels that. It's interesting going into a piece you've never danced before, because it's probable that I've seen the piece on stage, performed by someone else, and it's hard to get the memory of that out of my head. A lot of times this previous viewing experience makes you come to the part with preconceived ideas. However, when you start to dance the steps for yourself, it's like opening the door to a room full of new possibilities. And sometimes, you end up changing your mind about what you saw; you may not like the piece as much as you first did, or you may end up liking it more. Finis: Because . . . Wendy: For instance, when I started working on La Sonnambula, which was the first Balanchine ballet I ever saw, and loved, I thought it would be easy to do. However, it ended up being very challenging because it demanded a kind of focus that was entirely new to me, as a performer. I was used to being extroverted in performance. This role, of the Sleepwalker, required a powerful introversion that needed to be palpable to the audience. Surprisingly, this is not an easy thing to do. It seems to be so simple, but it isn't. I think it took me a couple of season to get it. I think it's very important to have a good chemistry with the dancer who plays The Poet, because that's what has to be projected to the audience. Finis: But in this part, you never really "see" him do you, because you're sleepwalking? So how do you do it? Wendy: Allegra Kent and Victor Castelli, who danced this ballet together, and gave incredible performances, helped give me insight into the role. And, my poet has always been Nikolaj Hubbe, whom I love dearly; he's like my brother, and we love to do this ballet together. Nikolaj pulls things out of me in this very difficult role, where I cannot express with my face. It's almost like having to communicate with your breath! As the Poet, Nikolaj projects such strong emotions, and that balances my cool understatement. It's a very interesting piece, because of the challenges it imposes. There's no ballet quite like it.
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