Romeo....Romeo.....

We are exactly halfway through our final week of performances and "Romeo and Juliet" in all of its dramatic romance is taking over our lives. It's an interesting ballet because there really isn't much for the corps to do in the typical sense yet we contribute so much to the overall effect of the evening. We set the tone from the beginning marketplace scene and it carries through the roller coaster ride that is the ballet. Watching this ballet every night for me is kind of a confusing experience because as much as I admire it there aren't many "staples" that people flock to the wings for. There are few variations and the pas de deux aren't typical ballet show-stoppers which presents a stretch for not only the principal dancers but the soloists and corps as well. I find that viewing it as a theater piece and not a ballet is more fulfilling and I recently purchased the play to read again and do a little comparison.

(Simone plays a Harlot and does a little pre-act seducing of Daniel)

Like most people my age I think my attention was first REALLY brought to the source material with Baz Lurhman's 1996 film version and before that with "West Side Story". These two pieces are prime examples of reinterpreting material to present it to a different audience with modern film and musical theater respectively. I believe the most difficult of all to be the process of reinterpreting it into a ballet. To take Shakespeare's detailed and richly poetic verse and translate that poetry into a purely physical communication is an amazingly difficult task. Of course Prokofiev has provided one of the most dramatic and in my opinion perfect ballet scores to accompany the choreography. Hearing the music of the ballroom every night followed by the famous balcony scene is worth the price of admission. It is interesting not only watching the different layers of choreography but, as a fellow dancer Julio Bragado-Young pointed out, to pinpoint single instruments in the orchestra providing different aspects of the emotion. I think that it is definitely a ballet that requires repeated viewings because while it may seem like it moves slowly on first viewing, the more you watch it the more you get from it.

(I'm a happy Capulet with Blaine as we are viewed through the dirtiest lense ever)

It's not only with watching it that you get more from it, I have found that I am finally getting a grip on my sword fights from doing them repeatedly. I find a bit of segregation between the gay guys and the straight guys when it comes to the sword fights. Not to generalize too much but speaking for myself I know it has been a bit of a struggle channeling that macho sword toting Capulet within. While some boys (usually the straight ones) are jumping off set pieces and reveling in all the gory detail of it I settle for an occasional shove to show my aggression to the enemy. Maybe I'll get to that set-jumping ecstasy one day but for now I'll settle for a little gentle push here and there. GRRR!

(Stella the Harlot corners me backstage. What is she going to do to me?!)