INTERVIEW: New ballet inspired by classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’ film
Photo: American Repertory Ballet’s Beauty and the Beast stars Journy Wilkes-Davis and Nanako Yamamoto. Photo courtesy of © 2019 Richard Termine / Provided by press rep with permission.
The story behind Beauty and the Beast is well known to fans of the two Walt Disney movies, but perhaps those same viewers are unaware of an earlier cinematic adaptation by Jean Cocteau or the original source material, the 1740 novel by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. Both Cocteau’s live-action version, La Belle et La Bête, which came out in 1946, and the original novel serve as inspiration for a new ballet interpretation from the American Repertory Ballet.
Choreographer Kirk Peterson has crafted the ballet, which will be presented Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m. at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The performance is set to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. That music will be brought to life by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nell Flanders.
Playing Belle is Nanako Yamamoto, and playing the Beast is Journy Wilkes-Davis. Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Wilkes-Davis about his new role. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What do you find the most challenging about portraying the Beast in this new dance piece?
One of the most challenging aspects of playing the Beast is my mask that I wear for the majority of my time onstage. It took a few trial runs to figure out the best way to keep it secure to my head by strategically placed straps so that I could perform some of the more challenging turns and jumps in the choreography. It is also very limiting to my peripheral vision, which of course you don’t realize how much you use it until you don’t have it anymore.
The main challenge of the mask for me has more to do with portraying the character itself. While normally I would use facial expression to portray emotion, my mask is unable to articulate more than one expression. Therefore, I’ve had tor rely on showing the character’s emotion solely through body language, hands, shoulders, stance, etc.
How much trust do you have to have with Nanako Yamamoto, who portrays Belle?
I trust my partner, Nanako, very much! We’ve had a lot of experience performing together, and so we know what to expect. We are able to read each other well now, even without speaking, to anticipate and react quickly to problems that arise when dancing. Of course, you can’t expect things to go perfectly every time when you run a dance in the studio or onstage, and it’s always nice to have a partner you work well with and trust to keep things running smoothly.
What’s it like working with choreographer Kirk Peterson?
Kirk is an amazing choreographer. My favorite part of working with him is that he’s very specific about how he wants the character, musicality and steps, but still leaves room for my own creative freedom. He is always challenging the dancers technically so the company is always improving.
When did you first fall in love with dance?
I first fell in love with dance when I volunteered to be the Nutcracker prince for my sister’s Clara. One of the male dancers who later became my dance teacher, Dagoberto Nieves, was performing the lead, and I was inspired by his high leaps and fast turns. I started ballet class the next month and quickly realized I wanted to dance professionally.
Why should young people consider a career in dance and the arts?
Dance and the arts in general are great for young people because it teaches you self-discipline and makes you a more well-rounded person. I believe the pursuit of a career in dance is not a decision to be made lightly. It requires hours upon hours of dedication with not always a guarantee of a successful outcome, but the reward of doing something you really love and to share that with others is priceless.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Beauty and the Beast, choreographed by Kirk Peterson, plays Friday, May 10 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.
