Ballet Jörgen's Anastasia
Canadian Ballet Company premieres legendary Russian tale.
Tara Butler is known for her work in Ballet Jörgen's Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, The Nutcracker and Coppelia. In February 2008, she debuts as Anastasia.
Ballet Jörgen's principal dancer is excited. The company is now 20 years old about to produce one of its most ambitious shows to date. Tara Butler is playing tragic Russian heroine, Anastasia.
Choreographer Bengt Jörgen, and Canadian / Russian composer Ivan Barbotin (The Emperor's New Clothes, The Velveteen Rabbit ) have adapted this famous Russian tale of a young girl whose true identity is taken away transforming it to a vibrant new repertoire.
You are about to debut as Anastasia … another powerfully dramatic lead.
"This is a fantastic show. When Bengt first said he was going to do the production, I thought that would be interesting. I didn’t have a really clear idea of what he was going to do with it. Anastasia is all the things I have wanted to do in my career in one ballet."
"Technically, there’s an incredibly difficult section in the ballroom scene so that is something to achieve physically, along with the purity of the classical ballet that I love so much. It's astounding. Emotionally, the journey is so .. I get overwhelmed talking about it .. because it is such a growth. We have talked about Romeo and Juliet, how she grows, in the short period of time. Anastasia is very smiliar in her growth, even more so I think, because it is also a really difficult time in history."
"That’s part of why the journey is so difficult and heartwrenching. Bengt has done just an incredible job not just choreographically but also telling the story. The score is exquisite, even just to listen to. When we first started choreographing, we didn’t have very much of the music so we would hear a little bit and finally when we got the whole thing, it was really breathtaking. The music fits so well with Bengt’s cheorography and Bengt and Ivan work beautifully together."
Ballet Jörgen is very versatile, from children’s classics – Velveteen Rabbit and The Nutcracker – to the Mixed Dance. I look at Anastasia and for you this is another great lead like Ballet Jorgen's Cinderella, Coppelia, and Juliet…
"I have been so blessed and so lucky in my career to work with Bengt and for him to want to choreograph and create these amazing roles for me. It’s heaven sent. I have to pinch myself every once and a while."
You also have the Original Dance Program as well.
"We don’t do as many of those anymore. Only because the last few years we have had Cinderella and Coppelia and we are revamping our Nutcracker for next season as well. I love Original Dance productions because they have a totally different energy, and totally different feel to them. Again it speaks to the versatility of all of the dancers and the choreographers and everyone that works for this company. We are able to not pigeonholed and can see past the box."
I saw a piece called Petrushka in Mixed Dance – you are entangled in a triangle.
"Yes, I am a little doll, a little bit like Coppelia."
If you go to the Ballet Jörgen website you can see all the different styles of dance from the video clips – for example the striking movement in Petrushka is vastly different from the fluid motion of Romeo and Juliet.
"That is other amazing thing about Bengt Jörgen. He can create these full length classical ballets but also has this imagination, ability and curiosity of movement so he is able to recreate all that classical line into something more contemporary and interesting. It’s been pretty awesome so far."
Anastasia is currrently touring across Canada. For more info go to Ballet Jorgen.
