Ballet Jörgen's Tara Butler on 2009 Season

Principal Dancer Goes West and Stateside with Anastasia and Juliet

Jan 8, 2009

New Group of Seven Nutcracker's Snow Queen reprises former starring roles, Anastasia and Juliet while Artistic Director Bengt Jörgen weathers Sagging Ecomony.

In the midst of the new Group of Seven Nutcracker, Tara Butler began revsiting her former roles, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and the title role in Anastasia, which debuted in February 2008.

Butler knows, depsite the barrage of doom and gloom headlines, that Bengt Jörgen will be ready to face the latest economic storm as Ballet Jörgen begins a Western tour of Romeo and Juliet that includes a performance on Valentine's Day and Anastasia, currently touring in the U.S.

In addition to the Nutcracker, how many other roles are you dancing for the 2009 Ballet Jörgen season?

Tara Butler: "For now I am sticking to The Nutcracker, but Bengt and I, after having a conversation, realized that at some point we need to start rehearsing Romeo and Juliet for our tour out west. Then in January we have a few shows of Anastasia in the United States, so I am prepping for three different roles, my usual multitasking. But everyone learns more than one role, and that is the beauty of the company. There is always something new to sink your teeth into."

Everyone is talking about this so called global recession. Do you have any comments on the economy particularly when it comes to the performing arts in Canada?

Tara Butler: "Of course it seems that the arts is the first thing to go. But people very quickly realize that the arts are one thing that keeps people alive in their soul and the one thing that really defines us as human beings. It’s horrendous what is happening, the whole thing with Ballet BC and the arts just disintegrating. To a certain point, you understand the need for paring down to the basics but the arts are part of humanity and it is a really important thing.

Bengt is very intelligent with how he finances the company. We are always trying to make ends meet but he is really trying to create a safe environment for us because it is important as artists also to have confidence and security."

Tara Butler: "Since Bengt opened the company it has not been good for the arts. There was never the great '70s-'80s boom where there was lots of money being thrown around in the arts. Bengt struggled through every recession and cutback so he must be doing something right."

Right now with the sagging economy, people want to suspend disbelief more than ever. ...

Tara Butler:"It is amazing how much people get from going to see a show. If it is a good show, then your soul can really thrive off that. We need a sense of hope and we need a sense of purpose, something beyond the day to day, a sense of meaning. I think what the company is doing definitely brings joy and pushes people to think outside of the day to day which is really important."

Tara Butler: "I am really starting to love the snow pas de deux because of the music. One thing that has not changed is that the entire score is still the same and it is Tchaikovsky. The more I listen to it, and the older I get ,the more I appreciate the simplistic beauty of it. There are certain pieces of music that you hear so much because they are in every single commercial and every single lobby of every hotel and restaurant and mall that you go to. Then there are certain pieces that are really quite beautiful. It is the music keeps me inspired."

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