BALLET STARS

A. ‘I can’t ever imagine not dancing,’ says Cuban-born Yosvani Ramos. ‘But I don’t have
much memory of dancing
when I was small. Apparently, my mother reckoned I was supple and agile, so she took me to
audition for the Cuban
state ballet school.’ There, after tests for musicality, flexibility and potential, he was awarded
a place. ‘Being in our
school was like being in a ballet company and we got used to being on stage from an early
age. Performing in front of
an audience was part of our training. Therefore, it never seemed scary to go in for
competitions. Every day after class,
all the boy students would stay on and compete against each other performing turns and
jumps. It was always fun, so
I never got nervous in front of others.’ Yosvani is currently a soloist with a London-based
ballet company. ‘It’s been
hard work dancing on the London stages for the first time. You have to concentrate so much
harder, since you are so
close to the audiences. It takes a lot out of you. Mind you, it doesn’t stop me from going out
on Saturday nights; I like
nothing more than a spot of clubbing!’
B. Canadian Jaimie Tapper danced with the National Ballet of Canada before accepting a
position with London’s
Royal Ballet. As a young girl, she took classes in ballet, tap and jazz before getting a place
with the National Ballet
School. This meant leaving her home at the age of twelve. After two years away, she became
homesick and decided
to take a year off. ‘I wasn’t really serious about ballet then,’ she says, ‘and I guess I wanted
some freedom and space
so that I could reflect on my life. I went back to high school, led a normal teenage life, and
took casual dance classes.
By the end of the year, I realised that I really did want to be a dancer. So my return to the
Ballet School was without
any pressure and entirely my own decision.’ Now in London, Tapper has toughened up and
shows no signs of missing
her home. ‘When I joined the Royal Ballet, the casting had already been done for the season,
so the beginning was
painfully slow, and there was nothing for me until the Nutcracker ballet. All the waiting
around was really quite
tiresome. But since then, I have been lucky – if you can say that – in that I have had the
opportunity to dance many
roles following injuries to other dancers. In fact, nothing I’ve done this year was on the
original published casting.’
C. American Deirdre Chapman was born into a dancing family, her mother being a teacher in
a dance school. So much
of her early life was spent in dancing shoes. ‘I particularly remember the workshops we had
on Saturdays when I was
nine. We would be divided into small groups, and the custom was, whoever was inspired in
the class that day would
set some steps for the others to follow. The classes certainly made you think about how you
wanted to move.’ At
school, however, Deirdre was less enthusiastic about sports, and though chosen for the
volleyball team, a sport at
which she might have shone, decided that she’d rather be in a production of the Nutcracker.
So she quit. ‘But the
school was very accommodating about my dancing,’ she points out. Deirdre got her big break
with the Rambert Dance
Company. ‘I had been pretty much doing straight classical work since I was thirteen, but, as I
was the right height and
learned fast, I got thrown into doing contemporary ballet instead. It’s a good job, I’m flexible!
Mind you, when I
started it, the contemporary dance moves I learned in my childhood did start coming back to
me fairly easily. I suppose
I have that type of movement and flow that contemporary choreographers want to see.’
D. Veronika Part is one of the stars of the Russian Kirov Ballet, although had she pursued her
childhood speciality,
she would probably have ended up in the Olympics as a rhythmic gymnast. She had many
successes in this field, but
her parents insisted on enrolling her at the local ballet studio. ‘I found doing two physical
activities at the same time
wasn’t ideal and preferred gymnastics. Also I was prone to colds and missed classes, so I
wouldn’t have been too sad
if I’d been chucked out!’ she admits. ‘But I eventually caught up.’ Veronika’s first tour with
the Kirov ballet was to
Tbilisi. On the opening night she was cast as a leading role in Swan Lake. It has long been
Kirov’s custom to give an
up-and-coming dancer an opportunity to star in the first night’s performance. ‘I knew I could
cope, but all the same, I
was really nervous and excited,’ she relates; ‘it was a great honour.’ Another honour was
bestowed on her when she
was selected for the role of the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. ‘I don’t know why I was
chosen,’ she says modestly,
‘but it was really wonderful to be entrusted with such a role. It was a big experience for me,
even though I’d done a
few lead roles before, and a chance for me to show myself as an actress.’ Last year in New
York, she distinguished

herself when she not only performed an afternoon matinee of Sleeping Beauty, but then
danced Apollo for the evening
programme the very same day. ‘It felt so strange to me jumping the centuries and styles,’ she
says.
E. Maria Kowroski is Principal Dancer in the New York City Ballet, and she’s only 22. She
became an apprentice at
NYCB after a talent spotter saw her dancing in a school concert. ‘I had to do everything a
first-year at the Ballet did
– all the rehearsals and performances every night – as well as trying to finish my final year of
high school, so the
timing was far from ideal. In fact, I very nearly missed getting my diploma as I had a
rehearsal at the same time as the
awards ceremony. Then, while I was still an apprentice, one of the dancers went on maternity
leave within a short time
of each other, and I found myself doing the work of older members. I felt some hostility,
especially when I was asked
to learn the Siren’s role in Prodigal Son. There were four of us learning it so I tucked myself
away in the back, at the
auditions, wondering what I was doing there. The next day I was shocked to learn that I’d got
the part, and I was in
dreamland!’ More recently she was given the lead role in Swan Lake. ‘The only thing was that
the shows were twice
daily, so my body was a little weary by the end!’ she says.
Which dancer...
1: was given an opportunity to excel in a related field?
2: initially lacked self-confidence about something she was invited to do?
3: made a career move at an unfortunate time?
4: made a career move at an unfortunate time?
5: has a leisure pursuit related to her work?
6: was physically tired by a hectic dancing schedule?
7: had to be very adaptable on one occasion?
8: has qualities in his/her dancing which suit a particular form of ballet?
9: was held back by minor health problems at one point?
10: attended a class where the students were expected to take control?
11: admits his/her career has profited indirectly from the misfortunes of others?
12: sensed that some people resented his/her rapid rise to prominence?
13: was used to having to prove himself/herself to his peers?
14: benefited from a well-established tradition?
15: needed some time away from ballet to think about his/her future?
16: seemed physically well-suited to a future ballet career?
17: had difficulty in fitting his/her dancing into a busy life?