Preview
THE FIREBIRD & THE FOUR SEASONS
National Ballet of Canada
Starring Rex Harrington
Choreographed by James Kudelka
Presented by Alberta Ballet
Runs September 19 and 20
Jubilee Auditorium
Make no mistake: in the world of ballet, Rex Harrington is Canada’s Prince Charming.
Of course, in a career of fairy-tale proportions, he’s not only played Cinderella’s royal dreamboat, but also the Nutcracker prince, the Swan Lake prince and the Sleeping Beauty prince, with room for Romeo and Apollo on the side. After pairings with ballet’s A-list (Karen Kain, Evelyn Hart, Carla Fracci and Susan Jaffe, to name a few), a performance before Her Majesty and a recent appointment to the Order of Canada, what more could he ask for?
"A star on Canada’s Walk of Fame!" jokes Harrington.
Then again, he still doesn’t have one – it’s one of the few accolades he hasn’t received in an illustrious career.
"It’s surreal to me to look back," he says. "Some nights I get cold sweats thinking about what I am going to do (now). But by no means is it over."
That’s for sure. Harrington may be retiring as a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, but he isn’t slowing down. He recently made his musical-theatre debut in Robin Hood at Toronto’s Winter Garden ("It’s the first time I heard myself open my mouth," he jokes). He is also breaking into film acting and serves as a coach and instructor at the National Ballet, the institution where he has spent a 20-year career. He’s currently marking his anniversary with the company with a reprise of one of his greatest performances, The Four Seasons. It’s part of a National Ballet tour that arrives in Calgary this month to open Alberta Ballet’s new season.
In The Four Seasons, Harrington dances what many consider to be his landmark role – not a prince this time, but Everyman. Set to Vivaldi’s famous score, the piece is an abstract modern ballet about the cycle of life and is among the few contemporary ballets that critics consider a masterpiece. For creator James Kudelka, its acclaim is a well-earned nod towards his artistic direction at the National Ballet, where his fresh approach promises to renew the company’s international reputation. For Harrington, who won a Gemini Award in 2001 for his filmed performance, the work is a toast to his audience.
What is Harrington’s favourite of the four seasons? Appropriately, for a dancer in the autumn of his career, it’s fall.
"There’s something about it that’s comforting to me," he says. "The mornings are cool – there’s a feeling of change in the air. Part of it is having grown up in Vancouver and part of it was living on a farm (Harrington recently bought and sold Stone Orchard, former home and future burial site of author Timothy Findley). Most of all, fall has always been touring season, so it all fits."
The Four Seasons is accompanied on this tour by Kudelka’s one-act version of The Firebird. Based on a Russian fable, the work has undergone incessant re-invention since the Ballet Russes first presented it in 1910. Kudelka’s version, featuring 40 dancers, has received a more mixed reception than The Four Seasons, mainly due to his return to Stravinsky’s lengthy original music score.
Unlike The Four Seasons, which favours a bare stage and projected backdrops over big sets, The Firebird displays the vivid craftsmanship of celebrated set and costume designer Santo Loquasto, who has created a Mayan-influenced atmosphere cross-blending aboriginal cultures.
David Finn has done the lighting for both productions, most impressively for The Four Seasons, where it plays an important role in the much-heralded summer pas de deux between Harrington and Greta Hodgkinson.
"The scene has got a lot of dangerous partnership, with overhead lifts and fast turns, like the music itself," says Harrington. "It’s very sexual, and the backdrop just goes bright red."
Sexuality and sensuality are critical in The Four Seasons. In each season, a different woman played by a different principal dancer embraces Harrington’s character. Although he has eased gracefully into the role, he admits that the shift in dynamic between himself and the different dancers is still a challenge.
"Fortunately, I’ve danced with them before," he says. "But each one has a different emotional context, and yes, that keeps me on my toes."
Canada has seldom put a male ballet dancer on a pedestal, making Harrington a rare exception, complete with groupies and Web sites devoted to him. To the critics, he has been "charismatic," "mercurial," "athletic" and "moody." Harrington is aware of the descriptions, but simply says that he tries to give everything to his performances.
"I’ve tried never to hold back onstage and to not leave anything in that dressing room. A lot of people are great in the studio and crap onstage." |
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