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Where does the ethereal world of ballet meet the pavement of reality? Probably in something like the Santa Fe kickoff of The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s 20th season at the Lensic Performing Arts Center (211 W San Francisco St., 988-1234) on Friday, April 1. Company member Samantha Klanac Campanile, who is in her 15th season with the group, spoke to SFR about the performance and pre-show rituals.
What would you say distinguishes this performance from those of years past?
We're always moving forward, and we don't really go back to what has worked in the past, so I think this program shows that even more. We're continuing with a choreographer we've used before, Cayetano Soto; however, he's doing a piece that's a little bit different. Most of his work is so intense, and it could be seen as dark and serious, and his piece for this program is actually quite funny. It's athletic, which is pretty usual for us, but it's also sexy and chic, and I think the humor and the brightness of it makes it a little bit different from what you would see from Cayetano that we've done. As far as the other new piece, Re:play, that piece is totally different than anything we've done before. The dancers are very pedestrian; we have sneakers or Doc Martins on.
How do you prepare for a performance? Do you have any special rituals or routines that you go through before you get onstage?
I think the process of putting the makeup on and being in the dressing room with the women. We have just a really kind of energy with the dancers pre-show, so I feel like that's sort of the process now, because it gets the six women in a place of connection and laughing, talking. It sounds so basic and simple, but it's sort of a good time to get us in the same zone before we go. ... A funny thing that we all do, we say, "Merde," which is "shit" in French, but that's what dancers say to each other for good luck. It's evolved in this company to where we each have our separate little "merdes" we say to each other, so at five-minute curtain, we're back there taking a moment with each of our colleagues and doing our separate little "merde."
Do you have a favorite moment or a favorite piece in this performance?
[Soto's] Huma Rojo is a great ballet. I think it gives an opportunity for each dancer to really showcase. What I really love about it is everyone's personality comes out in a different way, and it shows how unified we are as a company, but also, how we really do each have our own personality. It's just a really beautiful thing.
Santa Fe Reporter