Standing demurely in the corner of Albano Ballet’s studio in Hartford, Julia Frederick bides her time before entering on cue for her latest role at a recent rehearsal for “Swan Lake.”
After all, Frederick has been by Joseph Albano’s side for nearly three decades and hasn’t tired of dancing, inspiring, and teaching with a dedication tempered with steely discipline.
“Act II of Swan Lake” will debut Aug. 6 at Mohegan Sun Casino’s Cabaret Theater, along with two original Albano Ballets, “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Ishtar.” And the years haven’t slowed Albano’s fascination with his enduring muse, the doll-faced, long-legged Frederick.
Having her by his side has inspired Albano to change a traditionally male role of the evil sorcerer in “Swan Lake” to female, inserting a twist to the drama and conflict. Frederick lightly grasps the corners of her sorceress costume and enters the scene of “Act II of Swan Lake”, a sort of wraith, birded spirit that quickly becomes commanding of her control of the enchanted Swan. She poses, and expands her arms upward, creating confining arcs in her wing-like costume around the Swan, capturing her fluttering movements to transfix her flight and thwart her desire to be with her Prince Siegfried.
“She’s a visual creature,” Albano said of Frederick, who steps into the character with a rich legacy in her own right, having danced for both George Balanchine and Roland Petit. “At 70 she is doing a kinetic pantomime role with a great deal of theatrical background to it.”
Albano likes to speak of his pantomime for the ballet, which he says has been influenced by studying with American modern dance choreographers like Charles Weidman. In his hunt scene for a corps of men, for example, Albano points to dance-infused pantomime that heightens the drama. During the hunt scene, Albano has created an athletic pas de trois with high lifts between the Swan, danced by Hanna Holcomb, Prince Siegfried danced by Eric Carnes, and Siegfried’s friend, Benno. Albano said his lightening of time for “Swan Lake” that cleaves it from the style of the 18th-century version that Marius Petipa choreographed to Tchaikovsky’s score has precedent.
“The concept of the ballet that started with Diaghilev is here to stay, the programmed ballet that was a 20-minute “Sleeping Beauty,” one-act “Romeo and Juliet” that are no longer than 30 or 40 minutes,” said Albano, who credits Diaghilev, Fokine and Marcine with stylishly clipping the more cumbersome aspects of story ballets to a pace more amenable to a modern audience.
Tackling the big staple of “Swan Lake” is exciting for Carnes, who noted that the program’s palette is one of story ballets, with two other modern ballets — “Ishtar” which is about the tale of the Babylonian goddess descending to the Underworld, and “The Minister’s Black Veil,” which is based upon Hawthorne’s story with the same title, rounding out the program. All, said Carnes, weave themes of the forbidden, of good vs. evil, and are story ballets easy to follow.
The streamlined “Swan Lake,” though, has its own style that invigorates the dancers.
“It’s nice to put a twist on a classic,” said Carnes of “Swan Lake.” “There are elements of Petipa, but ballet has evolved, so he’s adapted it.”
Swan Tails
For Frederick’s costume, Albano has designed a unitard with stretchy wing-like arms, enhanced by an elaborate head-piece of which Albano is the milliner, fashioning sculptural elements onto a skull cap with stiff canvas. The costume is a light, golden yellow, in which Frederick moves as if she is dappled light, flickering with an envious and spiteful spirit. “I work with allegories and metaphors,” Albano said of his female villain. “The Swan can’t get away from the power of the Sorceress.”
For the corps of swans, Albano has designed costumes that sprout flounces in the back of the ballet skirt to mimic the swish of swan tails.
“It’s beautiful,” Albano said, stroking the cascade of material behind the costumes. “The tails of the swans swing in and out and the costumes were made to go with it.”
Albano’s decision to use a female in the sorcerer role “just entices him more,” said Frederick, who is happy just to be onstage with dancers. “You really see her focus, her presence, her style, and being in the moment,” Carnes observed of Frederick, whom the dancers simply call “Miss Julia.”
“For the little girls, to see her — you can’t have a better teacher than that,” Carnes said of Frederick’s nuances and passion. The role is timely for Frederick, who overcame a cancer scare last year. “You really die a dancer,” said Carnes, who is pleased with the change of sexes for the sorcerer.
Pairing Miss Julia with Holcomb possesses a poetic symmetry, said Carnes. “Miss Julia taught Hanna when she was 10, so it’s neat to see the two of them together.”
“When I first came here she was so warm and friendly,” Holcomb recalled of Frederick, calling her a great teacher and inspiration. “She’s such a strong person,” said Holcomb, impressed that Frederick still warms up every day.
“It takes a lot of discipline to do ballet and she’s still doing it. I think that’s amazing.”
ALBANO BALLET SUMMER DANCE 2015 will be performed at 7 p.m. Aug. 6, at the Cabaret Theater at Mohegan Sun Casino. Tickets are $30 for children and $35 for adults. Tickets at mohegansun.com, ticketmaster and 800-745-3000.
