Tamara Rojo on Don Q

[Alexandra]

I put this on Links, but thought it deserved discussion.

A Dancer from Spain talks about ballet's Spanish Ballet classic -- an interesting interview with Tamara Rojo:

This Lady is Not Just for Turning

Tamara Rojo transfixed her audience when she danced Giselle for the Royal Ballet last year, and her latest role, as Kitri in 'Don Quixote', is sure to be just as dazzling. She talks to Louise Levene

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=006416154...9/btrojo29.html

[Lolly]

I saw Tamara in Giselle earlier in the year, and she was wonderful. I also saw her standing outside the stage door at ROH in the daytime once, she is so beautiful and tiny.

Darcey Bussell said a similar thing in her book about the really dramatic roles gripping you so you are still in character when you take a curtain call. I'm sure the last thing the dancers want to do is suddenly come back down to earth after "being" Juliet/Manon etc!

I'm going to see Tamara in Don Q next Monday so i'm sure i'll have something more to say then!

[Shirley]

The most interesting aspect of this interview was that it was published after the first night.

That first night performance was actually very poor - in fact it was so bad I seriously thought of not going to any more of the performances I had booked. Thankfully the other two performances I have seen were so much better which although pleasing, emphasised just how bad the first night was.

[Drew]

Very interesting interview -- and I liked her comment about learning (from Derek Deane) the difference between being a "technically good" and "classically trained" dancer...I have only seen her in gala bits, but thought she did look like a very classy classical ballerina.