"The Rite of Spring" is choreographer Glen Tetley's masterwork, according to Bronwen Curry.
"It is one of his greatest ballets," Curry said during an interview in the Capitol Theatre before rehearsals. "The look, the style — although it was created in 1974, it looks like contemporary ballets as they look today."
Curry, a choreologist (one who preserves dance through written notation), works for Tetley, staging his ballets with various companies. "Glen was, and is, ahead of his time," she said. "He was an innovator. 'Rite of Spring' shows this. The lighting, the costumes — it's just wonderful."
Tetley's "The Rite of Spring" is one of four works to be presented in Ballet West's season closer, "Jubilation." The others include former Ballet West artistic director Bruce Mark's "Lark Ascending" and two Balanchine works, "Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux" and "Concerto Barocco."
Curry, who has staged "Rite of Spring" since 1992, said Tetley was one of the first choreographers to mix classical and contemporary styles. "His works are not the formal, rigid images in ballet. He used wonderful torso movements and arms. You can immediately recognize a Tetley work."
Tetley's "Rite of Spring" had its world premiere in Munich with the Bavarian State Opera Ballet on April 17, 1974, according to Tetley's biography by the American Ballet Theatre. The ballet was known then as "Le Sacre du Printemps."
ABT premiered the work in the United States on June 21, 1976, in the Metropolitan Opera House. It wasn't until May 5, 1992, when the title was changed to "Rite of Spring."
"It was shortly after I met Glen in 1978 that he wanted me to notate his ballets," said Curry. "I was working for the London Festival Ballet when I met him, and I started working for him as his assistant shortly after."
Tetley asked Curry to stage "Le Sacre du Printemps" for ABT in 1976. The male lead was danced by Mikhail Baryshnikov. "I was delighted to do that," said Curry, who has worked with everyone from Ronald Hynd to Rudolf Nureyev to Gelsey Kirkland. "Baryshnikov was a good dancer. He was pleasant to work with."
Ballet West artistic director Jonas Kåge has close ties with "Rite of Spring." Although he didn't perform the role of the Chosen One, he danced the Father figure when the Stuttgart Ballet did Tetley's version 30 years ago. "Glen has always been a part of my career development," Kåge said as he was preparing to observe rehearsals. "And this work is one of those works that really show off a company.
"It is exhausting. Toward the end of the piece, the dancers are just literally throwing themselves into the steps. The dancers have to get down the basic survival instinct in this piece. And I think that brings out the aesthetic of the work."
Tetley's work is more physical and more wild than that of Nijinsky, who was the first to choreograph a piece to the Stravinsky score, said Kåge. "Glen's work is one of the first to merge ballet with modern dance. The style is very much in the Martha Graham style, not the pseudo-contemporary style. It is complex, and Glen's choreography pushed the dancers into the ground.
"Even the music is full of tension. Stravinsky starts the piece with a bassoon, which usually plays at a low range. But the opening notes are high in the register, and that already sets the mood for the piece."
Kåge has wanted to bring "The Rite of Spring" to Ballet West since he came on board as artistic director in 1997. But he hesitates to say that now is the perfect time to bring this challenging work to the company. "There's never a good time to do this. It's all just a matter of when the piece is available. And I don't think a company is quite prepared for it. You get it and then you go with it. But I did have some people in mind for certain roles when we found we were going to do the piece this year. And I talked with Bronwen in length about the company."
Staging the ballet with different companies is one of Curry's jobs. "It's difficult when you come to a company you don't know," she said. "I usually talk with the artistic director, who knows the dancers, and I take advice from them.
"There was an advantage with Jonas because he was a great Tetley dancer. So he had a good idea of what is involved in this work and which dancers would be best for the roles."
Curry said her main job is to bring out the dancers' personalities in the work. "Glen's productions are so difficult physically. There are times when you know what you're supposed to do, but your body won't let you do it. But Ballet West is a very good company. The dancers are high level, and that's pleasing to me.
"When I first came, I had everyone learn the movement. That gives everyone a chance. Then I whittle the cast down."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com