SALT LAKE CITY — Ballet West has a colorful history with "Swan Lake," thanks to the company's former artistic directors, said Adam Sklute, the current artistic director.
"The first full-length production of 'Swan Lake' in America was created by (Ballet West founder) Willam Christensen for the San Francisco Ballet," Sklute said during an interview with the Deseret News.
"Then, Bruce Marks brought in a production that was staged by his ballet masters Denise Schultze and Louis Godfrey. Then, John Hart brought in a production that he staged in a way that was very similar to the Royal Ballet in London, and then Jonas Kage brought in his production he created in Sweden."
So it was natural that Sklute wanted to create his own version of the classic ballet.
"I've really wanted to rethink the whole production in a way that matters to me," he said. "I wanted to bring out the drama that I feel is part of the story of 'Swan Lake,' but that often gets lost in the ballet."
Sklute said it's a very sad and powerful tale, and he feels it is important to bring that to the forefront.
To do that, Sklute enlisted his ballet master and mistress, Mark Goldweber and Pamela Robinson-Harris, respectively, to stage the new, full production.
"We've worked together for a long time now in reviewing and talking about it," Sklute said. "And actually, they're going to be choreographing whole sections of the dance."
Sklute wanted to bring out the humanity and the individuality of the people, he said, "so that you will see more individualized choreographer in the waltz dancers, the polonaise or the dances of the princesses."
Sklute said the differences will be seen particularly in Act III, when the group of princesses dances for the hand of Prince Seigfreid, he said.
"What I asked Mark to do, and what he's done beautifully, is to bring out the flavor of the country where the princesses are from."
The reason for finding the humanity of the characters in Act I and Act III is to juxtapose them to the beauty and order of the fantasy realm of the swans in Acts II and IV.
"There needs to be an otherworldliness about those acts where, aside from the prince who enters that realm, there are no human beings there," Sklute said.
Sklute said he has been thinking about taking on "Swan Lake" for years.
"It was one of my earliest experiences with ballet," he said. "I first saw Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in San Francisco when I was a kid. It was so inspiring to me, and I was always fascinated by the story, by the music and the almost supremely sad qualities that are just so heart-wrenching in the story that captured my imagination."
When Sklute began dancing, he saw various productions of "Swan Lake" and was fascinated by the different interpretations of the works.
"That got me thinking about what I would like to see in the production," he said.
Sklute said, in his mind, there are no secondary characters.
"The character roles in this ballet are so important," he said. "They are very much a part of the action."
While thinking of Ballet West and a new "Swan Lake," Sklute always had principal dancer Christiana Bennett in mind for the dual role of the swans Odette/Odile, a role that she has danced in the past.
"She has danced a version (of the character) for a very long time," he said. "And she's done it beautifully.
"But she and her partner, Chris Ruud, have been very open to reconceiving to how they approach the roles," Sklute said. "It really shows their integrity as artists.
"It's also been great because it's been a collaboration also, because they've brought to the table what they know from all those years of experience with the ballet," Sklute added.
Adding to the dynamic of the new production, Sklute recruited the coaching talents of world-renowned American Ballet Theatre ballerina Cynthia Gregory, who made her definitive appearance as Odette/Odile in 1967.
Sklute chose Gregory not only for her impact on the role but also because of her connection with Ballet West.
"Cynthia Gregory, I felt, was the perfect choice for our production," he said. "We're an American company. She is perhaps one of America's greatest ballerinas."
Gregory, whom Sklute considers as his production assistant on this ballet, also trained under Willam Christensen and his brothers, Harold and Lew.
"She started in the San Francisco Ballet, and 'Swan Lake' was a huge role for her, and she has done many different versions of the role.
"Coaching is important to me," he said. "It keeps our artists connected to the history and legacy of the work. These coaches have so much knowledge of the role and just their very presence is inspiring."
If you go…
What: "Swan Lake," Ballet West
Where: Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South
When: Feb. 12-13, 17-20, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 13 and 20, 2 p.m.
How much: $17-$71
Phone: 801-355-2787, 888-451-2787
Web: www.arttix.org
e-mail: scott@desnews.com