Part of the Edge

Please tell us about your early years as a dancer. 

My entry into dance was my siblings. When my older sister was around six years old, all of her friends were going to dance class, so naturally, she really wanted to go. My mom took her to a competitive dancing studio in Toronto, and she loved it and stuck with it. Then my brother, who's two years younger than her, wanted to do what she was doing, so my mom brought him to the dance studio as well. My mom was also working there as a secretary—including while she was pregnant with me—because she was already there all day, so it became like a second home. As soon as I could crawl and walk, I would be running and looking into the studios, and apparently I knew all the routines. Then we would go to the dance competitions, and after watching whoever was performing, I would beg, “Can I please start taking class, I want to dance, and I want to be on this stage.” So when I was very, very young, around three or four years old… as soon as I could perform, basically, I was performing. I really grew up in a dance studio. And when I was 10, I went to Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto.

You’ve had such an impressive career so far; can you share how you came to dance with the Royal Danish Ballet, and what your years there taught you, both as a dancer and as an artist in general?

When I was a student at the National Ballet School, there was a teacher and a former dancer who had a significant impact on my career named Sorella Englund. She was the first international dancer to join and become a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, and she’s very famous for performing the role of Madge in La Sylphide and would travel the world dancing that role up until a decade or so ago. At the School, she used to teach drama and expression classes, and she and I just got on. We got along so well because we saw dance in the same way; we were interested in the same things, and I was really just infatuated with the way that she worked.

When I was in my final year at the School, I was auditioning for the Dutch National Ballet, and I already had a job at the National Ballet of Canada. But Sorella told me, “Nikolaj [Hübbe, former NYCB principal dancer and then-artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet] is looking to hire men for the corps de ballet, and I think that you would be perfect for the company.” When I went to Copenhagen for my audition, it was my first time being there, and I loved the city. Living in a beautiful, historic house was something that I had always dreamed of. And I really liked the ballets I might be dancing. The Royal Danish Ballet is known for all the Bournonville works, but they also perform so many classic, contemporary, and dramatic works. I was really excited to get the opportunity to dance and to be onstage. And Sorella was saying, “You have to come. The company will get so much out of having your presence here, and you'll get so much out of the company and the city.” 

The real cherry on top was Nikolaj and his excitement about me. When I first got to Copenhagen, I was only 17 years old, and at the Royal Danish Ballet, they're not allowed to hire anyone until they're 19. Nikolaj was like, “We want to hire you, but you're too young. Would you consider joining our apprentice program?” But I already had a job in Canada, and the apprentice program at Royal Danish Ballet is attached to the school and they still have to go to academic classes, so I had to say, “No, that's not really what I’m looking for.” I left Denmark to return to the National Ballet of Canada, but when I landed in Toronto, I had a message from Sorella and Nikolaj saying that he was going to make it work. He essentially got permission to hire me when I was 18. So, I was in Copenhagen for about a month, just taking classes; the day of my birthday, I was performing.

In the beginning of my career at the Royal Danish Ballet I got to work with a choreographer named John Neumeier. He gave me the opportunity to dance in a lot of his ballets—these big, dramatic ballets, and I think that's where I learned the most and the fastest. And having Sorella around as my coach for a lot of ballets, and being able to discuss dance and ballet in general with her, was huge. We would always talk about the different types of roles I was doing. When I knew I was going to New York, we were talking about, “How can you still convey emotion without a story,” because the Balanchine and Robbins repertory isn’t really known for storytelling. We would talk about that—how it's about the music, or how to find a mood; having that back and forth with Sorella might have been the most defining aspect of my time there. Sorella has also impacted me personally—she was and continues to be one of the people to whom I’m closest. She is someone who truly believes that you can change the world through art.

What drew you to NYCB? 

Balanchine and Robbins, and of course, now Justin [Peck] and Alexei [Ratmansky], had always inspired me. I’d performed quite a few Balanchine and only one or two Robbins works while I was in the Royal Danish Ballet. We had just finished a run of an all-Balanchine program, with Symphony in C, The Four Temperaments, and, I think, Serenade. [Former NYCB Principal Dancer] Amar Ramasar coached us on Symphony in C and I spoke to him afterwards. At that time, I really wanted to learn. I had been in the Royal Danish Ballet for a long time, I had done quite a bit of the repertory, and I was really looking for the chance to be in a place where I could exponentially grow, by being constantly uncomfortable and learning new things. Amar was like, “You should reach out. I can talk to [Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford] and see if they need anybody right now, but I think that it could be a good fit.” I sent my audition reel to Jon and [Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan]. Then I came over in November to take class, and something about the company really drew me in. There's this amazing integrity and intensity to the work that is just infectious. I had a meeting with Jon and Wendy after that class, and something Jon said that stuck with me was, “The one thing that's extremely unique about City Ballet is that it has a lot of edge. The repertory has edge, the city has edge, and the company has edge. And something that is undeniable about New York City Ballet is that things move fast,” whether it's literally the steps, or having to perform in the show tonight, and so on. I think that's exciting, and I can feel it, and now I'm so happy to be part of it. It’s a badge of honor to be a part of New York City Ballet and to be part of that edge. He was not wrong. 

How has the NYCB schedule and rehearsal style been for you so far—was this a significant change from your experience?

[Former NYCB Principal Dancer] Jared Angle, who works at the Royal Danish Ballet now, told me, “It's just different. It's gonna be amazing. You're gonna love it, but it's just different.” And I was ready for different. I was not used to working in the sort of chunks that NYCB works in. With the Royal Danish Ballet, we worked from August ‘til January, and then we'd have about 10 days off, and then January until June, and then we would take a summer break, and we would always be performing. So it would never be this intense, eight-shows-a-week-for-16-weeks kind of schedule—except for Nutcracker, we would do the same schedule that NYCB does for Nutcracker—but for the mixed rep or for the full lengths, we would do two or three shows a week, and maybe one week there'd be no shows. So it was a lot more like a marathon. And now, being in New York City Ballet, it feels like sprints. We work really hard, and we perform really hard for six weeks, and then we have the time off. It's a different level of intensity each day.

You originated a featured role in Jamar Roberts’ most recent ballet for the company, Foreseeable Future. What was that process like?

That was a great experience. It was the first time that I had worked with Jamar, and it was my first rehearsal [with the company]. And actually, it was really nice to be in that space to begin with, because we were all learning. Jamar and his assistant Alessio [Crognale-Roberts] already had an idea of what the steps were going to be, so we were all learning phrases. There was something that was so comforting about being in a space and knowing, “Okay, we're actually all on the same page right now. Not one person in the room has been doing this part for 10 years.” And there is also something a little bit more relaxing about learning a phrase, then while the choreographer goes to think, we get a little bit of a break, and we're talking in the break—everybody's like, “Oh, wait, what was that step?” So I immediately felt like I was a part of a community in the studio. I feel like that was the perfect introduction to the company for me.

It was also interesting to me because I had done a lot of contemporary and modern work in my career, and the first thing I was doing at New York City Ballet is a contemporary ballet. I would call my friend, like, “Oh, you're doing modern, right? That's what my whole day has been.” They're like, “You're not doing any Balanchine stuff today?” “No, no, that's Thursday. Robbins is on Friday.” It felt comfortable.

Your recent performances in The Art of the Fugue in Copenhagen were your first opportunity to work with NYCB’s Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky; since joining NYCB, you’ve also danced in The Naked King. What is it like working with him?

It was such a crazy scenario with The Art of the Fugue. I was actually just visiting some friends in Copenhagen, and The Art of the Fugue premiere was on Saturday, and that Thursday, I was going to have a meeting with [Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Ballet] Amy Watson, just to fill her in on how things have been, and she's like, “So, everybody is injured. Would you be willing to watch a run-through of it and see if it's something that you would want to learn and perform?” I was totally caught off guard. I met Alexei, I watched the ballet, took a walk, and I was like, “Let's do it. This is gonna be fun.” Alexei was only there until the premiere, and I did the second show, which was a few days later, so the first time I did a run was his last day; I learned it all in the studio, and then he was like, “Okay, let's see it.” So I did it, and then we spoke a little bit. He was so gracious. He was like, “Thank you for doing this. This really is so special.” And then he left. So I was really left with his work. And that got me excited to work with him in New York. When I got here, he was a familiar face. We worked together on Paquita and The Naked King.

I admire his presence so much, especially when he's creating in the studio; he's such an honest choreographer in the way that what he choreographs incorporates how he's feeling at the time, or his reactions to the world around him. He's somebody I really, really admire as a person as well. He pushes dancers in the right directions—he's really magnificent.

Are there any upcoming or dream roles you’re hoping to learn with the company?

There are ballets in the Balanchine repertory that I would love to tackle, like Theme and Variations, and some of the Black & Whites, like Symphony in Three Movements, Stravinsky [Violin Concerto], Agon, Apollo. There’s a whole myriad of Balanchine works that I would love to do—but also the Robbins. As I was watching Opus 19/The Dreamer when it was going this winter, I was in awe. It was the first time I'd ever seen that ballet. Hopefully one day, that'd be so nice to learn.

Has anyone emerged as a particular mentor for you since joining NYCB?

Two names immediately pop into my head, and the first would be [Principal Dancer] Tyler Angle. I've known him for two years or so now, because he would come to Copenhagen just to visit Jared. On one of his visits, he actually coached me in Diamonds, because we were going to perform it in the gala in Greece, and Jared was like, “My brother's here. He does Diamonds all the time. You want me to call him in?” Tyler is somebody that I admire so much, because he's an incredibly kind, sweet person. I like him personally. But watching him work, when I watch him partner a ballerina, with the care that he takes… I've learned that with the Balanchine style of partnering, people have told me to be one step ahead of what your ballerina is doing, but also to react if anything changes. When I watch Tyler Angle perform, I can see that he’s doing that to the highest degree, with the most calm energy ever. I definitely admire that. And I feel like if I ever have questions, I can go to him.

I’ve worked with [Former Principal Dancer] Andrew Veyette quite a bit as well. I feel that he's taught me a lot about this specific style of partnering. I was a pretty okay partner, but the Balanchine way of doing it is different. Both Tyler and Andy do it so well, it's such an art on its own. I just sit there with my jaw on the floor watching them work.

You’ve been dancing regularly with Principal Dancer Isabella LaFreniere. Can you talk a little bit about this partnership?

After working with her since joining the company, I now have a real grasp of her physicality, her habits, her instincts; I can sometimes be one step ahead of her and know where she wants to be put and how to let her be her most free self onstage. We were actually in West Palm Beach two weeks ago, doing this “The Art of Partnering” donor event with Jon, and we did an excerpt of Diamonds. Jon was coaching it. Backstage, I was telling her, “It's amazing, because now I know you so much better, personally.” With Isabella, when she’s on pointe, she has to be quite far over—to the point where sometimes I felt like she was going to fall forward. But she told me, “That's actually exactly where I need to be.” So at the beginning, I would hesitate to do it, because I was worried; now I know that if it feels a little bit scary, it might be perfect for her, and she's comfortable and she's calm. And I think our energies onstage, and how we work together in the studio—it's an amazing thing, partnerships, because it's so uniquely personal, and you create this new thing together. I feel like Isabella and I have started to create our way, which is wonderful, and to work so consistently with one person.

How have you adjusted to living in NYC?

Being in New York, something new that I’ve fallen in love with is going to the theater, because you can see the highest quality of it. Whenever I have time, I love to go and see plays, because I admire their way of storytelling and that they devote themselves to this passion. It's such a beautiful way to tell a story, with words. I’m so used to telling stories through music and with my body, but I've been so enamored with acting and with plays lately. Whenever there's free time, I love listening to music and going to museums. There's not so much free time, right? But there are so many great things to do in New York when I do have the time; I'm always doing something, whether it's going to a restaurant with some friends, going to a museum or a play, walking around or riding a Citi Bike.

The company consists of so many people that grew up and went to school or were in the same summer programs together. Coming in and feeling like an outsider, I hated the night before my first day, because I hadn't been new in so long. But I feel very fortunate because I really felt like I was welcomed with open arms. People were so respectful and kind and admired who I am and what I could bring to the company, as much as I admired them, and it felt like a good union. It felt like a really, really good way to enter a new place. I felt very loved.

_{Photos © Erin Baiano}