Les Grands Ballets Canadiens sign their great return to the stage with the famous Romeo and Juliet. In an unpublished version signed by the artistic director Ivan Cavallari, the essential story of Shakespeare will bring together the 47 dancers of the company. Among them, Hamilton Nieh and Kiara DeNae Felder as the lovers of Verona. Meet.
“Almost all dancers dream of being Romeo: it’s one of the greatest roles in narrative ballets. When I saw that Ivan Cavallari had chosen me, I was very touched,” says Hamilton Nieh, who has been with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens for seven years. “Juliette is one of the greatest roles I’ve ever had,” says Kiara DeNae Felder, moved.
Initially, Romeo and Juliet was to be presented by the National Ballet of Georgia. The announcement of the shows scheduled for Montreal in 2020 had led to the sale of many tickets. After multiple postponements, then the cancellation of the visit of foreign artists, Ivan Cavallari decided to take the work under his wing and make a brand new creation. “I like to say it’s a little gift from the pandemic,” says Hamilton Nieh.
Although true to the original story, Cavallari wanted to make the play a bit more contemporary, including adding characters and narratives around the main story. “We see the parents of Romeo and Juliet, and other love affairs explains Mr. Nieh. The use of neoclassical gestures and the fact that the dancers use their own personality to embody the characters bring a touch of modernity to this classical ballet. “I’m really myself in this role,” says Kiara DeNae Felder.
Constraints and freedoms
At the start of 2021, the dancers therefore began rehearsals for the famous tragedy, not without constraints. “Initially, we had masks and goggles. It was difficult to interpret love under such conditions! tells Mme DeNae Felder laughing. But we had to adapt. For Mr. Nieh too, adaptation has been the key word for more than a year. “It’s part of the history of this production. At the beginning, we learned to move differently, with constraints, and today, we are much freer, ”explains the man who has danced in several companies around the world, in California, Alberta and France.
Hamilton Nieh and Kiara DeNae Felder feel lucky to work together. ” I am very happy. I don’t know if I could have done this role with someone else, ”explains the interpreter of Juliette, who notably danced in Washington and Atlanta. “We have danced together before and we have a great connection, in addition to being friends in life,” explains Mr. Nieh.
They both claim to feel “real confidence” from Ivan Cavallari. “He’s very open to us finding our own paths in the choreography, our personal interpretation,” says Ms.me DeNae Felder. This is the first time that Hamilton Nieh has participated from the start in a creation of this magnitude, even though he has been working with Mr. Cavallari, whom he knew in France before his arrival at Les Grands Ballets, for nine years. “The narrative ballet is his strong point. He has a lot to transmit to us in the interpretation and in the incarnation of emotions on stage. He guides us a lot, but he also gives us a lot of freedom. According to the interpreter, the Cavallari version of Romeo and Juliet is “very personal”. “It really comes from within, from his intimate vision of history. »
Up to date
“Even though it’s an old story, the feelings evoked in this piece still exist. And will continue to exist after us, ”says Kiara DeNae Felder. “Love is universal, it crosses the ages,” adds Hamilton Nieh. Ivan wanted to talk about all types of love. Romeo and Juliet, it’s about human beings. »
First selected for their artistic talent, Hamilton Nieh, who is of Asian origin, and Kiara DeNae Felder, a black woman, also embody a form of symbol. Their appointment is an important gesture for the visibility of people from diverse backgrounds in dance, especially in ballet.
“It’s only recently that we’ve begun to address the prejudices against Asians in North America. Particularly against men of Asian origin, who are rarely represented when the image of the ideal or desirable masculine is evoked, ”said Mr. Nieh, who says he is “proud” to play the main role in a great story of love.
“Showing a story with different people who love each other, being visible, being in front of an audience that doesn’t see that often, is major,” adds Kiara DeNae Felder. We still live in a world where people create divisions because of differences. With Romeo and Juliet, we want to send a strong message of universal love. »