Birds of a Feather

SARA ADAMS: The Sleeping Beauty was actually the first ballet I saw, when I was five years old, on Boston Ballet, and it made me want to be a ballet dancer. I loved it, and I wanted to be up there on the stage—I wanted to be one of the kids in the "Garland Dance." This [Princess Florine] solo is also one of the first pointe solos I ever learned [as a student]. I think it was three or four Sleeping Beauty runs ago when I first got to dance Bluebird professionally, so I've been doing it for a little while now. 

MIA WILLIAMS: I've seen the Paris Opera’s Sleeping Beauty and I love that version. I’d never learned this role before being called into the room, I just jumped into it and I'm learning how to make it my own at the same time, which is good for me.

SARA: It's one of my favorite roles to dance; it's like a little ballet within the ballet, because there's a beautiful pas de deux, then we each have a solo, and then a coda. It's very sweet and it's fun to play a character. One of the repertory directors gave us a printout of the story of Bluebird and Princess Florine; that was really helpful, too, to read the backstory, and to try to dive deeper into it, even though it's so short. We aren't the bird, but we do little bird-like movements, and I always think it's because we love the Bluebird. So we’re trying to imitate him. 

MIA: There are some bird-like movements, but I try to make them more like a really happy, sort of flighty person. I do less head shaking, arm waving, and more looking around, like she's really airy and dreamy. She’s very curious.

I wouldn't say it's the kind of role I often do, because it's a standout, very prominent character. But it is the type of dancing that I am typecast for. It’s very precise and technical. I just did Raymonda Variations, and I would say this variation is very similar. It's interesting; my type of role is usually very fast, small jumps; that's what I do, and I like it. It's comforting that I already have experience doing this sort of dancing before I make this debut. The only difference is that it's a pas de deux, and I haven't really done pas de deux in performance before.

SARA: There are hops on pointe, which I love to do. That's one of the little challenges. Another is traveling backwards in the solo—there's a little section where we have to do échappé, and then plié passé on pointe, and then hop in attitude to arabesque backwards on pointe. That's a fun part for me. And there are a lot of turns, which are good to work on. It also feels very special to do a pas de deux, and the tutu and the costume and the music—I just love everything about it. I feel very glamorous in that tutu. And the music is so iconic. The Bluebird steps are also very iconic, so it's fun to watch and get pumped up by him doing the brisé volé diagonal—the crowd goes wild for that. 

When it was first called this season, we were all called together, and I danced it with my partner, [Principal Dancer] Daniel Ulbricht. We ran through it just to show the other dancers what it was, then everybody else got a chance to do it after us as well. And you look amazing, you're very, very good in it. You're gonna be a perfect little bluebird, for sure.

MIA: Everything's going smoothly. We didn't have a lot of rehearsal time, but my partner and I make it work, it really just flows. It's more about the repetitions, and how many times we do it in a week. It's definitely puffy, but I feel like I'm well prepared to handle that, as long as my feet don't go numb.

SARA: Rehearsing has been really fun with Daniel. I haven't danced it with him yet; he’s a veteran in the role, and he's just amazing. His insights have been really helpful for me, and I feel very taken care of by him—I feel more confident this time around, just knowing I can rely on him and his expertise in this role. 

MIA: KJ is very much leading the way. I'm not that experienced with partnering, so it's really nice to have someone telling me exactly what I need to do and how it could be better. I feel like we dance pretty similarly, so the character aspect comes naturally. But he's been very helpful. He's a guiding type of guy.

Coming from rehearsals for corps roles, it's just a different dynamic. Some of our Bluebird rehearsals, it's been just me and KJ in the room, and we still have to get things done. It's very different from a rehearsal where 16 girls are called for an hour and a half. We have 30 minutes a day, and we have to get as much out of it as possible, and also self-motivate. But I like it.
 
SARA: I feel like I'm asking you for advice! Because everything is very, very good. I would just say to really think about the character, and have fun with that part of it, because it's very technical. It's a very technical pas de deux and solo, and it's puffy, it requires a lot of stamina. Trying to rehearse it all the way through, and then go back and correct, would be helpful, just so you know what's coming. I think just knowing who you are out there as a character and trying to have fun with it is my best advice.

MIA: It's nice to feel like I have a say in what I do on the stage—what the dance looks like, and what I might do differently than someone else. I feel like they're trusting me. I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to dance and be out there in the spotlight. I've been waiting for this. To be a prominent figure, especially in a big story ballet, is a lot of pressure, but I'm ready to take it on.

KJ TAKAHASHI: Bluebird was one of the very first variations I ever danced as a child, back in my home studio’s variations class. So it was a dream role—to finally get to perform it as a professional was definitely on my bucket list, and I'm happy to have checked that off. 

SEBASTIÁN VILLARINI-VÉLEZ: This was actually the very first thing I ever danced as a kid, too. It was the first real part that I was taught. We didn't do the opening section because I was 11—how is an 11-year-old going to do a shoulder-sit—but the two solos and the coda. And it’s the last bucket list role that I have in my career. Once you reach a certain age and a certain amount of time spent in this business, you start thinking about what's next. So it's nice to have this moment now. It's almost like, “Wow, you've made it this far, and you feel comfortable enough to do it at the right time.”

Throughout my career, I've been trying to fit into the mold of the people that came before me; when I came into the company, I was very inspired by the virtuoso dancers, like [former Principal Dancer] Joaquin de Luz, Daniel Ulbricht, even [Principal Dancer] Roman Mejia now—I was very inspired by that type of dancer. And then I started filling in the gaps in my repertory, discovering other things, that I was more than just someone that can turn, jump, and dance very fast; I can be a little softer, be a little bit more poetic with my movement. I'm trying to expand my work to be more than just the jumps and the turns and the usual things. 

KJ: It's definitely one of those roles that I've learned a lot from. I feel like classical roles, like Bluebird, aren't my strong suit. I've always trained in hip hop and more contemporary styles, so it was a good vehicle for me to sharpen the ballet side of my dancing, in a sense. 

This will be my second run of Sleeping Beauty. The first time I was in the corps and still pretty new in the company; Lisa Jackson, our repertory director for the ballet, saw this as a good opportunity for me, and had me work on it with [Soloist] Erica Pereira. I remember working on it so much. Lisa was always supportive. She would come into the studio and say, with a big smile, "Just dance for me," and we would. My debut went very, very well. I was really happy with it. And then, [Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford] comes backstage and says, “Can you do this tomorrow night? Because someone got hurt.” It was a tough, tough run, because it was that time of year, after Nutcracker and into winter performances, when people go out. But it was definitely a good experience to have and to be able to say that I did every show that week. It was really fun. 

SEBASTIÁN: I've low-key been stressing about how hard and puffy it's going to be, but then everyone says, “This is what you've been doing your entire career. You have no problem with any of these steps.” It's something that's very much up my alley, but I find myself wanting to highlight the parts that aren't up my alley.

KJ: Before I go into rehearsal, I'm like, “All right, it's time to go be a bird.” I like to think of the image of flying in the air like a bird when I jump. But there's also a finesse required for this role. Jumping and hitting these twisted shapes in the air is already hard enough to do, but to make it look effortless and graceful is an added challenge. It's a good role to go back to every once in a while, because so much of my rep is so heavily focused on jumping high—and that's it. But this role requires a different quality to the jumps. The feathers help me to get into character, too. Thankfully, the costume isn't too restrictive or heavy, so it doesn't feel like I'm pushing off the ground with extra weight on top of me, which is really nice, especially given that it's essentially a HIIT workout. I'm just jumping the whole time. But I'm excited to see how I'll approach Bluebird this time.

SEBASTIÁN: I'm a big, big follower, almost to a religious level, of the artist David Bowie, because of his androgyny and the mysticism behind his persona. I remember that was something that I was very adamant about bringing into Puck [in A Midsummer Night's Dream], a role I debuted in last year. And that's something that I've been trying to bring into this role. I don't think it's a straightforward love story, it shouldn't be like a man and a woman—you’re a bird. I try to approach it with as much ambiguity and mystery and magic as I can, to take it that one step beyond focusing on whether or not I'm going to land it. You're already exhausted. You're jumping for three minutes straight. I wouldn't want to exhaust myself even more by adding that pressure. And it's a deeper role than just that. I'm very into the artistic depth of the role.

KJ: This pas de deux is one of the rare occasions when the guy is actually more exhausted than the woman. I like to try and approach the first part relaxed, while still being there for her, obviously, but trying not to use up the energy reserves too soon. Because, right out of the gate from the pas de deux, I'm jumping into an assemblé, and into another jump to my partner. So it's really important to communicate so she’s aware of where she needs to be, and secure, so that I can help her and make it easier not just for myself, but also for her.

SEBASTIÁN: This is actually the first time that I'm not worried about the partnering. It’s not something I do regularly here. But I'm not worried about that; I'm worried about other things, like the tiredness level. I'm lucky to have a partner that trusts me. She’s been great. I'm dancing with [Corps de Ballet Member] Allegra Inch, and she'll be debuting as well. She told me during the first rehearsal that she’s never done a role like this. So I think it's been a learning experience for both of us, in a big way. 

KJ: I'm working on this with a new partner too, Mia, who's now having an opportunity, just like I did last time. It's definitely been a learning curve for me as well, because now I'm having to be the one to help her approach this part with a calm mindset. I've been used to being the one taught to stay calm by the senior dancers I've been debuting with. So it's kind of interesting to be on the other side of that.

SEBASTIÁN: I’m looking forward to just getting it done, taking the bow; I think it's going to be such a rewarding moment, like I conquered this mountain. I was actually supposed to debut as Bluebird during the last time that Beauty went, but I got injured. I think it'll be rewarding, like, “Right, okay, I did that, and I can do it.”

KJ: Just find the places you can to take a deep breath and point those toes, flap your wings. Enjoy it in the moment and be present for both yourself and your partner. And have fun with it.