In the hollow backstage halls of the Hult Center for Performing Arts, ballerinas and dancers take a brief break from their eight-hour rehearsal day. But this is just everyday life for the women and men of the Eugene Ballet Company.
In preparation for their latest performance of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” as well as two short performances, “Red Pony” and “Solo in Nine Parts,” the dancers of the Eugene Ballet Company practice eight hours a day, five days a week.
The first dance, the performance of “Alice in Wonderland,” is the most classical of the three.
“We’re always looking for story appeal,” artistic director Toni Pimble said. “The story is very well known. We decided to revive it.”
Though the performance is short, about 50 minutes, the set design, story and comedy are sure to appeal to both children and adult audiences.
The ballet will be the most elaborate of the three dances, meant to match the magical, slightly weird world Carroll created in his story. The performance is set to music by such composers as Percy Grainger and Malcolm Arnold.
Eugene ballet dancer Heather Wallace, 25, who dances two parts in the show, described the performance as “very trippy.”
The choreography in “Alice” is not as classical as, say, “Swan Lake,” with its very strict, symmetrical classic ballet choreography.
Yoshie Oshima, 27, who plays Alice in the second cast, described the choreography as neoclassical, a mix of modern elements and classical ballet.
“The movement is a little looser,” Oshima said. “It’s modern, contemporary and that’s way more interesting.”
The other two dances, “Red Pony” and “Solo in Nine Parts,” aren’t story-form ballets.
“Red Pony,” set to the soundtrack composed by Aaron Copland, was choreographed by Pimble. It is meant to mimic a horse’s physical grace.
“It’s about the athleticism, majesty, grace, strength of horses,” Pimble said. “We’re making a correlation between (dancers) and horses, without being too literal.”
The last dance is “Solo in Nine Parts,” a contemporary piece choreographed by guest choreographer Jessica Lang and set to the music of Antonio Vivaldi.
As an ensemble piece, it gives more dancers an opportunity for solos. Pimble was particularly excited for the dance because it was a rare opportunity to bring in a guest choreographer.
“It’s important to see variety … to see works by other choreographers,” she said.
She said guest choreographers also reveal new facets of the dancers working under them.
The dance itself is the most modern of the three.
“It’s contemporary dance, New York-style, not technical-based,” Eugene ballet dancer Mark Tucker said.
The work the ballet has to do before their Eugene debut is nothing compared to the practices they will endure while training for their tour across the Northwest, as well as Colorado, Alaska and Nebraska. Sometimes, Wallace said, the dancers will practice for 14 hours a day, six days a week.
A lot of the work dancers do is based on self-discipline and practice.
“Once you’re in a company, you’re not a student,” Wallace said. “It’s up to you to continue to improve.”
The dancers, many of whom have been dancing since they were toddlers, are very happy to have a job with a professional ballet company.
“It’s been really good (here),” said Tucker, 22, who has been with the company for about two years. “I’ve been growing a lot personally and professionally.”
Some of the dancers have also enjoyed what Wallace describes as a “boundary-pushing” repertoire, such as a previous performance called “Dark Side of the Moon,” which they performed with Pink Floyd tribute band Floydian Slips, appealing to audiences who don’t traditionally attend ballet performances.
The performance of “Alice in Wonderland,” “Red Pony” and “Solo in Nine Parts” are sure to be crowd-pleasers.
The company will perform Alice in Wonderland on Friday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students with a student ID.
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