Ultimately, soloists are working towards a goal that no one can guarantee. You want to become a principal, and there are so many talented up-and-coming dancers.”
“You feel pressure to keep up with your technique. “I was more motivated after the promotion because you’re looking forward to upcoming shows,” he says. Part of that is because the promotion gives you a mental boost. Yoshiyama says that his years as a soloist, though sometimes overwhelming, have been the most fruitful of his career. You’re afraid to show your artistry or musicality,” says DeBona. “When you’re in the corps, you feel like you have to do things the way they’re shown to you. The soloist rank gives you the freedom to grow as an artist in new ways. Houston Ballet’s Charles-Louis Yoshiyama. They’re always covering something if they’re not cast, but that can be hard.” It’s up to the dancer to take advantage of this downtime by devoting extra energy to daily class, understudying and cross-training.
#Stuck in the middle cast full#
“That can mean a full two months off the stage.
#Stuck in the middle cast plus#
“We do six programs a year, plus Nutcracker, and there could be a program that a dancer is not in,” says Boal. On the other hand, soloists can see slow periods where they’re barely cast in anything at all. A soloist could be juggling a principal role during the day and another role at night.” A principal might dance in the afternoon and have the evening off. Even now as a first soloist, she says, “I always feel like I’m at a disadvantage. DeBona says that especially when she was a demi-soloist, one of the most frustrating things was not having as much time as a principal would to devote herself to bigger roles. “The injury made me think quite a bit more about taking care of my body,” he says.īut having a lot on your plate doesn’t just make it hard to keep up physically. Houston Ballet’s Charles-Louis Yoshiyama, who was promoted to principal in 2016, sprained his ankle and broke his fifth metatarsal shortly after becoming a soloist. Running on overdrive makes it difficult to find time to cross-train and stay injury-free. “Mentally you feel lost, and physically you feel broken.” Many soloists miss the camaraderie and support system of the corps de ballet they left. She says it’s common to have to learn two different spots in the same ballet or be cast in every piece in a show. “If you’re one of the upperclassmen, it’s very rare that you ever have any time off,” says Ballet West first soloist Allison DeBona. Photo by Luke Isleyīeing a soloist can be taxing because of the inconsistent workload.
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