Home
Ballet Talk
Magazines
Specials
Reviews
Ballets
Dancers
Companies
Studio
Shop
Links
Subscribe

---

Vanessa Zahorian
San Francisco Ballet
Interviewed by Dale Brauner
published in Ballet Alert! (No. 28) 2002
copyright © 2003 Dale Brauner

Katita Waldo and Vanessa Zahorian were often cast together during the San Francisco Ballet’s recent visit to New York’s City Center. They appeared in the William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous thrill of Exactitude and the pas de trois from Natalia Makarova’s staging of Paquita. Both works showed off their quick feet, sure technique and understanding of classicism.

Yet while the two principal dancers have things in common, they are in many ways very different. Waldo is the veteran. She is at once noticeable by her red hair and pale skin, but also by her generous performing spirit. The American born in Madrid, Spain shares her love of dancing with her fellow performers and the audience. She shows off a long line that an be spiky in the Stravinsky ballets by Balanchine and Jerome Robbins or centered in more standard words.

The brunette Zahorian is petite and shining—a perfect Aurora. At 23, she is just beginning her career. She studied at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and was the first recipient of a scholarship to study at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1990. The Allentown, Pennsylvania native also won the Erik Bruhn Prize in 1999 before rising swiftly up the ranks at San Francisco.

Both dancers expect to perform in SFB’s new production of Don Quixote—Waldo as Mercedes and Zahorian as Kitri. Waldo also will dance Emilia in Lars Lubovitch’s Othello when it is broadcast on PBS in 2003.

Interview with Katita Waldo

*****

Talk about two of the ballets you’re doing this week. Last night, I saw you in Night and Paquita.

I love this ballet (Night by Julia Adams). I’m a very classical dancer, so I really had to work on this one. It was a slow process and a lot of frustration. But between Julia Adams, Leslie Young, Ben Pierce and Damian Smith, they really helped me. Because it’s a quality of movement. Its very grounded, very fluid... In classical ballet, you’re very upright, on top of the music and balanced. In neo-classical ballet or with this, it’s very off balanced and letting [things] fall.

Did Adams tell you if there was a story?

Yes. She told me it’s about a young girl. No flashy makeup—basic, simple. She said, “It’s your dream, it’s how you perceive it.” There’s a three-headed monster, but she didn’t make it set. It’s what you create. It’s your story. Maybe you’re asleep and you’re having a nightmare. And you see a three-headed monster. It’s scary to me. And at the end when she’s reaching, it’s like she can’t ever wake up. But they [the men who make up the bed] keep pulling her back into the dream.

And with Paquita, were you part of the rehearsals with Natalia Makarova?

That was a great experience, as well. She’s very demanding. I’m familiar with this because I grew up with the classics and that’s what is in my body. I didn’t have a hard time. Some of the girls had trouble because they were not used to it, but I’ve had the port de bras, the épaulement. For me, I would be upset at myself at not being able to pick it up after all those years. It wasn’t that difficult it was just a matter of working on it.

On this tour, you’ve also done William Forsythe’s Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude.

That’s another one I love. This one is classical, yet it’s not classical in the tradition—it’s totally off balance. If you’re falling over, it’s good in this ballet; falling off point back or forward, but not messing up. It’s just total circular movement in your waist. I think neo-classical is down to the ground but in Vertig-inous you have to have a sort of up-ness and be bold. This one is so fast, but I think if it’s too slow, you have time to think. And you don’t want to think about this piece, you just want to do it. The first night (in New York) it was too slow for me. We were used to this really quick, fast tempo. All of us were coming off stage and saying, “Oh, it’s too slow. Faster, faster.” And the end it’s such a fulfilling aerobic routine. We were saying one day in rehearsal that we should make this like the new Jane Fonda workout, but it should be called Vertiginous Fonda for dancers who want to get into shape.

Even though you’re not doing it here, you’ve done “Rubies.” Can you talk about working on and performing that ballet.

I think it’s a very mature role. It’s very grand and it has temperament, character. It’s not all pretty. It is but it’s sultry, sexy. You’re flirtatious, but not slinky. Not disgusting. You’ve got a dignified manner. It’s a challenge to have everybody see that you have this sexy side. On stage, I’m young looking. This part is very voluptuous and dignified.

Helgi worked with me on this piece a lot, with Merrill Ashley. He knows we can do the steps, but it’s the way Balanchine wanted it. That goes along with knowing the story behind it, or the way he wanted it performed.

What sort of things did Tomasson and Ashley tell you?

He told me it was very mature, but sassy. Helgi gave me that and Ashley came in and worked on the technique. The way Balanchine wanted the running and the details.

When you work on a ballet do you look at videos?

Usually, all the time when I work on a ballet I’m looking at videos, to look at somebody’s interpretation. But I think that’s not good because then you start copying and you don’t make it your own. I’m trying to do that first. It’s really hard. I’m in this stage, this process. It’s kind of like a jumping step for me. I’m trying to figure out how to make things easier. Because I know the technique is there. I’ve done the training for years. Now it’s time for me to enjoy it and feel relaxed, not feel stressed or nervous.

You’re something of a prodigy. We’ve been hearing about you for years and you came through the ranks very fast. Was there a turning point where you thought, “This is a big assignment to tackle and I’m ready for it?”

This year I’m finding in myself a lot of changes in my dancing. A lot of people come up to me and say, “We saw you do this when you were 18 and you’re now 23. And what a difference. You’ve really matured.” I feel like figuring out these little details. From last year to this year, there’s been a big change. I had a lot of time last year off to watch a lot of shows and had a lot of free time. It was a year where I wanted to dance so much but it was a transition. We were doing a lot of the same ballets we did before and I was third cast for the principal roles. Of course they’re going to use the first or second cast. So I was waiting and watching. I was building an outside life, which allowed me to mature.

You’ve done a lot of the very technical roles, what the critic Arlene Croce called the Tschaikovsky gut-crunchers, such as Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.

This was another highlight for me. I think it was my second year that I did this. It is very classical for Balanchine. Helgi told [SFB principal] Guennadi [Nedviguine] and me that it was not affected, no mannerisms, very precise and clean. So it was easier for me to do it. It’s not one of the fast, fast Balanchine pieces. He would tell Guennadi the correct way to hold my hand, where to place his hand. It was all about balance and punctualness. I love that ballet.

Let’s go back to your beginning. You attended the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Everybody seems to come out of the school ready to be part of a company, ready to perform.

I think because Marcia [Dale Weary] had us go on pointe at seven. That’s a lot of people’s fear, going on pointe. From seven, I was able to adjust to that earlier than most kids. She allowed us to take chances. I got on stage doing my first pas de deux at 11. Because we performed so much, being on that stage, you’re fearless. I was not afraid of the audience. Because of our schedule, you didn’t have time to get nervous. It’s not like we were concentrating on just one performance, like they do in Russia. They’ll work on a variation for three months, go out stage and that’s it. If that was terrible or you had a bad show, that’s all you have. But with Marcia we had tons of shows all year. We would dance Monday through Saturday, which is good for toning and conditioning.

When you were five, she would go down and turn out your legs and point your feet so hard. I remember I hated it all but now I’m so thankful that I had that kind of training. I think this is what makes us fearless. She has a good strict dress code; she pushes for this.

I saw you in a old documentary about the school and you had just won a scholarship to study at the Vaganova School in St. Petersburg. What was it like there?

It was very cold! The first time I got there it was snowing and the snow was frozen on the sidewalk. You would slip down the street. The food I didn’t like. I remember losing a lot of weight. But it was a great experience because I got to learn classical full-length ballets like Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire and the artistry that goes along with it.

With the Kirov, my coach was Ninel Kurgapkina. I worked with Andres Liepa. I was partnered by Andrei Batalov.

What do you think you gained there?

I learned a lot of the classical discipline, more so of the upper body. I don’t think anything in the technique aspect because I don’t really care for the way that they turn. I think at Marcia’s school, she focused on turns. And I love to turn, people say it’s my forte. Jumping is OK. In Russia, you develop the arm move-ments with the hands and head and épaulement, which in America we definitely lack. We’re very square here.

When did you try out for the San Francisco Ballet?

I was 16 when I went to Russia. I was 17 when I came back home. I went to high school, like a normal kid, for a year to get my diploma. Because I think school is important. I’d like to go to college, sometime in the future. Russia was stressful. It was definitely hard. I wanted to be with my family.

When I was 18, I said I was ready for a company. I had auditioned for ABT, but it was an odd time, in August, and they didn’t have any spots. They said come back in a year. So I went back and they still didn’t have any contracts. I was really bummed out, because I really wanted to be at ABT. I went up to Boston and they didn’t have any contracts either. On my drive back from Boston, I stopped in New York and San Francisco Ballet was holding auditions. I wasn’t even thinking about it, but my mom mentioned it earlier in the day, but I was tired. I thought, “I’m just sick of this, I’ll stay home.” I know in the future, maybe ten years, it would be nice to go to Europe, just to see how it is.

I took the San Francisco Ballet audition. I took the class and I had the best class. I think I went in without any thoughts, because my mother forced me to take the audition. And I hate when I’m forced to do anything or people tell me what to do [wagging her finger]. Not a ballet teacher, but I always did the opposite of what my mother said. I gave them my resume at the end and went to go change. Helgi came out looking for me, wanting to talk to me right away. I didn’t even know much about the company. I was thinking I wouldn’t go so far, because I had been in Russia. I wanted to stay on the East Coast. But I tried it and ever since then, no regrets.

And how is life in the company?

It’s not cutthroat. People aren’t out to get you. We all work and help each other out. Life is too short. If somebody is more talented than you, try to learn from them. Some people let the jealousy get to them.

Was there a problem when you started getting roles?

No. The other girls told me, “We knew when you came here that you were going to be promoted and be a principal dancer.” Everybody has been supportive.

Who was helpful?

I was so happy to be dancing when Evelyn Cineros was around. She was such a ballerina. She had such focus. And Joanna Berman and Tina LeBlanc, with her being from my school, she’s my idol. [LeBlanc’s] like a power-house. Her technique is so quick and amazing. I love watch-ing her in class because she’s so correct and placed. She has a good eye. She helped me with Night and with Vertiginous.

What are some of your favorite roles?

I did Princess Aurora and that was a great experience. It was a highlight. I love that. It’s my favorite classical role. Night is my favorite neo-classical role.

How did you approach doing Sleeping Beauty?

In the beginning she’s a young, innocent girl. Every act is different. In the beginning, she’s like a flower that’s blossoming. She’s finding out about herself. She’s becoming a woman.

In the second act, it’s the dream scene so she is soft and ethereal.

And in the third act, she becomes a woman. She’s experienced love and now becomes mature, dignified and noble. You have to be in command. It’s not little girl like.

What roles would you like to do?

I’d love to do Romeo and Juliet. That’s my dream role. That would be a nice challenge for me too. We’ll see what’s in store.