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- Hello and welcome to Spotlight on the Arts.
I'm Mark McLemore.
The beauty of dance, ancient myth, luscious music,
and the sweetness of spring.
Those are just a few of the elements that are part
of Ballet Tuscon's Dance and Dessert spring concert.
Here to tell us more are ballet master Daniel Precup,
who's also the choreographer of the myth inspired Gemini,
and Ballet Tuscon's prima ballerina, Jenna Johnson.
Daniel and Jenna, thank you so much for being here.
Tell us where we start with Gemini, what's the inspiration
for you to choreograph to this ancient story.
- Numerous nights of storytelling
from my grandmother's side.
Olympian legends become part of my day-by-day life.
I imagine I was Zeus, I imagine I was Hercules.
I imagine I was Castor and Pollux,
And, came in American,
my Artistic Director, Mary Beth Cabana,
give me this opportunity to create choreographies.
So yes, I will make some mythological ballet,
based on legend of Castor and Pollux.
And of course, we didn't know exactly how to call it
because Castor and Pollux, it's a little bit complicated.
Some people don't know exactly where to put it.
So she said, "You know where you should,
"maybe you should call it Gemini."
It's like, that's a very good idea.
We'll call it Gemini.
- So, what was important to you
in telling this story through dance?
- The myth is phenomenal,
it's a myth about sacrifice, dedication.
You give up your life just to revive your brother's
but I think, Gemini is the most complex myth.
- And, is it complex to dance, Jenna,
tell us what does this demand of you as a performer?
- It offers some nice dramatic variety.
I'm able to be the athlete, the warrior,
the queen, the lover.
The dramatic aspects of ballet
is something that always have appeal to me.
- So, storytelling is important to you as a dancer?
- There is a lot of that in music.
Certainly music written to tell a story
but any piece of music has it's own drama.
Even in the white ballets,
even in many of Balanchine's work,
which will also be apart of this show.
He felt that telling a specific story was limiting
but that the music was always expressive of something.
So, even in his non-story ballets,
there is something going on, always.
He is always wanting to express what the music is saying.
When you have an actual story,
you can be a little more specific,
you can elaborate much more, I think.
I don't find it to be a limitation.
- You also had the opportunity to express yourself
though an entirely different creative way in Gemini.
- The costumes, I have fun with that generally,
when I'm given the opportunity to do it.
This is a ballet, that first of all,
can really emphasize the specific talents
of each of the dancers.
And, I wanted to also emphasize their physiques.
So, there's a lot that really flatters
what they have worked for so long to create physically,
their instruments.
- Daniel, when you look at this work and you consider it as
your artistic statement on Castor and Pollux,
are you happy with this epilogue,
this additional chapter that you've added to the story?
- You are never happy.
All the time it's, you can improve it.
You can little touch here, little touch there.
Can be improved all the time
but I think it's good as it is now.
- I think it's also unique, that this is a story that
centers around the male dancers involved.
It is distinct from many of the, you know,
what we're accustom to,
with the classical ballets
that are really about the ballerina.
They have a lot of opportunity to go from
one state of being to another,
a lot of dramatic rage in the story.
- Jenna johnson, Daniel Precup,
thank you so much for your time.
Ballet Tucson's Dance and Dessert featuring Gemini,
will have four performances, March 13th through the 15th,
at the Stevie Eller Dance Theater,
which is on the eastern edge
of the University of Arizona campus.
Thank you for watching Spotlight on the Arts.
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