There must have many times over the past three years that Taiwanese ballerina Wang Tzer-shing (王澤馨) felt like Sisyphus as she worked to pull together the three ballet galas she has organized.
All Wang has wanted to do is bring the best ballet dancers from around the world to perform in Taipei. But it has been an uphill battle trying to find sponsors and government funding. This year the job was even harder because she was doing it alone.
She has put together a terrific group of 14 dancers, who will be performing a mix of classical and modern solos and duets by masters such as George Balanchine, Kenneth MacMillan, John Neumeier and William Forsythe, as well as newer names, including Britons David Dawson and Christopher Wheeldon and German Christian Spuck.
Most of the dancers will be making their first appearances in Taipei, though there are a few familiar faces. Young Daniil Simkin wowed audiences here last year, right before he joined the American Ballet Theater as a soloist. Mikhail Kaniskin, a principal dancer with the Staatsballett Berlin, took part in the 2007 gala, while Daria Klimentova, a principal with the English National Ballet, delighted balletgoers when the company was here in 2006.
Others in the lineup are principal dancers Ashely Bouder of the New York City Ballet; Friedemann Vogel from Stuttgart; Isabelle Ciaravola and Herve Moreau of the Paris Opera Ballet; Sofiane Sylve from San Francisco; Simon Ball from Houston; Yumiko Takeshima and Raphael Coumes-Marquet from Dresden; Bridgett Zehr and Zdenek Konvalina from the National Ballet of Canada; and Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, a soloist with the Staatsballett Berlin.
Wang said getting the dancers was the easiest part of her job.
“I have a lineup of all the dancers that I want to invite and when I contacted them, they said yes right away, they don’t ask how much ... and I still have people writing to me to say they are available,” she said in a telephone interview last Friday.
Once she has the dancers, she has to do a balancing act to put together the program.
“Usually the dancers tell me what they want to do and then I have to negotiate [if there are duplications]. But David Dawson, I contacted him at the end of December to tell him I really wanted to see his work. He recommended two dancers who have been performing his pieces,” Wang said. “It’s been really cool this year, we’ve been very lucky. Usually it’s a lot of classical, but I want the audience to see a variety.”
Among the pieces that will be seen for the first time in Taipei are Dawson’s Giselle and Grey Area, Kazimir’s Colours by Mauro Bigonzetti, Wheeldon’s Prokofiev Pas de Deux, Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Spuck’s Le Grand Pas de Deux.
Ballet lovers should enjoy it while they can, because Wang doesn’t think she’ll be doing another gala next year. Or at least not here.
“I have been really frustrated this year dealing with the government ... There has been a lot of pressure. I’m doing everything myself: publicity, ticketing, giving speeches ... trying to attract those who haven’t been to the ballet before,” she said. “Singapore Esplande Theater asked me to put together a program [for October]. All I have to do there is gather the best dancers I can. I wonder why I have to do this all myself [in Taiwan].”
As of press time there were only about 194 tickets left — Wang is hoping for a full house. The show may be a labor of love, but it has cost her a lot.
“Without sponsorships we can’t lower prices. We have to have a full house to break even. Last year we only sold about 70 percent [over two nights], so we lost a lot of money. That’s why I had to close my studio,” she said.
Wang is also hoping for a full house because the dancers have donated pointe shoes, autographed pictures and other souvenirs to be sold to raise money to help victims of Typhoon Morakot. There will also be a donation box and a representative from the Taiwan Red Cross Society on hand, since the group will receive the proceeds from the sales.
As with previous galas, Wang said there are ballet fans from Japan and Singapore flying in to see the show. It would be ironic — and a great loss — if the only chance Taipei ballet lovers have in the future to see this kind of gala is to go attend Wang’s productions in another country.
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