A Conversation with Marianna Tcherkassky about Les Sylphides
Author: Diana Yohe, Soloist with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School will perform Les Sylphides in their Spring Performances, May 22-24. This historic ballet will be set by the quintessential Marianna Tcherkassky, who, for 26 years, was a PBT Rehearsal Director . Prior to her role at PBT, she was a ballerina at American Ballet Theatre for 26 years, 20 of them as Principal dancer.
Les Sylphides premiered in 1909 with choreography by Mikhail Fokine, and was the first plotless and abstract ballet. Les Sylphides is an ode to romantic reverie with stylized 19th century movements. The lone male poet and corps de ballet of woodland nymphs, also known as sylphs, dance classically to music composed by Chopin. While there is no particular plot, the dancing perfectly embodies the music to create a story for each audience member to uniquely imagine.
Marianna is a virtuoso of the romantic style, and while she has a storied career and experience beyond measure, she remains the most humbly talented person I’ve ever known. It is perhaps this quality that makes her artistry so unlike any other. Before we spoke about Les Sylphides, specifically, Marianna spoke of her upbringing and private lessons with Edward Caton. At the end of the lesson, they would simply play beautiful music, and use imagery to improvise ballet and create a story. It is no surprise that this led her to be so inclined toward a ballet like Les Sylphides. While at ABT, she learned from watching incredible performances by Carla Fracci, Erik Bruhn and Natalia Makarova, and continually performed this classic ballet throughout her career.
Reflecting on Les Sylphides: What are your fondest memories of performing in Les Sylphides during your time with American Ballet Theatre?
Definitely having the chance to dance the prelude.
Watch Marianna perform the Prelude in this ABT performance of Les Sylphides:
Marianna’s Performance with ABT
There was something about the music, the softness and the gentleness that spoke to me. As far as choreography, the prelude is deceptively harder than it looks. There have been many ballets where you have such beautiful music to express yourself to, but the choreography is so challenging it can be a distraction to fully enjoying the dancing. The prelude is different. The challenge is about control, creating quality of movement and the illusion of floating, and I really embraced those challenges. I would imagine images and sounds like a nightingale singing in the forest, luring me in one direction and then another, and have this inner dialogue to use as motivation. The mystique of the movement is just as special as the steps.
Embodying the Sylphs: How did you approach capturing the ethereal quality of the Sylphs on stage, and what advice do you offer dancers to achieve this effect?
The first rendering of Les Sylphides was in 1908 in St. Petersburg titled Chopiniana, and then premiered one year later in Paris retitled Les Sylphides. It has evolved and lived on through time, but setting it now, I didn’t want the ballet to look dated. First there is teaching the steps, but to stay true to the style it is important to approach the ballet’s specific quality of movement, and try to get the cast hearing the music and breathing together as one from the beginning. Although there is no story, there is one male figure called the poet and the sylphs are his inspiration. To set the ballet I spoke with the dancers about what they might be, each being woodland spirits or by using a specific beautiful word to inspire poetry. Establishing the scene was also very important, that they are in a clearing in a forest, the night of a full moon with dew glistening on the branches and magic in the air. During romantic ballets that are especially spiritual, I talk to dancers about imagery like their skin shimmering and catching the moonlight on their cheekbones to uplift them and use as inspiration. The choreography itself is like stepping on clouds or your arms floating on water.
Artistic Interpretation: How do you balance staying true to Mikhail Fokine’s original choreography while encouraging dancers to bring their personal artistry to the performance?
The first version I danced, I learned under Dimitri Romanoff who actually worked with Mikhail Fokine. He was very specific about the rounded shape of the port de bras, and defined placement of head and shoulders whereas when Barishnikov took over, he went back to his Chopiniana roots in St. Petersburg. This encouraged more open and elongated port de bras, which allowed more freedom and use of the head. I wanted to try to marry both versions by being specific throughout, and by defining the soft romantic shapes and feeling in the choreography without making the dancers feel stiff and stilted in their movement. It was fun because I started with teaching the dancers the variations to get to know them, and learn their strengths. Teaching the dancers the quality of movement and to dance in a way they might not have before really showed who they were, and allowed them to feel the music. I knew that the ballet would be different from when I did it, and I didn’t want to lead with ever saying, “Well this was what it was like when I did it.” I just wanted to emphasize the style of movement and what the dancer was trying to say. Seeing the differences the dancers are bringing to Les Sylphides and how they are finding themselves within the dancing has been beautiful.
Passing the Torch: It’s essential to pass on classical ballets like Les Sylphides to emerging dancers and audiences. Can you speak to the importance of sharing classical ballet with the next generation?
It is about how you keep the art form relevant and the process of educating and being educated that never ends. I use a violin analogy to speak to my experiences with classical ballet. The Stradivarius violin is considered the ultimate violin, the best of the best. When one has had the opportunity to work with the best of the best and the experiences to gain the knowledge and education to discern the highest qualities of something, it helps to define your goals and ideals. You may not have the means to attain the Stradivarius violin, but you’re going to get as close to it as you can with what you have. The violin itself is constructed to produce a particular sound and a distinct technique to be taught and learned. Classical ballet is a genre of dance that has specific aesthetics that define it and a technique unto itself as well. Both take many years of mastering to excel and this endless journey for the artist keeps it relevant. As for passing the torch, a répétiteur coming to set a piece, besides knowing the choreography and musicality, should have an understanding of the ballet’s origin and the choreographer’s intent. When you’re staging, it might not be about every finger being in place as it was before, but about illuminating the inner light and life of the piece to keep it alive. That’s what great art is. It stays relevant through generations because the message it conveys is something universal and timeless.
Rehearsal Insights: What aspects of rehearsing Les Sylphides do you find most rewarding when working with young dancers?
I’d say seeing the individuality of the dancers and experiencing the qualities that they have. Seeing the dancers strengths, and then working even more on the quality, it’s beautiful how they respond to that work. I can see their inner life coming through throughout the process. The hard part is to let them go through the journey to find themself in it, as it’s always a fine line between giving all the information they need, but also making sure they have the freedom to explore. You don’t want them to feel like they have to do something a certain way just because someone before them did it that way. I just hope to help young dancers find their confidence, believe in themselves and trust their instincts.
