A Plum role for a ballerina!
THE NUTCRACKER IS BACK IN BIRMINGHAM SO IT MUST BE NEARLY CHRISTMAS. DIANE PARKES TALKS TO ALYS SHEE ABOUT TAKING ON ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN BALLET
remember some of the hints she gave me for helping to get through it and some of the fine details that I would like to bring into this performance here.”
Alys trained with Evelyn, former principal with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as at the Nadia Veselova Tencer Academy of Ballet and Jazz in Toronto. And she knew from a very early age that her future was in dance.
“It’s funny because when I think back I don’t remember a moment when I decided I wanted to be a dancer. I started when I was three, as most little girls do, and I just kind of continued and I loved it and there was never in my mind the idea I would do anything else. I just always knew I wanted to be a dancer and that was what I was going to do.
“For me, it’s being able to share and inspire emotion in people and bring them into our world for the two hours or so when they are in the theatre. That’s one of the most amazing feelings. We are the intersection of sport and art and I think there’s something unique and beautiful about that. I love training physically and there’s something really magical in being able to use our bodies for something which is so physical but also beautiful.”
Alys was just 16 when she left Toronto for New York City where she joined American Ballet Theatre II. It was while in New York that she became aware of Birmingham Royal Ballet as ABT II hosted a group of final year students from London’s Royal Ballet School – some of whom were joining BRB.
“I just kept hearing really great things about BRB,” she recalls. “I heard really positive things about the environment of the company, which is one of the most important things. It’s not just about being able to excel in your career it’s about being able to do that in an environment that’s supportive and is like a family. That really appealed to me so I came and auditioned and was offered a place.”
Alys had just turned 18 in 2012 when she relocated across the Atlantic to Birmingham.
“It was a very big move and it was a bit scary but I made friends really quickly and the company was really helpful in sorting things out. Everyone was so friendly and I quickly fitted in.
“Since then I have enjoyed everything I’ve done but for different reasons. There are roles which are difficult and really challenge me. I’ve just done Queen of the Wilis in Giselle and that is extremely challenging, as are the Snow Fairy and Arabian dance in The Nutcracker. But then there are also the roles that you love to do because you’re with your friends on stage and you have fun and there’s a real sense of community.”
Alys became a first artist with the company two years ago and hopes to continue to tackle some of the great ballets.
“I’d love to do the classic roles – Odile/Odette in Swan Lake, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet – these are roles where you push yourself physically but also show real emotion.
“Also Playing Fortuna in David Bintley’s Carmina Burana is a real dream of mine. And in Nutcracker I just love watching the Mother, that’s such an amazing role, and she looks fantastic. I’ve always wanted to do that role – maybe in the next couple of years I’ll have the opportunity!”
Alys is keen for audiences to experience BRB’s The Nutcracker for themselves.
“We have the best Nutcracker in the world and everyone should come and see it,” she says. “The designs and the sets and the costumes are gorgeous and stunning but what makes the BRB Nutcracker so special is that the real star of the show is our dancing. Sometimes other productions can get a little bit lost in the tricks and the theatrical side of things whereas ours is still classical dancing. We have amazing tricks but they aren’t so massive that you no longer see the ballet and that’s what people are here to experience.
“And with my Sugar Plum Fairy, I really want people to be able to enjoy the role and I hope I inspire some happiness and let them forget about the stresses of their lives for a little time.”
Birmingham Royal Ballet perform The Nutcracker from November 22 to December 14. See birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000.