Villains lead local musician to ballet
It was his love of theater that brought Bill Hesse into dance and kept him coming back year after year. The retired music teacher still performs often with the Northwest Conservatory of Classical Ballet in Bentonville.
When he was teaching in Dubuque, Iowa, he also did some musical theater, but he knew he needed some training in movement. He took folk dancing workshops and was even certified to teach it. Musical theater gave him some experience in Jazz and tap dancing as well. When he saw a local ballet company was doing “Swan Lake” and looking for men, he volunteered.
He knew the director through his theater connections, but she told him that she had filled the parts she had been advertising. Those parts required very little dance experience. But she was still looking for a Von Rothbart.
“Who’s Van Rothbart?” he asked.
“The villain,” she explained. “Cool,” he said and his career in ballet began.
The next year was the first time he played Drosselmeyer in “The Nutcracker.” Drosselmeyer isn’t a villain, but he is a mysterious figure who brings the nutcracker to Clara and begins the events that comprise the ballet. He played Drosselmeyer four times in Iowa and the Rat King twice. The Rat King role requires more dancing, and Hesse was so involved in his performance that he never noticed when his army of mice — battling the Nutcracker — woke up a real bat that had been sleeping in the old theater.
“The Nutcracker got some air support,” he said.
When he wasn’t performing, he took some classes at the ballet academy, including the most important one in partnering. Female ballet dancers must trust their male counterparts when they are doing lifts and turns. A partnering class is vital to both the male and the female dancers, he said.
There were other ballets, including “Sleeping Beauty” and “Don Quixote.”
“It’s an interesting way to perform,” he said, “You can’t rely on your voice. You have to express emotion physically. It takes discipline.”
When he retired from teaching music and moved to northwest Arkansas, he thought his dance career was over. He still had a career in music and directed his church choir and the Bella Vista Men’s Chorus. But he missed dance.
When he heard about a local production of “The Nutcracker,” he wanted to help. But he’s a realist. He knew an adult male offering to help a group of young female dancers is “a little suspect.” He gathered together his resume and references and was sure to provide the contact information for the Dubuque dance company. In 2013, he resumed his role as Drosselmeyer.
Meanwhile, he worked with the Rogers Little Theater in musicals like “Fiddler On the Roof” and “Les Mes.” He worked with the Village Players before that group folded.
He was Dr. Coppelius when Ballet Westside, in Rogers, did “Coppelia.”
“I’m drawn to villains,” he said. Each December he returns to the Conservatory to do “The Nutcracker.” This year, several professional dancers joined the production. They had two soldout performances at Arend Arena earlier this month.
He works out at Riordan Hall every day to keep in shape for dance. He also does a lot of walking and a lot of stretching, but unfortunately, he hasn’t found a dance class. A partnering class would be great for local dancers, he said.
He will continue with annual ballet role as long as he’s needed, he said.