Antonijevic a Swan Lake Prince in his prime
DANCE
It’s one of those clichés that became a cliché because it is true: Aleksandar Antonijevic is very princely looking. But you don’t get an actor or an elevated aristocrat when in conversation with him. He’s an artist very conscious of his craft, and he talks like one. Born in Novi Sad, about 40 km north of Belgrade, son of a Polish mother and a Serbian father, Antonijevic began training in ballet at the age of 10.
In ballet terms, he’s old school. He studied the Russian Vaganova technique, under teachers Natalia Dudinskaya and Konstantin Sergeyev, dancers who were contemporaries of Rudolf Nureyev at the Kirov Ballet. Had he not left what was then Yugoslavia and joined the Zurich Ballet, he might have been sent to Russia for further training.
Reid Anderson, then artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, recruited him in Europe and Antonijevic joined the Toronto company in 1991, the year he turned 22. By 1995, he had attained the role of principal dancer and for some years now he has been the company’s leading male dancer. When the curtain goes up on Wednesday, opening night of the 2005- 06 ballet season, Antonijevic will enter in one of his mostly princely roles, Siegfried in Swan Lake. James Kudelka created the tragic role for him and it is a part he will inhabit frequently this season. He’ll dance it in Washington D. C. in January, and next summer he’ll be Siegfried in the Swan Lake
performed by the Inoue Ballet in Tokyo.
At this stage of his career, Antonijevic says, rewards still come with hard work, but it’s no longer about besting yourself or others, it’s about something less tangible, but more artistically satisfying.
“ The last night in Vancouver ( where the company performed Swan Lake
in September), it felt like Greta, Ryan ( Boorne) and I were on a different planet by ourselves,” he says. “ It felt unbelievable. It’s not very often that you can reach that point. You have to train yourself to aim for that, because there’s so much that can get in the way.”
Greta Hodgkinson will be his Odette/ Odille on opening night in Toronto. She is often princess to his prince, but behind their grace and seemingly effortless partnership lie years of rehearsing together. “ There’s definitely mutual respect and trust and aiming for the same end results — which is really working our asses off. That’s the only way to get to a point in classical ballet that can be called quality.” When Antonijevic sees the ballet students of today, it reminds him of what his own education consisted of.
“ Technically they can do much more than I was able to do at 17, but I was really taught how to move within the classical repertoire as opposed to doing the big tricks. It’s a very different approach.” He slowly moves an arm from bottom to top in the precise arc that was required. “Everything has to be done within certain parameters.”
It has to be said that Antonijevic is king of the big tricks. His leaps are a signature characteristic. But if you see him on stage as James in La Sylphide, a part he’s danced in three different productions, you’ll likely not even know why Antonijevic so much fits the part. He still marvels at Evelyn Hart, the former prima ballerina of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. “There’s that moment when she’s not Evelyn any more. Very few people have that quality. Karen ( Kain) does. They get lost in their roles.” Just the facts What: Swan Lake Where: The Hummingbird Centre, 1 Front St. E. When: Wednesday @ 7:30 p.m. to Nov. 20 @ 2 p.m. Tickets: $39-$133 @ 416- 345-9595 or www.national.ballet.ca