Ballet Legend Sarah Wildor

Dance critic Ismene Brown interviews ballerina Sarah Wildor, the exquisite, witty star of the Royal Ballet, Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, and the Broadway hit show Contact about her life and career at the top of the dance world. Topics include the Royal Ballet School, Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan’s ballerina roles Titania and Manon, friendship with Anthony Dowell and marriage to Adam Cooper, the “English school” of classical ballet, her resignation from the Royal Ballet after a change of directorship, performing with Matthew Bourne and Susan Stroman, professional versatility and ballet artistry. One of a series of filmed interviews for students and supporters of the Vyne Arts Centre and Dance Academy, Berkhamsted.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction.
01:46 Royal Ballet poster girl - the Ondine poster, Crystal Palace diving pool.
04:18 Childhood - Clara in Nutcracker - Royal Ballet School training - ambitions. “One thing I do have is I’m really conscientious”
07:57 Giants and mentors at the Royal Ballet - Sibley and Dowell - Dowell’s blue-eyed girl - “We have a similar sense of humour.”
09:37 Spotted by Kenneth MacMillan - Juliet - Princess Louise in Mayerling.
12:10 A ballerina’s ascent - chickens, squirrels, carrots and cygnets - “there were three Essex girls in our cygnets team”.
13:57 The corps de ballet - “that powerful force of 30-plus females, it’s quite awesome.”
16:06 Switching between corps and leading roles - managing self-doubt.
17:53 Heroines type 1: sweet young things - Giselle, Juliet, Chloe, Vera - dealing with innocence and powerlessness.
22:43-24:35 Film clip Wildor with Bruce Sansom in “Cherries” pas de deux from Ashton’s A Month in the Country.
25:54 Heroines type 2: minxes - Titania and Manon - “my favourite role. She can’t help herself, and it’s so nice to visit the dark depths of her life”.
28:44 Classical challenges.
29:15-30:30 Film clip Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty, Fumi Kaneko as Fairy of the Woodland Glade (aka Miettes qui tombent).
How to bring grace to difficult technique - classical roles missed? “only Odette - I was so lucky, I got to do the roles I really really loved”.
33:08 How to seize the audience in a dynamic peer group - Irek Mukhamedov, Sylvie Guillem, Darcey Bussell - “I felt like we all had a different identity.” Being coached by Lynn Seymour.
36:22 Partners. Adam Cooper, lover, then husband - working together at home on “The Invitation”. “It doesn’t always have to be beautiful - ugly can be great.”
39:52 Musicality - how to learn an abstract ballet and interpret it.
43:14-46:25 Film clip, "Symphonic Variations", with Wildor, Alina Cojocaru, Tamara Rojo and Nigel Burley.
Costume malfunctions.
50:48 Resignation from Royal Ballet - the pressure of being a flagbearer for “English style”.
“It was a bit of an upending. But it was opportunity as well as discomfort.”
54:47 Starring as Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella.
55:04-57:50 Film clip from South Bank Show documentary on Cinderella
57:57 Starring in Susan Stroman's Contact - musical theatre challenges - hearing oneself speak.
01:00:05 Working with Adam. “We lived our careers at home, we went on the adventure together.” Decision not to look back at ballet. Auditions - experiences of rejection - feelings of vulnerability.
01:04:54 Teaching from experience. “Ballet is a language. You have to understand what you are saying. If it’s just technical steps, it doesn’t have any meaning.” Another adventure - psychology degree. Realism’s place in ballet’s magic world.
Film credits:
Extract from Frederick Ashton’s “A Month in the Country”, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, 1 December 1999, televised by BBC • Frédéric Chopin: "A Mo...
Extract from “The Sleeping Beauty”, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House filmed performance, Opus Arte 2017.
Extract from Ashton’s “Symphonic Variations”, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, 15 December 2000 • Cojocaru 19, Rojo & Wi...
Extract from South Bank Show ITV documentary, "The Making of Cinderella”, 1997 • The Making of Cinderel...
Related links:
Vyne Theatre and Dance Academy, Berkhamsted. www.vynearts.co.uk
Ismene's site of 30 years of dance coverage. www.ismeneb.com

[@judithhopes151]

Such informative and fascinating interviews

[@stuartblack758]

I was lucky to see her dance Ondine, and she was just incredible. As was noted, she was incredibly musical, and in addition, she displayed such imagination. I wasn't that keen to see Ondine, and just went because the opportunity was there. My expectations were low. I came away thinking I had seen a dancer of genius in a very surprising work.