Press intern Amanda Grimm sits in on rehearsals for Val Caniparoli's new work.
Val Caniparoli, the respected San Francisco-based choreographer, is finally here at Scottish Ballet, creating a new work which will be performed as part of the upcoming Geometry and Grace programme. Last week I had the amazing opportunity to sit in the studio while he was working with the dancers. It was fascinating for me to have a glimpse into the choreographic process, and see, as I discussed in my first blog post, how it really is a collaborative endeavour involving numerous talented individuals.
Val Caniparoli in rehearsals. Photograph by Andrew Ross.
In my first blog, I mentioned how the costume designer Sandra Woodall had detailed ideas and imagery behind her designs, which also inform the choreography. Once Val gets into the studio, however, he draws the majority of his inspiration from the dancers, who he encourages to be part of the process.
“I appreciated it as a dancer when a choreographer would come in and would allow you a point of view and allow you to talk and have suggestions and thoughts, and this company’s amazing at that,” he explains. “I feel they feel part of the process, they take ownership of the ballet, and I think you get a better performance.”
Val Caniparoli and Eve Mutso in rehearsals. Photograph by Andrew Ross.
The dancers are able to be part of the process like this because of the way Val works: he enters the studio with a blank slate and an open mind. Of course he has, as he says, “a seed of an idea, a vision”, but he doesn’t like to make it too set before he arrives, and he certainly doesn’t put together any sequences of steps as he doesn’t feel that it helps him.
“I’ve never had a block with choreography,” he says. “There was a period of time when I prepared before I came in, but those ballets weren’t as successful.” Instead, Val goes into the studio, looks at the dancers, has a think, and then choreography just flows from his mind and body: he dances out sequences, and the dancers imitate.
Owen Thorne and Eve Mutso in rehearsals. Photograph by Andrew Ross.
This method clearly works well for Val, as evidenced by his critically acclaimed ballets. However, it means that he doesn’t have a record of the exact steps that he wants, prepared beforehand, to fall back on. This provides an opportunity for more people to be involved in shaping the ballet. Nicolas Blanc, the ballet master, has been attending all the rehearsals, watching as Val choreographs, and helping him remember the details of each ephemeral phrase of choreography as it’s created. He also looks at the piece with a critical eye, and makes suggestions: “lower your front arm to create a better line”, “travel more on your jump to make it more exciting”, “keep your weight on your back foot to make that slide on pointe work better”. Artistic Director Ashley Page and Deputy Artistic Director Paul Tyers sometimes watch rehearsals as well, and make similar suggestions.
And it’s not only the Company’s artistic staff who contribute to the choreographic process. Sheelagh McCabe, the deputy stage manager, has been attending all the rehearsals. She will be cueing the soundtrack during performances - starting and stopping it at a certain count, or when a dancer makes a certain move - so it is critical that she become familiar with the choreography, and how it maps on to the score, and this also helps with the choreographic process. When Val says, for example, “let’s take it from the buzzing section”, Sheelagh will start the music from there, meaning that Val doesn’t have to keep stopping and breaking his concentration to play around with the music.
Of course, despite the important contributions from others, most of the credit for the choreography must go to the choreographer. Val is an extremely talented, original and exciting choreographer, and if these rehearsals and his previous works are anything to go by, his new piece for Scottish Ballet is going to be a huge success.