Report of an
interview of Mara Galeazzi by David Bain
Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, London
2 November 2007
The Chairman, David Bain, welcomed Mara
by saying that the time before last she
came was during the mid-season break,
now it was the dancers’ long weekend
and Mara had to get up the following morning
at 02.00 to catch an early flight so we
were very grateful to her for coming to
speak to us. He emphasised how good it
was to talk to someone whose career we
had been able to follow from the time
she joined the Company about 15 years
ago. The last time Mara had been our guest
was in 2003 at about the time she had
been made Principal.
Mara explained how she had heard of her
promotion. It happened in the middle of
the Russian tour when they had been to
Moscow, and returned home for a couple
of weeks before heading straight back
to St Petersburg. During the intervening
period she was invited one night to go
with her boyfriend to a special performance
of Pagliacci when Placido Domingo was
appearing. She was all made up and wearing
a long dress when a call came at about
6.30pm asking her to go and see Monica
Mason in her office. She wondered if she
was in trouble but had to go quickly dressed
in her finery and when she walked in Monica’s
eyes lit up and she asked why Mara was
dressed up – was it on her account?
Mara explained it was a special evening
at the opera and Monica then said that
now her evening would be even more special
as she was being promoted to Principal.
Mara was so surprised she dissolved in
tears, with her make-up running everywhere!
Following the opera, there was a dinner
in the Floral Hall during which Placido
Domingo himself came up and congratulated
her. She wondered how word could have
travelled so quickly but apparently lots
of people were already in on the secret
to help make the evening extra special.
By that time Mara had already danced many
of the Principal roles in the Company,
especially during Ross Stretton’s
tenure as Director. She did just about
every role in every ballet - Don Quixote
- Mercedes, Queen of the Dryads, and four
Onegins in one week. During the Australia
tour a number of principals dropped out
because of injuries and so Ross said Mara
should learn the role. She imagined it
was for the following night but after
45 minutes of rehearsal she was on stage,
and the year continued in the same way.
She enjoyed the whole experience, and
when Monica took over she offered her
the same chances. Dancing Tatiana in Onegin
had been wonderful for Mara. It was a
very special ballet and she felt very
privileged to dance with Robert Tewsley
who was guesting at the time. They first
met on a Sunday and the performance was
the following Wednesday – a very
short time but Mara felt very comfortable
dancing with Robert.
It is unusual for a dancer to do two roles
in the same ballet which Mara has done
in both Manon and Mayerling. She danced
Mary Vetsera when she was quite young.
It was then nine years before it came
back into the repertoie. She loved both
roles – Countess Larisch and Mary.
The same happened in Manon where she had
danced the Mistress, a very difficult
role as she has no story to tell or character
to build on. Kenneth Macmillan made her
as an extra character, so the dancer had
to find her own way of playing the role
which was quite hard to do. Her solos
too are difficult to dance but it was
all good experience and helped Mara to
grow in Manon. She has also danced both
lead roles in Giselle which is quite unusual
since in the Royal Ballet you normally
only dance the lead or one of the other
roles. She felt that maybe next time Monica
would not cast her as the Mistress in
Manon - it may be too late for that role
now - but she would still like to dance
Countess Larisch in Mayerling. Of the
two characters in that ballet she finds
Larisch the more interesting. Mary Vetsera
isn’t stupid but is a young girl
who follows the main story and falls for
an illusion. She is just being silly and
playing a game with Rudolf. Larisch is
more intense and has to interact with
all the other characters - she’s
a trouble maker who causes problems for
the family but at the same time is a very
intelligent woman who leads an interesting
life and who really loves Rudolf.
Mara has enjoyed a lot of influences in
her dancing career. Irek Mukhamedov used
her outside the Company, and Ashley Page
choreographed a lot and used her in Scotland
to show his company how he worked. They
have been very important people in her
career. Irek always wanted to dance with
her, but at that time she was insufficiently
experienced and so she missed out. He
tried to show how much she could do and
really believed in her, as did Ashley.
When the latter put on Fearful Symmetries
several of the leads were injured so Irek
suggested that Ashley teach Mara to role.
She learned it in 4 or 5 days –
there were lots of steps and it was very
intense work - so different from the classical
roles she knew. David commented that we
had seen no work of Ashley’s in
the 75th anniversary celebrations.
Another choreographer of enormous influence
was Glen Tetley who had sadly died earlier
this year, and just talking about him
was very emotional for Mara. He was the
first choreographer to notice her in the
Company when he came to put on La Ronde
which had five principal girls –
Darcey Bussell, Leanne Benjamin, Fiona
Chadwick, Viviana Durante with Adam Cooper,
Bruce Sansom and three other male principals.
Mara was in the corps rehearsing Ballet
Imperial when she saw Glen pointing at
her. The next day her name went up as
learning one of the main parts. She was
covering when girls from both casts were
injured so she started to rehearse the
pas de deux with Bruce. She loved working
with Glen who used every part of the body
so that after 30 minutes you were exhausted.
All his choreography asks you to do more
with your body than you imagined possible.
Glen then came back a couple of years
later to put on La Ronde and again she
was rehearsing with him. After that their
paths didn’t cross for many years
until Pierrot Lunaire. She knew about
the ballet as it had been done by Rambert.
She couldn’t believe she’d
be asked to do such a contemporary ballet
but saw her name up as Colombine. It was
wonderful working with Glen again and
with Bronwen, his assistant. With Glen’s
arrival a week before the show there was
a lot of extra work to be done on the
dance. She did a stage call which she
thought was terrible – she couldn’t
breathe and was exhausted. But Glen came
on to the stage and told her it was wonderful.
A year later Stuttgart were putting on
Pierrot and Glen asked for her to go to
dance it there. She did two shows which
was a different experience for her as
the company had done the ballet many times
before and were very familiar with it.
Then Glen put on Voluntaries which is
one of her favourite Tetley ballets. She
was so moved that she wrote him a letter
saying she hoped to see him in March and
he replied “if I am still alive”.
She wrote again pouring out her feelings
and saying how wonderful it was to work
with him. The next day Bronwen said Glen
had read the letter and said he was going
to put it away where all his best memories
were kept.
Reverting to Giselle, David asked Mara
about her illness. Mara said that dancing
the main role was very special and she
had been very excited at the prospect
of her first performance on 9th January
2006. The previous month she was at home
alone as her boyfriend had gone to see
his parents, she was tired, had a bath,
sat on the sofa and noticed that her ankles
were swollen. This was unusual and she
panicked as, being a dancer and aware
of her body, she knew something was very
wrong. So at 10pm she went to A&E
after calling friends to let them know.
She waited four hours to be seen, a doctor
came and then through intervention of
friends a surgeon examined her and asked
for tests to be done. Eventually she was
told she would need a lot more tests and
would need to remain in hospital for a
week. She called Monica to let her know
she was being admitted which was not good
news. At the end of the week she heard
she would have to have a biopsy on her
kidneys. Mara was very concerned about
her debut in Giselle at the schools’
matinee which was then only 3 weeks away.
Two days before Christmas she learned
that both kidneys were only functioning
at 50 percent capacity but the doctors
couldn’t say why. It was a great
shock especially to be told she might
not be able to dance or have children,
and it was scary because as a dancer you
use your body the whole time. A week after
the biopsy she thought she could make
the show and let Monica know that she
would be able to dance even though her
arabesques were only about 45 percent
there. Positive thoughts, and emotional
support and help from her family who really
believed in her, helped her through the
Giselle performances. She thought she
played the role quite well as she was
actually pale and thin so felt she was
within the role of a weak and delicate
young woman. But it was very tiring. Everybody
said she was crazy but her boyfriend who,
unlike Albrecht, was true and honest supported
her throughout.
David suggested we move on to Mara the
impresario, performing outside the Royal
Ballet in the UK and in Italy, as well
as her charitable work. Mara said she
had performed in galas in the theatre
in Brescia, where she comes from, put
on by a woman who was involved in charitable
work. Her best friend had little students
who performed as Mara felt she couldn’t
dance the whole evening on her own. She
herself danced with four different partners.
They raised money for the local hospital
in Brescia for children with leukaemia.
It was a very special evening –
it was the first time the students had
actually danced in a theatre. It also
proved a successful evening, and raised
a lot of money. The next day she visited
the children in the hospital and began
to think that she too might be able to
organise a charity gala. The whole experience
really touched her so when she got home
she talked to her boyfriend, Jurgen, about
doing something for charities in Africa.
They both felt it would be an amazing
project.
They started to research charities in
Johannesburg and Capetown, contacting
directors there who were all very keen.
It took two years to achieve and there
were difficulties with them working at
such a distance. Meantime, Mara did little
shows in Italy and gained experience of
putting on galas and performances, and
started to build a good team behind her.
She and Jurgen were very determined to
do the charity work for Africa but knew
they needed sponsorships. It’s hard
to set up a charities foundation and she
had to find a lawyer, accountant, secretary,
etc. who were prepared to work for free.
She met people who offered to help, and
the Royal Opera House Development Committee
suggested sponsors so they eventually
got sufficient money to make the project
possible. Then there was the question
of a name and they decided on the simple
title of Dancing for the Children. Her
foundation was eventually formed, and
they assembled a team of four to assist
with the technical aspects, a teacher
offered to help with the workshops, two
people offered help with costumes. Two
or three of the original group of dancers
dropped out so they had to make changes
to the programme. Most of them were the
younger dancers from the Company who all
gave their time for nothing. The programme
included two pas de deux from Elite Syncopations,
Don Quixote, Two Pigeons, La Sylphide
and Romeo and Juliet. Everyone had at
least two roles to dance. They began rehearsing
while on tour with the company in Mexico.
There were matinee and evening performances
and the dancers were exhausted from travelling,
rehearsing, performing on stage and then
moving on to the next place. Meanwhile
David Neville, their agent/manager, did
a huge amount of preparatory work including
organising schedules, hotels, publicity,
etc.
Soweto was an amazing experience and the
most interesting part of the Africa tour.
There were so many kids between 2 and
14 years who had previously no experience
of dance. When the team arrived they didn’t
really know what to do with the children
so they put them in circles, stretching,
pointing toes, galloping to right and
left and they were falling about and giggling
and just enjoying themselves. All over
the walls were pictures done by the children
showing their Christmas wishes. It was
all very sad and the dancers were in tears
but equally it was a great pleasure to
see the kids jumping around and having
fun, which seemed lacking in their lives.
In Johannesburg there’s a group
called Dance For All which had just nine
company members. The visitors joined with
them for some pieces. They had no money
but just loved dancing. There was also
Dance Factory which helped children to
do class even though there was no funding
for it either. In Capetown, Mara’s
group did two shows as well as visiting
HIV clinics, orphanages, etc . The dancers
were very exhausted but after 10 days
they moved on to Kenya where it was yet
more difficult to get things organised
so consequently they had to work even
harder. At the end they were given a couple
of days on safari which was a wonderful
treat. Four of the team got a 24 hour
bug in Nairobi but everyone returned with
a different energy and knowledge of how
lucky they were with their Royal Opera
House and all its facilities at home.
Mara said they would definitely be going
back in 2009 and they certainly wanted
to keep going with the project. Everybody
now felt part of the childrens’
lives. They enjoyed going to work with
the children – even the stage crew
joined in the class though not David Neville
who was busy taking pictures and organising
the schedules which were very tight. After
the first two hectic days the dancers
were tired. Jurgen told the dancers to
be patient. Very diplomatically he suggested
that they should respect the schedule
although they were very tired. ‘Respect
the schedule’ became a team mantra,
but it worked! Mara said that in 2009
she would like to get the same team together
if possible and maybe go to other places
in Africa. Some other dancers had said
they would like to join them although
they had not wanted to the first time
round. However, if there were more money
they might be able to take a larger group.
For this tour they had raised some funds.
The tour had helped them to gain experience
as well as helping the children who wrote
amazing letters asking them to go back.
It was an exciting future to look forward
to.
Asked who were the dancers on the Africa
tour, Mara said they were Paul Kay, Leanne
Cope, Gemma Bond, Zachary Faruque, James
Wilkie, Ernst Meisner, Laura McCulloch,
Caroline Duprot, Romany Padjak , Vitto
Mazzeo and two dancers from Stuttgart
who joined them in Kenya. The South African
Ballet Theatre danced a piece with them
in Pretoria and Capetown City Ballet put
on a gala, Dance for All, where the theatre
was given for free.
One of the members wondered if Mara had
thought of pursuing this side of her career
full time? She said she is trying to put
on some shows in London also. It’s
very costly but she’s determined
that it will happen as they can raise
more money here in the UK. She was going
to Winchester with a group fundraising
for charity and then she would see where
the future would lead her. David mentioned
that now there was no Dance Bites there
was room for a group to go to the provinces.
Meanwhile Mara will be going to Italy.
David said how fascinating this all sounded
but hoped it wouldn’t stop her dancing
at the Opera House.
In 2006 Mara was awarded the Italian Best
Dancer prize. This year an organisation
called AVIS had held a big conference
with doctors and professors in her small
home town, and during the conference they
awarded Mara a gold medal. She had put
her little town on the map! In December
there was to be a big event at La Scala
where Mara was due to receive another
award which was rare for a dancer.
2007 will also be remembered in other
ways. Just after the last evening performance
of the Africa tour when she felt she could
relax, Jurgen proposed and was accepted.
It was a wonderful place and a wonderful
time, and he had very sneakily organised
everything (though the ring was too big)
including a celebration party at the hotel.
Mara and Jurgen will be getting married
next year.
Mara was asked if she preferred dramatic
roles but she said it depended on the
dance. She likes a meaning or a story
to a ballet. Serenade for example was
a beautiful ballet and sometimes you just
listen to the music and the dance comes
naturally, but drama is physical and she
loves being exhausted by performance.
Of the roles she would like to do she
said she’d not done much Ashton
but would love to dance Month in the Country.
She also liked Swan Lake but would not
want to do it now. Although you needed
experience and maturity to dance the role,
technically it is difficult so it was
better suited to a younger dancer. She
felt she was not suited to Aurora.
Her favourite ballet is Anastasia. Some
people may not appreciate the ballet but
for Mara it’s not the ballet itself
but because of the story and the reality
in Act III of Anna losing her child and
husband, going through the war and leading
a very tough life. Mara really loves the
characterisation of this woman and you
need to have lived to be able to portray
those intense feelings. Other wonderful
ballets were Romeo and Juliet, Manon,
and even the somewhat unusual Judas Tree.
As for Isadora, which was made on Merle
Park who was dramatic dancer, Mara had
seen only part of it but she would love
to do it.
Members thanked her for giving so much
of her spare time to master classes, etc.
But Mara said she loves doing it, and
David thanked her for being a friend of
the Ballet Association since starting
in the Company and one who was always
willing to come to dinners (sometimes
at short notice!) So it had been a privilege
to follow her development. Mara said she
recalled some years ago having said to
David that he must meet Jurgen - at last
she was going out with a real man! David
spoke for the whole audience in saying
that it was great to see them there together,
and closed by thanking Mara very much
for such an inspirational talk.
Report written by Liz Bouttell, corrected
by Mara Galeazzi and David Bain
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