BWW Blog: Christine Chen of ARB - Alexander Dutko on Becoming The Firebird for the World Premiere of Douglas Martin's FIREBIRD

Alexander Dutko on Becoming The Firebird for the World Premiere of Douglas Martin's Firebird

"It's been a bathtub week."

I met ARB Dancer Alexander Dutko (Alex) last Friday morning before class to talk about how he's been taking on the challenge of being cast as The Firebird for Douglas Martin's newest premiere. The company had only been rehearsing the new ballet for four days, but even though the choreography is still brand new in his body, it was clear Alex had been thinking deeply about how he was embodying the physicality and character of this quintessential role.

Alex may be best known to ARB fans for his unmatched pirouetting pyrotechnics, but it is his artistry - the intensity of his gaze and intention, his ability to expand every line through space, and the way he oozes organically from one movement to another while never straying from his impeccable technique - that keeps your eye on him, even when he is standing still. No doubt, this is why Artistic Director Douglas Martin thought of Alex when he decided to tackle The this spring - despite the fact that a female ballerina traditionally performs the role.

Still, Douglas and Alex are both taking this gender reversal in stride, seeking to capture the essence and power of the mythical creature, rather than focus on its gender. Alex points out that, as an animal, birds are typically as androgynous as they come (with apologies to male peacocks and their beautiful plumes).

Alex never grew up dreaming of being chosen to play the role, as some young girls do, and though he saw many New York City Ballet performances while a student at the School of American Ballet, he never actually saw The Firebird when he had the opportunity. He does, however, remember his first encounter with the ballet: While reading Gelsey Kirkland's memoir Dancing on my Grave, he saw a picture of the young ballerina getting a fitting for The Firebird - a role George Balanchine created for her. The image he says, engrossed him. "It made an impact on me - I saw the Firebird as one of the most glamorous roles."

He's thrilled to be taking on the challenge because, in his experience, roles for men in story ballets are typically limited to the archetypes of "princes, mean guys and drunks."

"My approach to the role is probably different from the way most other male dancers might approach it," he says, adding, "other men might not want to display such vulnerability on stage." His background and training will deeply inform the way he will interpret the physicality.

"My early training was in an environment where I was the only guy in the classroom. Some might see that as a disadvantage for a male dancer, but I don't. It made me learn that there were not certain things that only female dancers could do. As a male, your body will differentiate naturally from the female dancers, but I learned I had to get my leg up just as high (if not higher) as the girls in my class. I credit my teachers, Lisa Christiansen and Elaine Kudo, for instilling the belief that my technique, my arabesques, everything, had to be just as good as the females in the class."

As the choreography comes, his challenge now is to balance the interpretation of the character, deal with the intricacies of some complex costuming and props (it's a surprise), and provide a unique interpretation to the role. "How do you flap your arms as a bird without being too literal...or too feminine or too masculine," he asks rhetorically. "I don't want to look like every woman who has played the role, but I also don't want to look like a gym rat."

When it premieres March 12, 2014 at McCarter Theatre, Firebird will be presented with Martin's Rite of Spring, another piece to the music of Stravinsky (and a companion piece in addressing gender politics) and Kirk Peterson's Afternoon of a Faun. Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes live on!