Interview with Stephanie Sahlgren
August 30, 2017
It is easy to call RDB dancer and one of the stars of the Tv-series on the Royal Danish Ballet, Stephanie Sahlgren a maverick. She does not conform to the unofficial standard for a ballet dancer. She does not do cute nor passive. She is a modern girl with a strong set of values; she also makes her own decisions. Not many young RDB dancers dare to ask for leave in order to try their luck in a faraway company:
“Nikolaj Hübbe was surprised but also understanding of my decision to spend a year at the West Australian Ballet. I had also considered going to the US. However, I realized that the American companies were very hieratically structured and that would have made it difficult to get as much experience as I craved. The Australian company looked like a more open company,” says Stephanie.
A Close Family Union
It was also her own decision to become a ballet dancer:
“My parents had no ambition to put me on the stage. However as I was dead set on the dancing, they agreed to let me attend the annual tryouts at the Royal Ballet School. Following the process, my parents were asked to attend the final session. The Royal Ballet School used to look at the parents to get an indication on the pupil’s growth. However, my mother could not attend due to her work commitments, so I brought a picture of her. My father arrived in his full firefighter outfit and only managed a wave in the door, as he was needed elsewhere. However, I was accepted at the school.”
As the tv-series shows, the Sahlgren family is a closely knitted union. There is a lot of support for Stephanie, but there are no family ambitions regarding her career.
“I am very lucky regarding my family. I have met fellow students and dancers who are subjected to a double set of parental ambitions, both on the dancing side and on their academic achievements. My family supports me without any expectations. I do have my own goals, but they are my goals, not my family’s wishes”.
However, Stephanie Sahlgren´s career is not always a dance on roses:
“We were preparing a program with works by leading choreographers Wayne McGregor, Jiri Kylian and Akram Khan. Unfortunately, it was decided to not give the second cast of McGregor’s “Infra” any performances, due to time restrictions. I was part of the second cast and had looked forward to dancing the ballet, as I had a featured role in his “Chroma”. I was sad to lose the opportunity.
However, the first cast dancer that I shared the role with became injured, so I got a chance to do it on stage. It saved my day but not my cast mates’. The episode shows how fragile the daily life of a corps dancer is. You do get a chance now and then, but it can easily be snatched away. You get your hopes up and then it disappears, not through your own fault, but due to circumstances outside your control.”
In the Lead
Two seasons ago, Stephanie found herself in a coveted position. Paul Lightfoot chose her for the leading female role in the production of “Short Time Together”, partly re-choreographed for the RDB.
“This was ballet I loved to be a part of. A modern ballet with lots of point work. I loved it all, including my costume. It was really a career high. I was surprised to learn the reason of why I was chosen. I had talked earlier with Paul Lightfoot regarding my Australian adventure and shared some experiences. He told me that he had chosen me because I told him the absolute truth. I have so much respect for him.”
The McGregor and Leon & Lightfoot roles confirmed Stephanie’s dual preference: modern ballets with pointe shoes.
“Whenever I get that opportunity, I feel I can give my best. I love the combination of the modern dare and the classic tool.
“Chroma” was an amazing ballet to dance. It really took you to another place and you got high on it. The rather unusual costumes were a bit of a trial for the boys. RDB male dancers are not used to performing in pink baby doll nighties! But we all ended up loving every aspect of the ballet”.
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Getting Contemporary
When talking classical and neoclassical ballets, Stephanie Sahlgren welcomes a more modern approach in presenting the classics:
“We talk a lot about bringing ballet to new audiences and Silja Schandorff and Nikolaj Hübbe’s “Swan Lake” brings us in that direction. I absolutely love the Russian divertissement choreographed by then 19-year-old dancer Oliver Starpov. It is so modern and still classical.
However, we are still prone to hang on to our very old standards. We keep to the old ways of doing makeup. We all have to be very pale. The hair is in a very old style for men and women. If there’s a flaw, we cover it up. I feel that this builds a barricade towards the audience, rather than giving them the chance to connect honestly with us. We miss a great opportunity here, I think.”
However, Stephanie still has a lot of love for the classic highlights:
“I was so thrilled to be cast in “Emeralds” in our first all Jewels production. I love that piece. It is so brilliant and still so romantic”.
The Perfect Learning Curve
Another current issue at the RDB also has an impact on the television series. This year the first apprentice team from the new system has graduated. Stephanie Sahlgren is one of the dancers who fears that the baby is thrown out with the bathwater:
“When I think back on my own education, dancing and training with the company in my apprentice years was where I really learned to be a dancer. The experienced dancers taught us how to check our position in the line, without the audience taking notice. I learnt all the little tricks. I would not have been where I am today without their guidance and support.
I wish that the upcoming apprentices could also receive that special gift. I can more than understand the benefits of the new system and of finishing a high school education, but I think it would be more beneficial to slow it down and extend the apprentices’ high school by another year - into their first corps de ballet year. By taking it over a longer period, they wouldn’t have to sacrifice valuable time working with the company at such a crucial point in their careers.”
Stephanie Sahlgren is looking forward to the next phase of her career:
“The company is in good shape. Over the last few years we have made several milestones with performances from “La Bayadere” to “Jewels”. We have added “Lady of the Camellias” to our Neumeier portfolio, and we have worked with some of the very best international choreographers such-as Akram Khan, Leon & Lightfoot, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and Jiri Kylian. We’re also lucky enough to have strong in-house choreographic talent as well. Right now, it looks like my favorite mix of Modern and Pointe is on the horizon.”
Photos:
- Stephanie Sahlgren and Gregory dean in "Short Time Together" by Costin Radu
- Stephanie Sahlgren by Natasha Rydwald
- Stephanie Sahlgren , Sebastian Haynes and Gregory Dean in "Short Time Together" by Costin Radu
Copyright(c) Royal Danish Ballet
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