interview with Lucas Praetorius, Hamburg Ballet School
October 19, 2017
When an apprentice on a leading ballet school are told to leave, many pupils breaks down, and some carry the stigma with them for the rest of their life.
Not Lucas Praetorius. Four months after being told that he was no longer an apprentice of Royal Danish Ballet School, he feels that he is in a winning position:
“Looking at my life today, I feel that everything has changed to the better. I am attending a very good school, The Hamburg Ballet School. I have excellent teachers, but most importantly, through this period and upheaval I have become even more assured that ballet is what I want to pursue. I feel that I have reached a point where I am the one responsible for my future career. I am responsible for developing my skills. I continue with ballet because this is what I want to do. It is 100 % up to me to reach my goals. It is my project. I feel like I am the luckiest boy in the world.”
This is an amazing and mature statement from a 17-year-old dancer. In the case of Lucas Praetorius, there was no sign ahead, that Nikolaj Hübbe would cut short his apprenticeship. Quite the contrary. During his first apprentice year, he was chosen for the leads in the apprentices productions. He was heading the various mini-tours and guest stays with leading
international schools. He got a big stipendium, which allowed him to dance five weeks with The American Ballet School. He was head of the class in the academic program, now an integrated part of the apprentice education. He had no warning.
At the RDB School it is the artistic director who solely decide who to keep and who to let go. However as the school has produced very few dancers and especially few male dancers for a significant period and actually only have four Danish male dancers in the Corps de Ballet, it was not expected that two out of the three male apprentices would be cut.
The RDB School and company makes their call very late in the season, which means that most international ballet schools and companies has already hold their entrance exams and castings.
“As I was already signed up for SAB summer school, I went to New York and attended the school together with many American and international students. Even as young as they were, they had all dedicated themselves to a life in ballet. They knew that the road to success would be long and difficult. They accepted that their career could be short and not paid very well. However, they remained dedicated to their course. I learned a lot from their view. And I realized that I wanted to continue with ballet, and that my career was my own responsibility.”
Getting the Call
Returning home, he got the best news. The Hamburg Ballet School invited him to join their two yearlong apprentice education.
Like other international schools, HBS had hold their entrance exams in the spring.
“It was a real confidence booster. One of the leading ballet schools in Europe wanted me. I got a private entrance test,” says Lucas. He was also invited to take class with the Hamburg Junior company when they was guesting Copenhagen and TIVOLI.
There are very strong bonds between Hamburg Ballet and the RDB. Company director and choreographer, John Neumeier, his deputy, Lloyd Riggins and Head of the apprentice program and First Ballet Master Kevin Haigen, have all long ties with RDB. Kevin Haigen has staged many Neumeier ballets for the company and Lloyd Riggins was a much-loved principal dancer in Copenhagen before joining Hamburg Ballet.
Settling In
“At the RDB School we were only three boys in the apprentice program. Here in Hamburg we are 10 boys in my year and 12 in the senior class. Many male company members joins us for classes. It is an inspiring and very professional environment to develop in. What I really enjoy is that the school has a very clear view and processes for how to achieve them.
HBS do not exist solely to produce dancers for the company. Their aim is to produce dancers for the European scene. It does not matter that Kevin Haigen picks my dancing apart, because he has a clear purpose for what he does. He goes all the way back to basic to allow me to find and develop my skills to the highest possible level. There is meaning and methods in what they do. There is a clear view of what we are working toward. And I love it!” says Lucas.
More Focus on Ballet
The RDB redesigned their apprentice class three years ago, to include a second level academic education. While adding another year to the program, the apprentencies had very limited stage exposure and company duty. This week Lucas Praetorius will be back stage in John Neumeier’s “Anna Karenina” to learn some parts:
“It is not a dancing part. We are primarily moving props. However, it is so great to be part of a production and enjoy the experience. You really learn a lot simply by being on stage. How the choreography works. How the dancers develop their characters and how everything comes together as a performance.”
Hamburg Ballet School apprentice program includes no academic classes. The pupils joins after concluding the 10th grade of the general German school system, so all their time is spend on dancing. The students are guaranteed the two years education. When Lucas Praetorius has finished his Hamburg education, he will have gained 2, 5 years ballet education, whereas a Danish apprentice will have to do with one and a half years focus on ballet. Even with the added extra year, the Copenhagen apprentices will spend less time on their ballet skills than in the previous used two year program.
Lucas Praetorius was fond of his academic classes in Copenhagen and have therefore decided to continue his education as self-study. He take two courses online in addition to his dance classes. He is not playing on two horses. Ballet is his goal. However, he has an intellectual capacity beyond his years. It is unusual that you can discuss issues like the strategies and traditions of RDB and any other leading companies and how Alban Lendorf has changed the Danish male scene with a seventeen year old.
A Future in Ballet?
“I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity of having guest stays at several of the leading ballet schools. In addition to SAB I have also spend time at the Royal Ballet School, both at lover and upper level. I have also had lessons on the Canadian ballet school in Toronto and had seen the companies on stage. That has given me a much broader view on how ballet is developing worldwide.”
Lucas’ older brother RDB dancer Tobias Praetorius is a highly skilled demi character dancer, mime and perhaps surprisingly, the strongest modern dancer in the RDB Company. However, Lucas’ talent lies elsewhere.
It is very clear to me that Lucas Praetorius is a danseur noble in the making. He is already over six feet tall and has a strong stage appeal. Depending on how he develops during his time at the Hamburg school, he could be a needed asset in most companies. Only time can tell.
“I actually feel that I have gained so much during the last four months, both as a dancer and as a human. The support I have received, not only in Hamburg, but also at SAB and in the Copenhagen ballet environment has helped me develop and reassured my belief in the quest of becoming a ballet dancer.”
Photos:
- Lucas Praetorius by Molly Grønberg(Copyright (c) )
- Lucas Praetorius with Lily Danielle at School of American Ballet (Copyright(c) The Praetorius family)
- Lucas Praetorius with Rylee Ann Rogers at School of American Ballet (Copyright(c) The Praetorius family)
- Lucas Praetorius with Chloe Ellis at School of American Ballet (Copyright(c) The Praetorius family)
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