Interview with Andreas Kaas
March 26,2018
The dream scenario in every dance or sports movie is when the young talented dancer or player are asked to cover a starring role; he has never done with practically no preparation.
Well, it can happen in real life. It certainly happened to Royal Danish Ballet Soloist Andreas Kaas, when he were asked to visit Mariinsky Ballet to perform James in August Bournonville’s “La Sylphide”. There was just a little hitch. He had never danced the role on the Copenhagen stage or elsewhere:
“Nikolaj Hübbe asked if I were game. Of course, I said yes! I have been in the RDB version since childhood and I was Gurn in Nikolaj Hübbe’s latest version. However, I have never danced James and we had only a few days to prepare, but I stayed confident”.
A Strong Resume
Looking at Andreas Kaas’ career so far, he is really blessed. Identified early by John Neumeier, he and frequent partner, Principal Ida Praetorius not only won the Erik Bruhn Prize, they were also cast by Neumeier as the leading couple in his “Lady of the Camellias” and “Romeo & Juliet.”
His resume also includes Siegfried and Benno in “Swan Lake”, Albrecht in Giselle, Jack in “Alice”, “Emeralds”, Jean de Brienne (Otto) in Raymonda, The Poet in “Beginning & Ending” and “Tchaikovsky pas de deux” and several other roles in modern ballets. Not a bad feat for the 25-year-old dancer.
Although The Mariinsky ballet have performed at the RDB stage several times, no Danish dancer had so far danced with the St Petersburg ensemble. The relationship with Bolshoi had been much closer. RDB was also blessed by having both Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Possokhov as permanent members of the RDB ensemble for several seasons.
“I spend four days in St. Petersburg. The first day Maxim Khrebtov coached me. It was a great experience. He insisted that I should not emulate the Russian dancers, as it was their wish to present the Danish style,” says Andreas Kaas.
The Mariinsky version of “La Sylphide” was originally staged by Elsa Marianne von Rosen, the Swedish ballerina and Bournonville expert. However, over the years it had turned more Russian and significantly slower.
Meeting his Sylph
It was planned that the second day rehearsals should focus on the partnership with the Russian ballerina Kristina Shapan as the Sylph”:
“Unfortunately, she was caught up with rehearsals for a new ballet production, so our sessions was cut short. Luckily, the performance went very well. I have also been invited to a second guest stay, which I am looking forward too.”
A Confidence Booster
There is one part of the experience; Andreas Kaas is especially pleased about:
“All though, I have guested with several companies and participated in competitions abroad, the Mariinsky guest stay is the first time, I have gone on an assignment all by myself. I have often travelled with a partner or as part of a breakout group. I am rather proud to have managed this guest stay so well on my own. It is a little confidence booster and I look forward to more guest stays”.
In all, Andreas Kaas is having a fabulous season. He is practically dancing all the male leads in the RDB season. Following a Kylian programme, he has the leading male role in “Raymonda” + the role of Beranger, “The Nutcracker”, ”Swan Lake” and “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”. He is currently learning the leading male role for Liam Scarlett’s creation for RDB, a ballet based on Pushkin’s “Queen of Spades”.
“It is a great privilege to be part of the creation process. We all enjoy working with Liam Scarlett,” says Andreas Kaas.
A Great Future Ahead
Over the last years, RDB have enjoyed the privilege of a very fine group of outstanding male dancers including Principals Alban Lendorf, Ulrik Birkkjær, Gregory Dean, Marcin Kupinski, Jonathan Chmelensky and Soloists Jon Axel Fransson, Andreas Kaas and Sebastian Haynes. However, three of them are currently dancing at ABT, San Francisco Ballet and Nederland’s Dance Theatre. There has also been a standstill in the productions of new male talent. As present only four members of the male corps de ballet are educated by the company school. It is a major issue for the company.
However, looking from Andreas Kaas´ point of view, it has – and will - continue to give him lot of good opportunities, both as a soloist and as a partner. As his height allows him to partner a broad selection of ballerinas, he should be able to gain even more local and international assignments.
Photos:
1. Andreas Kaas and Ida Praetorius as Armand & Marguerite in John´Neumeier´s "Lady of the Camellias" by Costin Radu
2. Andreas Kaas by Natasha Rydvald
3. Andreas Kaas in " Emeralds" by George Balanchine by Costin Radu
(Copyright(c) Royal Danish Ballet)
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