Ballet du Capitole, Toulouse
Despite its standing as the ballet company of the Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse, France and a history going back three centuries, Ballet du Capitole remained a provincial company in quality as well as geographically until September 1994, when Nanette Glushak was named artistic director. Following her appointment, the company garnered rave reviews and international acclaim.
Glushak, formerly a dancer with New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, had also previously been artistic director at the Forth Worth and Scottish ballets, and had been greatly in demand for her mastery of the Balanchine repertoire. These accomplishments and her endearing qualities have won Glushak the affection of audiences and the respect of her dancers, making BdC one of the best neoclassical companies in France.
All is not a bed of roses at Toulouse, though, Glushak says. “Working conditions are not exactly great,” she says. “Only through my incessant bargaining did we receive a pay increase, a secretary, a technical director and tour personnel. Now we have two new studios, and we really function like a business.”
Its connection with the opera can also be a drawback. “We work in a small theater [where] priority is given to operas, thus limiting the number of ballet performances,” says Glushak. This means that the dancers do not get to dance enough.
“Every production—even if it is created especially for us—only gets to be performed three or four times in Toulouse,” says Italian-born Paola Pagano, a 15-year veteran and one of four principal dancers.
One solution has been touring. Plans are in the works to perform at the Budapest Festival in 2007, and the company has toured extensively within France, as well as to Italy, Spain, China, the United States and Poland.
With a repertoire of more than 50 ballets, of which at least 20 are by such contemporary choreographers as Nils Christe, Nacho Duato, Mauro Bigonzetti, William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, Hans van Manen and Peter Martins, the dancers are challenged beyond the classics, which are also represented. Glushak restaged a new version of Giselle and, together with her husband, Michel Rahn, Sleeping Beauty, and in October, her Don Quixote is set to debut.
“I find the repertoire extremely gratifying,” says Luca Masala, another Italian principal who has been with the company for six years. “It enables us to work with choreographers of world fame and contrasting styles.”
Glushak is proud of what she has been able to accomplish in Toulouse. “If you look at the Stuttgart Ballet or the Paris Opera, we have the same repertoire,” says Glushak. “But there’s a difference. Our company works and dances with positivism and a strong sense of humor.”
Ermanno Romanelli is a regular contributor to Danza & Danza and Il Giornale della Musica.
