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Behind the Scenes of Cats: Francesca Hayward, Steven McRae and Robbie Fairchild Take Us Inside the Major Motion Picture

Francesca Hayward (in white) in Cats. Courtesy Universal Pictures.

"I don't care how much you love it," Robbie Fairchild groans theatrically. "Who wants to take ballet at 6:30 in the morning?"

But for a span of roughly four months, that was part of the daily routine for the dancers appearing in Cats, Tom Hooper's new film adaptation of the iconic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which opens in theaters December 20. The cast boasts A-list talent pulled from the worlds of acting (Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellan), music (Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift) and dance—most prominently, Royal Ballet principal Francesca Hayward, who makes her big-screen debut as Victoria, one of the film's leading roles. Because she was expected to get right back into company rehearsals as soon as filming concluded, there was a ballet teacher and an accompanist on set every morning so Hayward, and castmates such as Fairchild (who plays Munkustrap) and Royal Ballet principal Steven McRae (who plays Skimbleshanks), could warm up and stay in shape. With 12-hour shoot days, 6:30 am was frequently the only time available for class.

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Profiles

The Standouts of 2018: The Joffrey Ballet in Alexander Ekman's "Midsummer Night's Dream"

A madcap solstice celebration: The Joffrey Ballet in Alexander Ekman's Midsummer Night's Dream. Photo by Cheryl Mann, Courtesy Joffrey Ballet.

During Alexander Ekman's Midsummer Night's Dream, a singer croons: "By morning the dancers/Will start to wonder/Had it all been a dream?/Had it all been a blunder?" While The Joffrey Ballet's performances of Ekman's 2015 full-length last April were most certainly the former, they could not have been further from the latter.

Ekman's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' | Official Trailer www.youtube.com

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Career

6 Tips For Auditioning by Video

Thomas William via Unsplash

Videos are a great alternative when auditioning in person isn't possible. Here are some general guidelines for making a good impression.

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Profiles

The Standouts of 2017: Jackie Nash in Amy Seiwert's "Wandering"

Jackie Nash and Ben Needham-Wood in "Wandering." Photo by Chris Hardy, Courtesy Imagery.

Jackie Nash left an indelible impression as a member of Amy Seiwert's Imagery during this summer's performances at New York City's Joyce Theater. In Seiwert's Wandering, Nash, an Atlanta Ballet dancer during the regular season, demonstrated a keen technical sensibility that grounded her in the detail-rich, contemporary movement. But where the petite powerhouse shone was in her navigation of the challenging music, Schubert's rich, dramatic Winterreise cycle. She danced along a razor-thin line between allowing the breadth of the sound to overpower her movement and resorting to melodrama to match its feeling, succumbing to neither. An instinct for nuance lent maturity, visible in a movement as simple as an arabesque that did not strain to meet the space but instead swelled effortlessly to fill it. One can only hope that Nash might find her way to New York City stages more often.

Imagery in "Wandering." Photo by Chris Hardy, Courtesy Imagery.

The Collaborator: Inside Rehearsals for Troy Schumacher's Latest Work for New York City Ballet

"I am constantly intrigued by individuals and what makes people unique," says Schumacher. "Even when they're dancing together, you see seven very different people doing something." Photo by Kyle Froman for Pointe.

Troy Schumacher has been very busy.

The final days of September saw the New York City Ballet corps member rehearsing for a full slate of performances while simultaneously preparing the premiere of Common Ground, his second ballet for the company.

Schumacher's first work for NYCB, Clearing Dawn, was notable for its athleticism, high energy and refreshing youthfulness. Similarly, Common Ground is profoundly physical, with dancers exploding through the air in bursts of sissonnes and bounding over imaginary puddles with successive grands jetés. But in contrast, "the mood is a little darker, a little more mysterious," says NYCB soloist Ashley Laracey, who is also married to Schumacher.

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