The exciting company premiere of Twyla Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen will be performed as part of Program II. We will follow principal dancer Jeanette Delgado on MCB Blog as she prepares for opening night in January.
Post by Principal Dancer Jeanette Delgado
Learning a ballet that is new to our repertory is always a very exciting process! It is a fresh opportunity to expand artistically without any preconceived ideas of how it is “supposed” to look. Elaine Kudo, Twyla Tharp repetiteur, was here in June working with us on Baker’s Dozen which will premiere during Program II. My sister Patricia and I both worked with Elaine when we spent summers at the ABT school so it’s always really nice to reconnect with her! She was a ballerina with ABT as well as a dancer for Twyla’s company, so she knows how to explain Twyla’s steps to ballet dancers. We have to almost undo some of our ballet technique in order to grasp the movement because it is very different from what we’re used to! It takes us a while and we came out of those rehearsals bruised and sore in strange places!
By now we have become more familiar to this style from all the Tharp ballets we’ve conquered; however, we’re used to dancing her more intense and powerful choreography and the feeling in Baker’s Dozen is very different. It’s a lot lighter and more playful but still has very grounded and dynamic movements. It’s definitely a challenge trying to be explosive and energetic but in a subtle and kind of nonchalant way! When it’s done right it is an awesome ballet!! Funny and playful and of course, like all the Tharp ballets, full of ENERGY!
Jeanette Delgado in Baker’s Dozen. Photo © 2009 Lois Greenfield.