WITH 40 dancers, Bulgaria’s Varna International Ballet boasts performers from around the world. This week the acclaimed company comes to Oxford on the first British tour in its 75 year history. And no one is more thrilled than its English soloist Claire Gillard – who is coming home.
“I’m delighted to come home to the UK to perform,” says the Londoner.
“We’re a young, talented company full of energy and stamina, and we’re so excited to tour.”
The tour comes to Oxford’s New Theatre for three nights tonight (Monday, January 30), performing Coppelia, Giselle and The Nutcracker.
“I think it’s going to be so fun and challenging for us,” she goes on. “It’s a big tour, but we’re ready for it. It’ll be so great to see my family, and they’ll be able to watch me dance.
“It’s a lovely homecoming.”
Claire performs alongside dancers from France, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Brazil, as well as those from the company’s Balkan homeland.
“I’ve been with Varna with two years,” she says. “It’s a really fun mix of dancers from different countries. We all connect through dance. My partner in the shows is Marco di Salvo – he’s Italian; I speak a bit of Spanish, which is similar, so we figure it out.
“I love working with him, he has a lot of experience.”
The ballets are classics: the comic Coppélia, about a doll brought to life; the tragic Giselle, in which love continues after death; and The Nutcracker, featuring an enchanted festive journey.
“They’re all the traditional ballets that people love, with great music, great stories and beautiful dancing,” says Claire.
“I’m performing the lead roles of Marie in The Nutcracker, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and Giselle in Giselle.”
The tour moves on to towns including Reading and High Wycombe, where she will also take on the star dual roles of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake.
“I really love Swan Lake because you get to be elegant and soft in the first act, and then you play the dark swan in the second act, which is a big change of personality. It’s really fun to do.
“We have four principal casts going on tour, so we alternate shows between us.”
Perennially popular with ballet aficionados, Claire says they are also perfect for first time audiences.
“All of these ballets are really accessible,” she says.
“There’s nothing better than seeing children in the audience with smiles on their faces.
“When I was a little kid, my mum always took me to Swan Lake, and I’d say ‘Oh, mum, when I grow up I want to be a swan’. Now I am! I’m so thankful to be on stage, hopefully with other little kids looking up at me and having that dream.”
What can audiences expect from a Varna ballet?
“They’re going to really like our company because we’re just full of energy,” she says.
“We’re so thrilled to travel, bringing our ballets to new audiences, and we have a great connection on stage between all the dancers. I think they’ll feel our passion and our joy.”
She goes on: “When you get the dancing, the live music, the sets, the costumes, everything coming together, it’s magical.”
Italian soloist Vittorio Scolè agrees.
“You don’t need to understand all the ballet technique or the history,” he says. “We’re bringing stories with princes and princesses that little kids will love, as well as beautiful dancing, costumes, music: everything you need to have a magical time.”
Vittorio is dancing solo roles as Albrecht in Giselle, Frantz in Coppélia, and the Princes in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.
“We’re completely international – it’s really cool,” he says. “I started last August with the company and I really like the atmosphere. It’s like a family from all different places.”
The ballet orchestra is equally impressive, boasting more than 30 musicians.
“It makes such a difference having the orchestra with us,” Vittorio says.
“I feel it in my heart: the music and dancing are together, they are one. You might be scared before you go on stage, but when the orchestra plays you get this feeling that’s impossible to explain: it’s like a dream. We are carried away, and I hope people watching are too.”
He adds: “It’s our job to carry people with us when we’re up on stage – to tell them the story through our dancing. It’s like sharing a fairy tale. I remember when I was younger how exciting it was going to the theatre. I think parents and children, everyone who comes will have an amazing time.”
Varna International Ballet is at the New Theatre Oxford, performing:
- Coppelia on Monday, January 30
- Giselle on Tuesday, January 31
- The Nutcracker on Wednesday, February 1
Go to atgtickets.com
For other dates, including Swan Lake performances, see ents24.com/uk
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