I agree with you, Kathryn.
If I am staging Swan Lake, the dancers must meet the characteristics and physical ability of the parts they are dancing. I HAVE staged pieces that had dancers who were deaf, who were chair-bound with cerebral palsy, and who had Down's Syndrome.
But none of these dancers, or obese and out of shape dancers, or technically deficient dancers, should be given the part of Odette in a traditional ballet production of Swan Lake.
I have been on the receiving end of both benefit and loss when it has come to typecasting. My age, my height, my physicality, and my looks have all at one point or another worked for me or against me in auditions. I had to accept early on that I was never entitled to a part just because I showed up. It was always up to the director and the producers where and how they want to use what I have for the purpose of giving a show.
If I am staging Swan Lake, the dancers must meet the characteristics and physical ability of the parts they are dancing. I HAVE staged pieces that had dancers who were deaf, who were chair-bound with cerebral palsy, and who had Down's Syndrome.
But none of these dancers, or obese and out of shape dancers, or technically deficient dancers, should be given the part of Odette in a traditional ballet production of Swan Lake.
I have been on the receiving end of both benefit and loss when it has come to typecasting. My age, my height, my physicality, and my looks have all at one point or another worked for me or against me in auditions. I had to accept early on that I was never entitled to a part just because I showed up. It was always up to the director and the producers where and how they want to use what I have for the purpose of giving a show.
