A brief look into my decade long journey portraying the most iconic role in ballet history.
My debut as Odette took place in Santa Cruz California, on January 19, 1995. The road to that performance should have been an exciting time for me, but unfortunately it was difficult and lonely. Even though ’95 marked my second year in the company, I was still considered a corps dancer, despite having danced two featured ballet roles and one lead modern role the year before. At that time, no one had ever danced Odette after only being in the company for one year. Many of the dancers were resentful of my casting and were very vocal with their disdain, especially those who had been in the company longer than me. Even my partner was angry, as he felt I wasn’t at his level and wasn’t worthy of dancing with him. The part had been offered to me by default being that I was at the right place at the right time. It was an accident really. Due to a circumstance where an unusually large number of dancers were absent from rehearsal, I was halfheartedly asked if I knew Odette’s choreography, which I did, and that was all that was needed. Before I knew it I was thrust into rehearsal, and because I was able to keep up, I was given the opportunity.
In those days dancers were instructed to dance roles the way other dancers had done in the past. I was no different and was guided to do everything the way it had been done before. Because I did have a good sense of humor, there were a few funny things I did in rehearsal that I was allowed to keep in performance. One being at the beginning of the pas de deux when I was supposed to slide down to my knee, I did so while imitating a swimmer diving into a pool. That always got a laugh from the audience. As far as the steps, though, they were set in stone, even if I struggled to get through them. The director gave me videos of ballerinas from the 1940’s and 50’s and advised me to imitate them. He also provided me with tapes of dancers in the company from the 1980‘s, but I didn’t look like them, nor did I wish to dance like them. Yes, they were comical, being these bulky and clumsy men trying to be graceful, but I was thin and of average height, and I felt I needed to find other ways to be funny. I wanted to show that as a man, I could be graceful and funny at the same time, while bringing a sense of depth to the character and comedy.
Recreating what other dancers had done before meant I wasn’t being true to myself. On top of that, I was expected (along with all the other dancers) to create a personality for my ballerina name. I was expected to be Brian, portraying my ballerina persona, dancing the character Odette. At that time I wasn’t able to fully grasp that concept and wasn’t able to develop a complete character. Luckily, audiences reacted positively towards me, so I kept being cast. In fact, I was the only dancer to dance Odette the entire1995 season and the first half of the 1996 season.
Over the years as I gained more experience, I eventually became more comfortable in the role and continued to find ways to improve. Through my research I found Natalia Makarova to epitomize what it meant to be a ballerina: confident, glamorous, and gracious. Through her slow and continuous movement she conveyed a wistful Odette whose beauty was exhibited through her expressive back, fluid arms, and inclined swan head. I set out to emulate her. I also practiced the Royal Ballet high toe ballerina walk, and worked on articulating of my feet, trying to be as precise and exact with each step. I read many books on Swan Lake including one by Dame Margot Fonteyn, who stressed that many dancers mistakenly focus exclusively on Odette’s bird qualities and not enough on her human qualities, stating that Odette is first and foremost - human.
To make the role my own I made a statement on the drama in the story by increasing the level of dramatic intent of each pose and gesture. I heightened every emotion, and changed form one emotion to the next roused by the change of volume or intensity of the music. Even though I was being comedic I wanted my acting to be authentic and honest in each moment and avoided being silly or acting stupid. What I did or didn’t do, depended on what a ballerina would or wouldn’t do, and when I broke that rule it was for a reason. It was important for me to avoid telling the audience I was being funny and would just do something funny in character that fit the moment. The acting by it self was exhausting, let alone my attempt at striving for an advanced level of technique when I was intermediate at best.
My efforts paid off as I was given the highest compliment from critic Lynn Garafola from Dance Magazine during a 1997 season at the Joyce Theater in New York. She stated, “In Swan Lake, the elegiac poses of [Brian Norris’] Odette brought back memories of Natalia Makorova.” Whether or not she honestly meant that, I don’t know, but I was thankful someone understood what I was trying to do. Octavio Roca of the San Fransisco Chronicle wrote that I was “formidable”, and that I “embodied equal parts Carla Frachi and Lucile Ball in her best grape stomping mode.” He stated, “Brian Norris was an unforgettable Odette in Swan Lake, Act 2, that frankly boasted clearer and more complete mime passages - not to mention funnier - than the most recent Swan Lake with real women.”
I took a real sense of responsibility for the character and for my supporting cast. Before every performance of Swan Lake, I approached all my swans in the corps de ballet to wish them merde. At every bow, I quickly acknowledged each of them as I entered the stage. Every time a new dancer debuted in the role of Odette, I made sure, when ever possible, to be the one who presented her with the bouquet when she bowed, as if I were passing on the mantle.
Odette became my signature role, and I performed her in many major cities around the world, including New York, Toronto, Tokyo, London, Berlin, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Sydney, Venice, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Singapore. I also performed her at important events such as the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC, and the Life Ball in Vienna. Though I don’t know the exact number of times I performed Odette, I estimate that it was probably around 300 or so times over 10 years.
People often ask me if I miss performing on stage. What I miss are those times when I ran off stage, especially during the coda of Swan Lake, where I only had 32 counts before I had to run back on. I would collapsed to the floor as my legs bucked out from under me, being too weak to stand, while covered with sweat and unable to breathe. In between each gasp for air I pleaded with anyone who would listen, “Please,” I cried desperately, “don’t make me go back out there, I can’t do it! I have nothing left to give, I can’t do it! I can’t go back out there!” And then I would. Somehow, I don’t know how, I dug up more strength I didn’t know I had and finished the ballet. I would give anything to go through that again.
Photo by: Nancy Sands
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