George du Maurier’s story Trilby spawned a new entry in the English lexicon to describe the relationship between an oppressive director and a (usually) female protege.
Royal Winnipeg Ballet takes the story of Svengali out of the music hall and puts it into their world of ballet.
Sophia Lee, member of the company’s corps de ballet, catches Svengali’s attention as he tries to break out of the repressive atmosphere of his mother’s ballet studio.
“He fantasizes about controlling women by hypnotizing them,” Lee said. “In the first act, I’m his first victim.”
He targets her to test out his hypnotic skills, forcing the dancer to burn her feet on the stove, before he moves on to Trilby, taking the mediocre dancer and making her a star.
In the end, Trilby is left with a choice to continue to follow Svengali.
“It can be a little bit depressing,” Lee said. “It has a lot of different themes and dance moves.
“The ballet moves along really fast.”
The most challenging aspect of the role – Lee’s first lead since joining the company last summer – was not the choreography but rather the acting required. For this, she was schooled by Tara Birtwhistle, who retired as a principal dancer with the royal company.
Lee was born in Korea, beginning ballet at age six before moving with her family to Vancouver around Grade 5.
Lee also played piano, but being sidelined by injury made her realize how much she loved dance.
“That’s what my mom and my grandma wanted me to do,” she said. “I ended up choosing ballet.”
Lee graduated last year from the company’s professional ballet school, joining the company immediately.
“For me, it was a really easy transition,” she said.
At the conclusion of the season, Lee joins Q Dance, a small company founded by choreographer Peter Quanz with strong ties to the Royal.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet aims to share dance with others by creating, teaching and performing a high level of dance technique.
Lee and the rest of the touring company performs in Svengali at the Port Theatre Monday and Tuesday (April 23-24), 7:30 p.m. Tickets $52; $48/members; $15/students. Please call 250-754-8550 or visit www.porttheatre.com.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
