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 Gaylene Cummerfield
December 6, 2008
 David Bintley on 2008's Claras
November 14, 2008
 Welcome to the jungle
October 22, 2008
 David Bintley on the story of Sylvia
October 22, 2009
 David Bintley on his Sylvia reworking
October 22, 2008
 Robert Parker on Enigma Variations
October 22, 2008
 Wolfgang Stollwitzer interview
October 5, 2008
 The Beasts within
October 4, 2008
 Lei Zhao
September 6, 2008
 Kristen McGarrity
September 6, 2008
 Behind the scenes: Department for Learning
August 18, 2008
 New faces look back
July 14, 2008
 Birmingham Royal Ballet on Classic FM
July 8, 2008
 Notes on Petrushka (full version)
July 4, 2008
 The history of Le Baiser de la f้e
July 4, 2008
 Notes on Card Game
July 4, 2008
 Jonathan Payn on BBC Radio York, Spring 2008
June 18, 2008
 Ambra Vallo on Giselle
June 13, 2008
 Desmond Kelly
June 6, 2008
 The Fairy's Kiss
May 13, 2008
 The history of Card Game
May 10, 2008
 Petrushka
May 9, 2008
 Stravinsky: the real deal
May 3, 2008
 Your personal profile
April 22, 2008
 Behind-the-scenes: wardrobe
April 2, 2008
 South-West tour notes
March 20, 2008
 2008-09 season
March 20, 2008
 North-East tour notes
March 19, 2008
 Anniek Soobroy
March 10, 2008
 C้line Gittens
March 7, 2008
 The light fantastic
February 12, 2008
 Dominic Antonucci
February 11, 2008
 Japan 2008 desktop wallpaper
January 11, 2008
 Behind the scenes: Diana Childs
December 7, 2007
 Fantasy and Reality
December 1, 2007
 An Entertainment of Genius
December 1, 2007
 Beauty and the Beast
November 19, 2007
 Stravinsky autumn 2008
September 19, 2007
 Angela Paul
October 9, 2007
 All that jazz
October 8, 2007
 Cardiff2008
October 5, 2007
 Enjoy Strictly dancing?
October 3, 2007
 New arrivals 2007
September 24, 2007
 Tyrone Singleton
September 21, 2007
 Edward II
August 10, 2007
 Strictly dancing
August 10, 2007
 Take Five costume rehearsals
June 22, 2007
 Mary Goodhew: the making of a dancer
June 12, 2007
 Michael O'Hare
June 1, 2007
 200708 Season
March 28, 2007
 Carl Davis interview
February 7, 2007
 Pas de deux - Stravinsky and Balanchine
January 29, 2007
 Ballet Hoo! aftershow interviews
October 7, 2006
 The Acrobat and the Ringmaster
April 20, 2006
 Transaction Charges
July 14, 2006

 
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Wolfgang Stollwitzer interview



Birmingham Royal Ballet's new Ballet Master, Wolfgang Stollwitzer, retired as a Company Principal in 2003. But although five years have passed since he trod the boards, he explains that he never really went away.

'I always kept Birmingham as my base', says Graz-born Wolfgang, 'because as a freelancer it really didn't make much sense to go home to Austria. I mean, I would love to be with my family, but Graz is not exactly ideal for transport. Every time I wanted to go anywhere I would have to go up to Vienna because the airport is tiny in Graz and there's hardly any connections. But Birmingham is perfect for that, it's really easy and accessible.'

After completing an RAD course in teaching, his work took him across the globe, staging pieces by former-colleagues-turned-choreographers, teaching in various small Companies ('you want to make your mistakes in small places!') and even helping to establish a new ballet company in Spain.

At all times, however, his home was in Birmingham. 'I know people who just packed up their bags and worked on the road non-stop,' he says, 'but I couldn't do that. I'm not the sort of person who could travel constantly for months and months on end.'

It is not just the city that has brought him back to Birmingham Royal Ballet, however.

'I always loved this Company,' he says. 'I just love the work of David, and the way he has set up this Company. It is just fantastic, it has so much quality in it, and the way that dancers are treated; there is just so much respect. I have to say, that with a lot of other younger companies they're not quite there yet – they're working on it, but there's still some work to be done. They all expect you to be as enthusiastic as themselves, all the time, and with dancers often you can't ask them to devote their entire waking life to their work, they have to have some private life outside of it.'

'But with an organisation like we have here, it's great. Also the physio department - when we have meetings, you see how concerned they are for the performers' well-being, and you will not see that in a lot of places, so it's great that we have that as well.'

Of course, Wolfgang's own appointment follows the departure of the huge presence that was Desmond Kelly. Wolfgang is quick to stress that he is not being brought in to try and replace the former Assistant Director.

'No, we're just a bunch of ballet masters now, because Desmond – obviously - nobody can replace him, there's no doubt about it.'

At one point Wolfgang echoes an earlier comment Desmond made himself, when we ask him what his favourite roles were as a performer.

'Some dancers may name some sort of Prince role like in Swan Lake, but I never really had that,' Wolfgang admits. 'My favourite role really was just whatever I was working on at the time; there were so many stunning roles.'

New roles seem to have been of more interest to Wolfgang, rather than checking off the classics. 'Of course I would especially point to roles that were created on me. It's always so great when you work with a choreographer who moulds the choreography specifically for you.

'I know for David that that can be a problem. Because the way this Company is set up, you have many casts for each show. In some other companies like Stuttgart you had two main casts and the rest were just in brackets [referring to callsheet notation for understudies] and hardly ever went on.

'But David has to think ahead, and ensure that others will be able to perform the same part. So to mould something really specific on the physique of one particular dancer, and his way of movement, is actually not always a good thing. But for the dancer in question it's fantastic!

'He's done quite a few pieces on me which I just felt at home in, more than some that have been done by generations of dancers, like Prince Siegfried. I never felt that comfortable with that role because it had been danced by so many people before.'

Those who have previously enjoyed Wolfang's outings as a dancer will be pleased to hear that his new role does call on him to take to the stage again. 'Yes, that's part of my contract', he confirms with a smile, before confessing to harbouring a few nerves about performing again. 'For some reason I got out of Beauty and the Beast but I'll not get away next time, which is The Nutcracker - I've already tried on a costume!

'I've not been on stage all this time except one time in Spain I had to do a role in Le Bayadere. It was the Rajah, who does quite a bit of partnering. Ángel, the Director, had been worried about the part and said 'you've got to do me this favour, you've got to do that part!' So I was on-stage for the first time again just before I came here. As time goes on you would think that with all the stage experience it would get easier but that's rubbish, it's rubbish! I get more nervous now than ever! I just look at all these dancers in front of me and I think I cannot believe that I've done this myself!'

So what does he think of the new crop of dancers who have joined in the short time since he was last with the Company?

'This is a really, really very good Company. And I would even dare to say that the technical standard actually has improved. Artistry is different, and a lot of them are still young, but they will learn. I can see that David has already moulded them so there's loads of potential in the company – loads – and it's really great.'

ENDS

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Wolfgang Stollwitzer interview

Birmingham Royal Ballet's new Ballet Master, Wolfgang Stollwitzer, retired as a Company Principal in 2003. But although five years have passed since he trod the boards, he explains that he never really went away.

'I always kept Birmingham as my base', says Graz-born Wolfgang, 'because as a freelancer it really didn't make much sense to go home to Austria. I mean, I would love to be with my family, but Graz is not exactly ideal for transport. Every time I wanted to go anywhere I would have to go up to Vienna because the airport is tiny in Graz and there's hardly any connections. But Birmingham is perfect for that, it's really easy and accessible.'

After completing an RAD course in teaching, his work took him across the globe, staging pieces by former-colleagues-turned-choreographers, teaching in various small Companies ('you want to make your mistakes in small places!') and even helping to establish a new ballet company in Spain.

At all times, however, his home was in Birmingham. 'I know people who just packed up their bags and worked on the road non-stop,' he says, 'but I couldn't do that. I'm not the sort of person who could travel constantly for months and months on end.'

It is not just the city that has brought him back to Birmingham Royal Ballet, however.

'I always loved this Company,' he says. 'I just love the work of David, and the way he has set up this Company. It is just fantastic, it has so much quality in it, and the way that dancers are treated; there is just so much respect. I have to say, that with a lot of other younger companies they're not quite there yet – they're working on it, but there's still some work to be done. They all expect you to be as enthusiastic as themselves, all the time, and with dancers often you can't ask them to devote their entire waking life to their work, they have to have some private life outside of it.'

'But with an organisation like we have here, it's great. Also the physio department - when we have meetings, you see how concerned they are for the performers' well-being, and you will not see that in a lot of places, so it's great that we have that as well.'

Of course, Wolfgang's own appointment follows the departure of the huge presence that was Desmond Kelly. Wolfgang is quick to stress that he is not being brought in to try and replace the former Assistant Director.

'No, we're just a bunch of ballet masters now, because Desmond – obviously - nobody can replace him, there's no doubt about it.'

At one point Wolfgang echoes an earlier comment Desmond made himself, when we ask him what his favourite roles were as a performer.

'Some dancers may name some sort of Prince role like in Swan Lake, but I never really had that,' Wolfgang admits. 'My favourite role really was just whatever I was working on at the time; there were so many stunning roles.'

New roles seem to have been of more interest to Wolfgang, rather than checking off the classics. 'Of course I would especially point to roles that were created on me. It's always so great when you work with a choreographer who moulds the choreography specifically for you.

'I know for David that that can be a problem. Because the way this Company is set up, you have many casts for each show. In some other companies like Stuttgart you had two main casts and the rest were just in brackets [referring to callsheet notation for understudies] and hardly ever went on.

'But David has to think ahead, and ensure that others will be able to perform the same part. So to mould something really specific on the physique of one particular dancer, and his way of movement, is actually not always a good thing. But for the dancer in question it's fantastic!

'He's done quite a few pieces on me which I just felt at home in, more than some that have been done by generations of dancers, like Prince Siegfried. I never felt that comfortable with that role because it had been danced by so many people before.'

Those who have previously enjoyed Wolfang's outings as a dancer will be pleased to hear that his new role does call on him to take to the stage again. 'Yes, that's part of my contract', he confirms with a smile, before confessing to harbouring a few nerves about performing again. 'For some reason I got out of Beauty and the Beast but I'll not get away next time, which is The Nutcracker - I've already tried on a costume!

'I've not been on stage all this time except one time in Spain I had to do a role in Le Bayadere. It was the Rajah, who does quite a bit of partnering. Ángel, the Director, had been worried about the part and said 'you've got to do me this favour, you've got to do that part!' So I was on-stage for the first time again just before I came here. As time goes on you would think that with all the stage experience it would get easier but that's rubbish, it's rubbish! I get more nervous now than ever! I just look at all these dancers in front of me and I think I cannot believe that I've done this myself!'

So what does he think of the new crop of dancers who have joined in the short time since he was last with the Company?

'This is a really, really very good Company. And I would even dare to say that the technical standard actually has improved. Artistry is different, and a lot of them are still young, but they will learn. I can see that David has already moulded them so there's loads of potential in the company – loads – and it's really great.'

ENDS