05 October 2008

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