21 September 2007

Tyrone Singleton was born in London and trained at the Arts Educational School in Tring and at the Royal Ballet School. He performed with the National Youth Ballet, impressively enough to be offered a place with Birmingham Royal Ballet.

'I didn't actually graduate', he confesses. 'I came a year early. It was a last minute thing and I've worked my way up.' His ascent so far has been impressive - Tyrone was promoted to First Artist in 2005, and starts the 2007-08 season as a Soloist. Looking at his career so far, he selects a few favourites:

'I liked doing Apollo in The Orpheus Suite' he says, 'I enjoyed that a lot. At the end of the last season I did Franz in Coppélia, and it was nice to get a lead role. It was my first three act ballet, although it's not too hard on the man - the women have it harder!'

Following his recent promotion, Tyrone is looking forward to taking on more of the larger roles. 'There’s loads that I’d like to do' he enthuses. 'The Prince in Nutcracker, Hamlet in The Shakespeare Suite; loads of roles. The classical roles are definitely ones that made an impression when I was younger - Swan Lake, Nutcracker, the traditional ones - and I aspired to dance them. That's probably half my goal; to dance as many of the classical roles as possible, as well as the more modern stuff we do. I love Romeo and Juliet, and did Benvolio last time around, and one day I'd love to do Romeo. It would be one of my favourite roles to do, although it’s out of my hands so fingers crossed!'

As he says, however, this ambition to dance the classics does not mean that he does not enjoy the more modern roles that he performs. 'I'd like to spread myself across the board if I could. It would be nice one day to look back and list all the ballets and tick off all the ones that you’ve done!'

For the time being, he is finding things more than fulfilling. 'I've been getting a lot of opportunities recently, and it's all still in the early stages so everything’s still a challenge.'

One of Tyrone’s current challenges is Edward II, in which he is dancing two main roles, Edward's lover Gaveston, and his nemesis, Mortimer. 'I got told about the two roles separately' he explains. 'I was told I was doing Mortimer first, and I was really excited about that, and then Gaveston was like an extra bonus really!'

The demands of the two roles are varied. 'It's very difficult getting used to Gaveston,' reveals Tyrone, 'because obviously he's homosexual, and learning the technicalities of dancing a pas de deux with a man rather than a woman - apart from the fact that they’re a lot heavier and move differently - is very hard work. I'm dancing a lot with Robert Tewsley, who is playing Edward, and you have to bond and get comfortable with each other, because the characters are lovers. Thankfully as the rehearsals go on, over time you do get more relaxed.'

Comparing the role of Gaveston with that of Mortimer, Isabella's lover, Tyrone says, 'A lot of Gaveston's movements are a lot lighter. Mortimer’s more commanding, more powerful and a lot more aggressive. It's good actually to do the contrasting roles, it's nice to do them both in one ballet. That's going to be the hardest thing - the same music but with a different part to play. I've done a lot of contrasting roles in the same season, but not within the same ballet as well.'

During the autumn, Tyrone will also be reprising to his role in Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs, partnering Victoria Marr for slinky highlight, 'One For My Baby'. But it's the new challenges in Edward II that he is enjoying the most at the moment.

'As soon as I was told I was dancing these roles I was really excited', he says with a broad smile. 'I've heard Edward is such a great ballet and requires such a great presence, one that comes from maturity, especially for Mortimer, and in that respect I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to fill the shoes. We'll see though, I hope I can do it!'

Of course, David Bintley would not have cast Tyrone in the roles were he not confident of his ability. And he will also be able to benefit from the advice of those who danced in the piece when it was last performed, seven years ago. 'They can help you and explain each scene, and things to be aware of', he agrees, 'Because it's still in the early stages I'm still trying to learn the steps, so I haven't focussed fully on the characterisation yet. That's the way I work, anyway.'

When asked if the acting element of the piece is something that he feels confident in, he thinks for a moment. 'Surprisingly, I enjoy it,' he says, before admitting, 'I used to find myself getting embarrassed and timid, but maybe because I've been dancing for a while now, or for whatever reason, I don't shy away from acting any more.' He breaks into another smile, and shrugs before adding, 'I don't get embarrassed too easily - I've danced half naked on stage so everything else is a breeze!'

ENDS