During the coming weeks, we will share thoughts from some of the dancers participating in those performances. We continue with Katlyn Addison and Brian Waldrep of Ballet West; they perform the duet RUTH, Ricordi per Due on the first program, and Ballet West performs Light Rain on the second program.
Katlyn Addison joined Ballet West in 2011 and was promoted to Demi-Soloist in 2014, Soloist in 2016, and First Soloist in 2018. In 2016, she was the first Black ballerina to be cast in the principal role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker, and she again made history in 2021 when she became Ballet West’s first Black female Principal Artist. Also in 2021, she was awarded the Performing Arts Fellowship Award by the Utah Division of Fine Arts & Museums. With Ballet West, she has danced leading roles in Sklute’s Swan Lake, Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, Stevenson’s Dracula, Fonte’s Carmina Burana, and many others. She joined Houston Ballet’s corps de ballet in 2007, and in 2008, she was awarded the Sarah Chapin Langham Award at Youth America Grand Prix.
Brian Waldrep joined Ballet West as a Soloist in 2022. He trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts. In 2007, he began his professional career with American Ballet Theatre’s studio company in New York City. He subsequently danced for the Houston Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Sodre in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Nashville Ballet before joining Ballet West.
Katlyn’s and Brian’s thoughts and reflections:
How long have you been dancing professionally? Do you have a favorite choreographer you like to dance?
Katlyn Addison: I have been dancing professionally for 17 years, with four years at Houston Ballet and 12 years, and counting, at Ballet West. It is challenging for me to single out a favorite choreographer as there have been numerous artists whose works I have thoroughly enjoyed throughout the years. I have had the pleasure of performing works by George Balanchine, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, Christopher Bruce, Gerald Arpino, Jerome Robbins, Kurt Jooss, William Christensen, John Cranko, Frederick Ashton, Twyla Tharp, Helen Pickett, Matthew Neenan, Jennifer Archibald, Africa Guzman, Val Caniparoli, Christopher Hampton, Jessica Lang, and Nicolo Fonte, among others. It is possible I unintentionally overlooked some choreographers whose creations I have loved. Each has created movements within their works that have touched my soul, built my confidence, and expanded my artistry, which is why I love their choreography and cannot choose only one.
Brian Waldrep: I’ve been dancing professionally for 16 years. I don’t know if I can name just one choreographer as my “favorite.” There are several works by choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, John Cranko, Jerome Robbins, and William Forsythe that have produced a beautiful and emotional response in me as well as physical tests that have left me physically satiated.
Is there anything in particular that you found joyful, interesting, or challenging in Mr. Arpino’s choreography?
KA: I’ve loved dancing Arpino’s work so far. His choreography is extremely musical, so I feel connected to the music, which is exhilarating as a performer. From what I’ve learned from Calvin Kitten, Adam Sklute, and Cameron Basden coaching RUTH pas de deux, there is a deep intimate connection with the movement and the partnership for this work. There is a story that needs to be told through our movement and an almost spiritual connection that needs to be felt between the audience and the dancers. This is the first of Arpino’s works that I have performed. His partnering can be very challenging, and our timing and connection need to be exact. We have to take the time to learn, develop, and nurture the connection to achieve the desired feeling for this work.
BW: I have had the opportunity to be coached on Mr. Arpino’s RUTH, Ricordi per Due by two of his former dancers: Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute and Ballet West Rehearsal Director Calvin Kitten. Through the teaching process, they were able to impart anecdotes and memories of Mr. Arpino’s creation process and more specifically, how RUTH, Ricordi per Due was one of the last works he choreographed. The way this pas de deux was taught to me, almost with a reverence, imparted a feeling of responsibility—responsibility first for the choreography but also to preserve the legacy of Mr. Arpino by following in the footsteps of those who have had the opportunity to dance this pas de deux before me.
What is one thing you learned about yourself while learning RUTH, Ricordi per Due?
KA: I learned that it is okay to be vulnerable within my movement. I’ve learned that trusting my partner and allowing him to do more work is part of the beauty of the choreography. RUTH, Ricordi is such a spiritual piece that should set a tone and an atmosphere of loss and love. Each expression, touch, and step has meaning and breath.
BW: I learned how I could help to foster my relationship with my partner, Katlyn Addison. We have been friends for over a decade due to our shared history when we both danced for Houston Ballet. We had yet to partner together until around the time that we began learning RUTH, Ricordi per Due. It was, and is, such a pleasure to discover the ways to work with a new partner that I find so exhilarating.
If you were to meet Arpino today, what would you ask him?
KA: I’d ask him if he is happy with how we’re dancing his creation, and I would thank him for such a beautiful, spiritual, and timeless piece.
BW: I would ask him to share with us his creative process and to describe his artistic motivations.