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| PNB dancer Leta Biasucci in George Balanchine's "Diamonds" photo by Lindsay Thomas |
Most people see only the sparkly side of ballet: the live
performances, with dancers in costume, pointe shoes tied, orchestra in the pit.
Whether it’s the annual holiday production of “Nutcracker” or an edgier,
contemporary work, a performance is like a reward for many of the dancers at
Pacific Northwest Ballet. PNB corps de ballet member Leta Biasucci says
“sharing an experience we hope the audience enjoys is what makes it worthwhile
for most dancers.”
The “it” Biasucci refers to is the grueling training, the daily
hours of practice essential for anyone to make it as a professional ballet dancer.
Thousands of little girls (and maybe hundreds of little boys) dream of being on
stage. The truth is, the sparkly, seemingly effortless performances are the
result of years of constant hard work. Only a few dreamers have the talent and discipline it takes.
On a recent Tuesday morning, Biasucci and a roomful of her
fellow PNB company members warm up before the daily 90 minute class that starts
out each day at the ballet company. There are no tutus, no tiaras here. Most of
the dancers wear ratty tights, leg warmers, tee shirts that advertise dance
clothing companies or past arts festivals. At 10:15 sharp, PNB Artistic
Director Peter Boal comes to the front of the room to put his dancers through
their paces.
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| Leta Biasucci and PNB company members in daily class photo by Hannah Burn |
“We’ll start with plies,” Boal says. Each dancer places a hand
on the nearest barre, bending slowly at the knees until thighs are
parallel to the floor, heels lifted. With arms gracefully arced overhead, they
rise up from the deep bend, then sweep their torsos forward from the waist,
heads stretched toward their toes. This is the first of a series of exercises
that become increasingly complex as the class goes on. A pianist in the corner keeps up a steady
accompaniment.
Leta Biasucci is positioned near Boal at the front of the
studio, her curly dark hair pulled back from her face. At 24, Biassucci is one
of the younger company members, but already she’s invested years training for
this job. She started ballet classes as a five year old in Pennsylvania.
“I loved it, I loved it, it was what I wanted to do,” she
explains. “It was what I did when I went home, I tapped around the house. I
loved it.”
At 9, Biasucci enrolled in the Central Pennsylvania Youth
Ballet, considered a “serious” dance school. The young girl was attracted to
the rigor of the daily classes. She spent every afternoon there. “Maybe I liked
it because I was sort of good at it,” she laughs.
To succeed at ballet you need to be more than “sort of good”
at it. According to Peter Boal “I don’t know that it has to do with the gifts
that you receive when you’re born.” More
so, Boal believes a dancer’s success is built on determination and
intelligence.
By the age of 16, Leta Biasucci thought she had what it
takes to pursue a professional dance career. She was accepted to San Francisco
Ballet’s trainee program, where she attended class and dreamed they might hire
her when she finished the program. Most big companies like SF Ballet hire only
a handful of trainees or apprentices every year. Biasucci didn’t make the cut. She
consoled herself with a job at the smaller Oregon Ballet Theater. She was happy
to be dancing professionally, but still, she dreamed of something more. After
three years in Portland, Biasucci decided to audition for Pacific Northwest
Ballet.
“I remember sending an email to Peter (Boal’s) assistant,
Doug Fullington, saying if you’ll have me, I would love the opportunity to come
up and take class.”
That’s ballet-speak for an audition.
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| Leta Biasucci attends company class in Vail photo by Lindsay Thomas |
The class Biasucci attended was much like the one Boal leads
most mornings: a series of technical exercises progressing to step
combinations, and finally to ballet’s signature jumps. Biasucci remembers it was
fast paced, very challenging. “And I was, of course, very nervous.”
Boal says “Leta came, and I remember looking at her in
company class and thinking, that’s not quite right, that’s not quite what I was
looking for.”
But there was something about this girl that intrigued him.
“I asked Doug, can you ask that Leta girl, I can’t remember
her last name, can you ask her if she can come back a second time?”
A few weeks later, Biasucci returned to PNB. “I sort of willed myself to have this confidence,” she says.
“I said, okay, I’m here, I’m doing it.”
She confesses, the second time around, she was better
prepared for what Boal would demand of her.
As the head of one of the best known ballet companies in the
nation, Peter Boal can make or break a young dancer’s career. He likes to
remind his students that they shouldn’t take his rejection as a final say on whether
or not they’ll make it as professional dancers. But Boal is a taste maker. And
Leta Biasucci was a dancer to his taste.
“I haven’t been a speed dater, but I imagine with speed
dating you click or you don’t.”
Boal clicked with Leta Biasucci. A month after her second
visit to PNB, he offered her a job in the corps de ballet. The corps are the
dancers you usually see grouped at the back or sides of the stage, framing the
stars of each performance. They’re like supporting actors in a film, or the
chorus in a big Broadway show. Each corps member dreams of being singled out
from the crowd. Realistically, only a few will realize that dream. Sometimes it
takes a lucky break.
For Leta Biasucci, that break came during a run of the
classical ballet “Coppelia”. She’d studied the title role, but Biasucci wasn’t likely
to get a chance to perform it.
“Leta was in the fifth cast,” says Boal. “But then, the
dancer in the fourth cast couldn’t go on. I said, just step in for today, do
what you know,” he laughs. “Well, she knew everything!”
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| Leta Biasucci as Cupid in Alexei Ratmanksy's "Don Quixote" photo by Angela Sterling |
Since that performance, Boal has selected Biasucci for a
bevy of featured roles. She’s thrilled with the opportunities, but the
spotlight can be scary. She has to deliver the goods in each performance, to
prove she earned that spotlight.
Biasucci has been learning a new role for PNB’s upcoming
production of “Giselle.” It’s a featured duet she’ll dance with company veteran
(and audience favorite) Jonathan Porretta. At a recent rehearsal, Biasucci’s
billowing tulle skirt throws her off. She’s
flustered and embarrassed by her mistakes. Porretta and ballet master Paul
Gibson calm her down and the second run through goes much more smoothly.
The challenging role in “Giselle” is just the latest step in
Leta Biasucci’s career ladder. You can’t rest on your past successes if you
want to keep your job. “There’s always another rank,” she says, “you always
want to be promoted, there’s always another role.”
Biasucci’s boss, Peter Boal, says the promotions are
coming for Biasucci.
“In three months, six months.” But Boal defines success as
more than a job title. “It’s about watching a fully accomplished artist develop
into what they’re capable of.”
Sometimes Leta Biasucci has to remind herself that, whether
or not she gets her promotions, this is the life she has worked for since she
decided to become a ballerina at the age of 9.
“I feel I’m living the dream. This is it. And it’s great.”
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| Leta Biasucci, with James Moore, in Kent Stowell's "Nutcracker" photo by Lindsay Thomas |
