How long have you been with the Joffrey?
Thanks for this opportunity. I joined Joffrey II (Sally Bliss, Maria Grandy - directors) in 1975 and was accepted in to the main company (New York City) in 1977. I danced with the main company until 1988 when I retired from performing. I moved to Portland, Oregon to become a ballet master for Oregon Ballet Theatre and stayed there until 1996 when I rejoined The Joffrey Ballet (of Chicago) as a ballet master.
What do you mean when you say Joffrey II?
The Joffrey II, which no longer exists (we now have an apprentice program instead), was the first of it's kind in the USA. It was a 2nd company in which young dancers worked as extras in big productions with the main company but also maintained it's own repertoire toured to smaller venues which were too small for the main Joffrey Ballet. It was an invaluable experience. I learned a lot on the road.
Can you explain what a ballet master does for us lay people?
Ballet Masters are most often retired performers. They are usually chosen because they have a rare ability to learn many ballets and parts, but it is not just that. A ballet master teaches company class, mounts old ballets that are being done again, assists choreographers with new works and takes care of those works once the choreographer departs and generally assists the Artistic Director.
Have you been with other companies and how do they compare to the Joffrey?
Oregon Ballet Theatre was quite like the Joffrey in style since it was directed by a former Joffrey dancer and the ballet master was a former Joffrey dancer. The big difference was the budget. Oregon Ballet Theatre could not afford to acquire the many masterpieces that the Joffrey had over the years.
Have you or your company ever been involved in any other films?
Though I had filmed several "Dance in Americas" for TV with Joffrey, I had not participated in "Save The Last Dance," which many of the Joffrey dancers had.
Are you, Mr. Arpino or the Joffrey's work influenced by the reviews - good or bad?
We are not influenced by reviews. One cannot base a lifetime of training and beliefs on the words of a person who sits in the audience and may have never danced. We are affected by reviews but never influenced.
In the film were you playing yourself or being a character? How was that like?
I did play myself in the The Company. Though it was sometimes strange to reenact uncomfortable situations from the past, I never lost sight of the privilege I was afforded in being part of a Robert Altman film.
Did you have any lines?
I had several lines. I pretty much got to say what I had said in real life, but
I didn't always get to say the line to the exact person from the past.
What kind of direction did Altman give or did he just tell you to be yourself?
Altman gave overall direction. He would tell us the mood or message he wanted from each scene. Otherwise he chose us to play ourselves and he let us be ourselves.
Did you receive a script? If so what was it like?
We received a sheet with the lines of each scene just before we went to the set. Altman did not really want us to memorize the lines. The lines were there to help us as an outline.
In interviews with Neve Campbell she says that dancers bodies are worn out by the time
they are 30. Is that true? What then does a dancer do, move up to choreographer?
I happen to agree with Neve about the dancers body because I retired from
performing at 30. But every dancer's body is different and many dance for a much
longer span. There is a character in the film who is still dancing quite beautifully in her
forties. The next step for a dancer is much more difficult to determine. One
must have a certain temperament and capacity for work to become a ballet master.
Becoming a choreographer takes certain talents such as musicality and some kind
of vision of what one wants to say with choreography. I also think one must have
a lot of self confidence to put ones vision out there for criticism.
Did you know about Neve breaking her rib at the start of the film and how would you rate her performance?
I did know about Neve's rib. She is a gorgeous dancer and I admire her work. She was 100% serious about being the best she could. I gave her corrections in class and I would sneak a peek from the other side of the room and see that my corrections were her number one priority at that point. She is a humble perfectionist, a true dancer.
How many days of filming were there?
I'm not exactly certain of the number of days of filming. I was not called to be
in the very first scenes that were filmed (those scenes actually never made it
to the screen by the way). My first day of work on the set was September 5, 2002
and my last day of shooting was November 12, 2002 according to my journal. I was
also flown to New York City for voice over work on April 5, 2003. That was a wonderful
experience because I flew to New York early in the morning, did one hour of voice over
work in the sound studio, saw a matinee of "Nine" and an evening
performance of "Gypsy". That was a glorious work trip.
When you did the voice over work was that planned or was it because your lines couldn't be heard?
My voice over work was done because Mr. Altman wanted to clarify my words that had been muffled by the piano accompaniment in a class scene.
Was the film made during off-season for the Joffrey? Did you guys have to do you regular
productions as well?
We (the ballet masters) were staging (which means teaching every dancer their
part) John Cranko's "The Taming of the Shrew" - (full length/evening
ballet) and we were also learning the very difficult ballet "Les Noces"
which has music by Stravinsky and was choreographed by Nijinsky's sister in
1923, while we were also filming The Company.
I read Altman saying that the Joffrey really doesn't make much money. Then do you have to have another job?
Mr. Altman means that compared to the hours of study and work we put in, we make
relatively small incomes. After the first couple of apprenticeship years we make
decent salaries, but there are practically no benefits and no retirement
packages. Put it this way, we don't stay at The Four Seasons Hotel. Some dancers
do other jobs to augment their income, but I think they can get by without doing
that. In my opinion Neve's character Ry is a neo-waitress at night because she
wants to have another life, a social situation outside the studio and have a
little bit nicer apartment.
How close do you think Altman came to capturing what the ballet is really
like?
We at The Joffrey are eternally grateful for the love and patience and
confidence Altman showed us. This film is bringing us world attention and we can
never thank Mr. Altman enough!
Some reviews knock the film because it has "no story". How do
you feel about that?
I see a lot of story in The Company, but as with many other Altman films, the
story line doesn't hit you in the face. You have to look for it. I think that is
Altman's genius. He guides us into looking for things. Luckily I have grown up
on Altman films, so I am able to appreciate his work with no sweat. I prefer his
way of looking at human beings. I am thankful that he didn't have "the
anorexic" or "a water fight in the studio". Everything in the film
is based on a real life Joffrey Ballet situation and there are no clichés in
this movie.
The strange thing is reviewers say it has no story, yet it is the typical background player gets put in the spotlight because of an injury a la Red Shoes or something.
Ry is asked by the choreographer to go into "Funny Valentine" in a studio rehearsal. There is no spark of discovery of a star. In this situation the choreographer decides to work with the understudy when the other dancer has a slight injury that will be gone in time for the dancer to perform the role. In Ry's case, the choreographer sees something in this undiscovered dancer to let her keep the role. So in essence this situation is not as much about the discovery of a new star as it is about the denial of a part to a principle dancer, the loss of a role. It is one thing to lose a role if you miss the premiere due to injury, but when a dancer is slightly injured, they will only miss a few rehearsals and will be well in time for the premiere, that dancer should not really lose the role.
Did Mr. Arpino want to play himself in the film?
I don't know if Mr. Arpino wanted to play himself. I do know that Mr. Altman knew he needed to have some real actors to guide and pace our scenes. The majority of the people in film are dancers playing themselves. In the early stages Arpino wanted someone like Al Pacino to portray him because he is very proud of his Italian heritage. Then one day Malcolm McDowell walked into our studios. The dancers were on a lay off and we ballet masters were working with Mr. Arpino on his new ballet. Malcolm watched the rehearsal and everyone was charmed within minutes. He immediately turned his chair the other way and began sitting how Mr. Arpino does. I felt like Malcolm was a friend within our first hours of acquaintance.
Do you think Al Pacino could've done the job that Malcolm did?
I am a Malcolm fan so I cannot imagine what the Arpino role would have been with another actor. I really think Malcolm has great charm and I loved what he did with the role. His performance makes me chuckle when I see the film.
Originally Malcolm's character was called Mr. Arpino, but it was changed to Mr. Antonelli. Was this because they decided to change him not to be exactly like Arpino or was his character always going to be based on Arpino, but not him?
I am not exactly sure why the name was changed from Arpino to Antonelli, but it was probably done because Malcolm was going to invoke but not imitate Arpino.
Antonelli calls the dancers "babies" often. Is this an Arpino phrase and is it a loving term?
"Babies" is an Arpino term and it is spoken with love.
What was Malcolm like on the set?
Malcolm was friendly, down to earth, funny and helpful. He made every single person feel confident and interesting. He sat, chatted and ate lunch with us. His wife Kelley was also there a lot and she was very pretty and down to earth. I once met the great Margot Fonteyn who was similar to Malcolm in that she never talked down to me. Both Fonteyn and McDowell made me feel I was on their level.
Any funny stories from the set?
I don't really have any since I was very busy with my other Joffrey duties. Making a film is not easy. This film was not big budget so we did not work in plush conditions. Mr. Altman and the producers Joshua Astrachan and David Levy (who were often with us) tried to make it as good as possible. There was a huge TV and many videos to watch while the dancers waited for sets and cameras to be ready. We had ballet classes at 7am most of the time. But any discomfort was little compensation for the privilege of a lifetime, working with Altman, McDowell, Campbell and Franco. Oh, did I mention that there was too much food?
Did you get to keep any souvenirs?
I saved our daily call sheets to stuff into my journal, but my big souvenir is
the gift that Altman gave us upon completion of filming. He gave each of us a
specially made scarf. The scarf says "The Company" on it.
Altman calls the ballet a "sex act". Is that a bit crude?
I think Mr. Altman sees sensuality in ballet. I know he has great love and respect for dancers and the dance.
Have you gotten people who have come to see a ballet in Chicago because of the film?
It is too soon to know if we have people coming to see us as a result of the movie. It is only now going into general release.
Were you there when Malcolm was rehearsing for 'A Wedding Bouquet'?
I was not in many of Malcolm's rehearsals. That one was staged by Christopher Newton (from the Royal Ballet). Charthel Arthur and Adam Sklute were the ballet masters for that one. I was alone staging Ashton's Monotones I & II, and sharing staging duties for Les Patineurs with Cameron Basden. Monotones and Patineurs rehearsals took place simultaneously in another studio. I did visit with Malcolm while he was here working on A Wedding Bouquet.
Many people like me have no knowledge of what Ballet is like behind the
scenes. Is that what you hope people will get out of the film - to see what is
like and maybe inspiring young people to dance?
I do hope the The Company gives people a new perspective on ballet as an art
form and profession. The audience only sees the finished product when they go to
a performance. Hopefully when they are sitting in the audience there is magic in
the air since they have paid a lot of money for their tickets. The Company will
make them aware of the hours and hours of time it takes to create this illusion
of magic. Many critics and dancers have already stated that this film is the
real thing. Mr. Altman, you got it right!
To read my follow up with Mark click here.
This entire page © 2004-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net