What is your favorite memory at Boston Ballet?
(Melanie Atkins) I have so many wonderful memories at Boston Ballet it's impossible to pick just one! Dancing one of my favorite ballets, Duo Concertant, with my husband (Sabi Varga) is definitely a highlight. Also traveling to Washington D.C. to see the company perform Jorma's Brake the Eyes was great - I felt so proud to be part of such a wonderful group even though I wasn't actually dancing! Our tour to Spain was unforgettable - I could go on for ages about favorite memories. I'm definitely grateful to have so many!!
(Jared Redick) I have so many excellent memories of my seven years here. The one that stands out is when Reed Anderson came to work with us on Onegin, duing my first season. Working with him was an experience that I will treasure; that ballet is a special ballet.
Another highlight was opening night of (Jorma Elo's) Plan to B. It was one of those truly unique moments in the theater where we finished the ballet and there were two or three seconds of silence. And then, like a rock concert, the audience exploded. That was awesome for us as a cast.
What is your earliest memory as a professional dancer?
(JR) My earliest memory would definitely be the first time I did Sleeping Beauty. It was my first year with San Francisco Ballet. We went on tour to Washington DC, my hometown. The role that I was given was one of the musicians that stands in the back, followed by carrying the guns across the stage. All the older dancers got a good kick out of that.
(MA) I was hired out of SAB to dance for Fort Worth Dallas Ballet in Serenade - the company needed two more corps dancers. I've always had a special place in my heart for that ballet, and have danced it many times since. The feeling of standing on stage waiting for the curtain to go up, bathed in blue light and listening to the gorgeous Tchaikovsky music come up from the pit was magical. The role I've danced most recently in Serenade is not a part of the opening moment - even so, I get the same shivers hearing the music while backstage waiting for my first entrance.
What would you like to say to all your fans and supporters?
(JR) Do I have any? (laughs) Thanks a million. It’s such a privilege to dance in front of the audience in this company. To have people who are there almost every program and supporting you, is truly a blessing. I am deeply grateful.
(MA) Thank you, thank you, and thank you! It's been wonderful to finish my performing career where I grew up. The Boston audience welcomed me immediately on joining the company - I will always be grateful for the support both on and off stage. Boston's ballet community is unique in that they really take an interest in their dancers. The audience is proud, as they should be, to have a world-class ballet company and they show their appreciation on many levels.
What are you most excited to do next?
(MA) Well, I think most people will guess the answer to that question: one word - Sophie! I'm so excited to be a mother. I look forward to bringing her to the ballet and introducing her to this crazy wonderful business that I've been a part of for so long. Of course, I'll still be around - definitely backstage, and who knows, I might show up as an evil witch in a future production...
(JR) Hopefully get some sleep! I’m looking forward to exploring different things now, both within the field and outside of the field. I have lived and breathed being a dancer for so many years, almost 30 years, that to now have a little bit of time to explore new things is a little overwhelming but definitely very, very exciting.
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