Robert TEWSLEY is appearing as a guest artist in the Australian Ballet's Sydney season of 'Manon'.
Where did you grow up?
Leicester in England, then at the Royal Ballet School in London.
What did your parents do?
My father worked as an engineer and my mother worked with mentally handicapped children.
What first attracted you to learning to dance?
It was actually suggested by a school teacher as I was good in gymnastics, and liked doing school plays.
Where did you train?
I did a bit of tap dancing which I enjoyed a lot. My first ballet lessons were not until I had been accepted into the Royal Ballet School. I remember feeling like an outsider a bit at the beginning as I was the only boy in my class with not much knowledge about ballet.
What was your first public performance?
My first performance was tap dancing in a school performance in Portsmouth. At the Royal Opera House, it was dancing the sailor’s Hornpipe for a gala when I was 11 years old.
You trained at the Royal Ballet School but then went to the National Ballet of Canada. Why didn’t you join the Royal Ballet or the Birmingham Royal Ballet?
Reid Anderson, the director of the NBC, offered me a contract. I decided I would like to explore what was happening outside England instead of staying and joining a company that I already knew. Also, he seemed very excited about me and said he could see me having a good career in Canada. That sort of encouragement was something new to me. The Royal Ballet gave the impression that you should feel lucky to be in the company, whereas Reid said he would be lucky if I joined the NBC.
You then danced from 1996 with the Stuttgart Ballet as a principal dancer. Were the companies very different, and what opportunities did moving to Germany offer you?
Germany was very different as ballet is very important there, and has a very large audience. We had a lot more performances in Stuttgart than in Toronto, and also a lot more new work, so I had the chance to work more with choreographers.
You moved to the Royal Ballet but left after only three performances and joined the New York City Ballet. Why did you leave?
When Ross Stretton left, a lot of the repertoire that he’d planned, such as Le Parc [Preljocaj], was cancelled. I’d joined the company because I liked what he was bringing in, therefore there was not much point in staying when the rep I’d wanted to dance was cancelled. I decided to join NYCB instead as I had already guested with the company, and I knew that I would dance a lot and learn an entirely new repertoire.
You now travel the world as a freelance guest artist. What do you like about the lifestyle?
I like moving from one project to the next, meeting new people and seeing the differences between all the companies. I have been lucky to dance many new ballets and to work with choreographers like Wayne MacGregor and Stephen Baynes. It means I need a lot of discipline, but also it gives me time to concentrate on other projects between jobs. On the down side it does mean suitcase living and seeing friends less often.
How much do audiences vary from one country to the other?
German or Stuttgart audiences specifically are very appreciative and curtain calls can often last half-an-hour or more. In Japan, where ballet is very popular, you feel that they concentrate on what they’re seeing, they don’t scream at the end of performances, but you know they are really enjoying it and above all that they are a knowledgeable audience.
How do you keep up your fitness and technique while travelling?
While I’m working that is not a problem; in between jobs when I’m in London I take open class and go to the gym twice a day.
Is it hard to adjust to partnering different ballerinas?
Nowadays I normally dance with ballerinas that I have already danced with, but a new ballerina is not usually a problem as long as we both get on and have a sense of humour. Last time I guested with the Australian Ballet I danced with Lucinda Dunn. We had never danced together, but I knew her from my Royal Ballet School days. We had a lot of fun working together and both rehearsals and the performances were productive and rewarding.
What has been your most satisfying role or performance to date?
Rudolf in Mayerling and Edward II in David Bintley’s Edward II.
