Is this the first time you’re dancing Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux?
I’ve never done it. When I first starting learning it, I was working with Kevin McKenzie and Clinton Luckett just to get the basics and to learn the steps, but I actually was coached by Merrill Ashley. Recently, we worked together because of this Annenberg Fellowship that I’ve been given. It’s so amazing. I was going to work with her on Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and on Theme and Variations—just to do them—before I was cast. It’s been sort of a wake-up call because I feel like a lot of the Balanchine ballets are hard for me. That’s one reason why I wanted to work with Merrill; I know that is a weakness of mine—moving fast and never having trained in Balanchine. It was exciting to work with her and it was very different from what I thought Balanchine was. You think you want to distort things, but it is very classical; it’s all about being up on your legs. I have so far to go, but I’m aware. [Laughs] She’s just someone I admire and who has taught me so much in the short time that we worked
