by Lawrence Knox
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most tragic love stories of all time. There are scenes in which there will not be a dry eye in the audience, but there is also plenty of action along with the romance. In preparation for the fight scenes, the dancers have been training with J. Steven White during rehearsals. Although the sword fighting is mostly left to the men, especially those who dance the part of Romeo, Mercutio, Tybalt, and Benvolio, some of the women also get their chance to take part in the action.
Surrounding the fencing, there are choreographed side stories between the Montagues and Capulets. There is plenty of excitement during this Act One fight, full of hair pulling, kicking, and punching. I have to say I never thought I would be backhanding another girl onstage, but sure enough, I was wrong. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will tell you that some food props might also be put to good use in these fights. Given the large amount of people onstage during this fight, it is important for us to keep focused for safety reasons, but as you can probably imagine, there has been quite a bit of fun in these rehearsals.
To hear some of the dancer’s experiences and for a greater look into how the choreography for this fight scene was created, take a minute to watch Tulsa Ballet’s video:
Performances run from Feb. 10-12 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. For tickets call 918-740-6006 or visit us online at www.tulsaballet.org.
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