getting closer!

Life rushes forward and Nureyev is almost ready to begin shooting! I caught up with rehearsals again late last week and saw right away how much had been accomplished in a short time. When I walked in the studio, the room was filled with dancers in rehearsal gear, milling and sitting on the floor. Costume and set assistant designer Sarah Armstrong came and went among them with arms full of costume pieces, working with the performers where she could.

It was a pleasure to watch young Tyler Robinson, who plays Rudik, the young Nureyev, for the first time. A National Ballet School student, Tyler has an emotively expressive face and a lovely form already evolving. In the sequence I observed, he and his mother Farida, played by Sarah Robichaud, playfully engaged a beautiful shawl before sitting down to watch the grown-up dancers of the Kirov Ballet (shown at top). Meanwhile, behind scenes, Tyler's real-life mother, Susan Garvie (pictured here with Tyler) looked on with pride.

The section which Tyler and the others were rehearsing was an example of the kind of poetic narrative sequences Moze is experimenting with in this film. In the past, the dances have often marked an emotional 'aria' within the dramatic action of his movies. Here, however, the drama of the narrative and the emotion of the dance are weaving themselves together in single dances. Thus, while the young Tyler/Rudik watches the older dancers work, he can also be transformed magically during the number (via pirouettes) into the older Nureyev/Nico. (In this photo, however, two corps members are pictured, as well as choreographer Matjash Mrozewski).

I was sad to miss the full run-through this past Sunday of all the dances as they currently stand but Moze tells me it went very well. Family and friends had been encouraged to attend and see the work-in-progress. Hope to have shots and/or video of that as the week continues. Next post will be from the set! Stay tuned.

rehearsals continue!

Wow! Long time since my last post. The company was off a week and then back last week and this week for more rehearsals. I got there on Friday (and will return this Thursday). My visit coincided with a lot going on. E-Talk Daily was making a visit to the set and I shot this pic of Moze shooting the scene being observed by the E-Talk cameraman. I wonder if someone behind me was taking a picture of me taking a picture of Moze taking a picture of....

The camera crew arrived not long after I got there and a break was called to allow for interviews. Nico is amazingly easygoing and comfortable in almost any situation it seems. There is nothing of the star or diva in him, just a hard worker and a nice guy. As they were waiting, I overheard E-Talk interviewer Sharon Stokes remark to someone how graceful Nico looked. On camera, she asked Greta Hodgkinson if she had learned anything from working with him so far and Nico was quick to say that he was learning from her. A gracious man!

I am amazed by how hard everyone is working to make things stretch. Production Co-Ordinator Mikey Lalonde (whose picture didn't get in last time, so here it is now) was, as usual, wearing five hats at once as he continued to organize production details, track the rehearsal progress, shoot rehearsal video and deal with a hundred other details. Mikey has energy equal to the dancers and I sometimes think in his lightfooted running around, that he is going to spring into a sudden leap or tour jete!

Throughout the day, everyone in the room struggled valiantly with the noise coming from the hiphop rehearsal that was happening in the adjacent studio. The pounding rhythm was a far cry from the sensitive Prokofiev piano score that was serving as a rehearsal track. I was impressed with how everyone coped with it, though at the end of the day some discussion occurred as to whether rehearsal might move to a new location. In the end, they have stayed where they are and are hoping for the best.

Although rehearsals began early that day, my day began with Greta and Nico rehearsing a duet. Despite their differing traditions, they have a natural sympatico and a growing stage chemistry. I have been really impressed by how much Matjash Mrozewski's choreography serves the muscularity in both Nureyev and Nico's gifts, while retaining the balletic sensibility. While Greta is just always beautiful. Her (seemingly) effortless work and humour are a wonderful gift to the process. Even if this pose of her "relaxing" in a break with Matjash would agonize my body to even attempt!

In the afternoon, after the E-Talk interviews, focus moved to the trio of Nico and the two Russian "Authority Figures" who represent those trying to prevent Nureyev from defecting. I was very moved again by this dance. Matjash has a real talent for combining the emotional sensibilities of a scene while also allowing strong character moves that help to tell story. There are wonderful beats in this trio in which the 'bureaucrats' slowly try their best to subdue and retain a defiant Nureyev. It also allows a chance for us to see Nico's acting ability which is emerging strongly as we go. A talented guy! This is the great excitement of rehearsal, when details of story and emotional line start to lift into life. Lots more to come!

Nureyev on Facebook!

Moze wrote me an email about a week or so ago with the subject heading "Facing Facebook". Indeed! Since FB changed its rules around how to setup group and fan pages, this turned into a wee Herculean task but now we are up and running and all is well. So check us out on Facebook!

Rehearsals begin!

This week I had the great pleasure of beginning one of my favourite things to do in life: watch my oldest friend in the world make his newest film, Nureyev. I am talking of course about Moze, whose beautiful work as a filmmaker has already been proven to the world. (If you are new to his movies, check out my other blog on Moze's previous film, Roxana or check out his Wikipedia page.)

Although rehearsals began on Tuesday, I could not come until Thursday - but it was an auspicious day to start. Both Nico Archambault, who is playing Nureyev, and Greta Hodgkinson, who is playing Fonteyn, were working with choreographer Matjash Mrozewski on one of the key sequences in the film, a dance montage of Nureyev's interface as a young dance superstar with the world of the New York glitterati. In some ways, there was a lovely irony in the situation, as young dance superstar Nico interfaced with the glitterati of the Canadian ballet world! The combination of talents present was immediately compelling, and even in this lowkey rehearsal it was easy to see the powerful possibilities of the work to come.

Moze's film is not intended to be a full biography in the usual sense. Anyone familiar with his work knows that a Moze Mossanen movie always works in the abstract emotional and psychological space of the main heros. Characters move between worlds and often between physical locations and suggested landscapes of time within a few simple movements. Moze tells me that in this film, he is taking his inspiration from Carlos Saura's phenomenal dance films. Moze and I have both been a fan of the legendary Argentinian filmmaker for a long time. While I tend to think of Tango as a reference here, Moze suggests that Saura's Flamenco is a closer parallel. In Nureyev, there is no attempt to tell a strict life story - but instead to live out the psychological development of an artist in a very particular time and circumstances as he attempts to hold on to his own identity amid crushing challenges.

Great to see Greta Hodgkinson again. Equally at home in a film rehearsal as on the great ballet stages of the world, she is always unaffected and easy to be around. And exciting to meet Nico! The So You Think You Can Dance sensation and first season winner was easygoing as he shadowed Matjash and learned the sequence, or kibbitzed and rehearsed with Greta. The modern dance sensibility he brings to the project alongside his massive talent allow for a wonderful window on how the Russian dancer Nureyev might have felt, alone in a brand new world while also the toast of it. Nico's strength and passion as a dancer make him a great fit for this project.

At one point, assistant set and costume designer Sarah Armstrong dropped in and took measurements while the performers were in a break. Production associate Mikey Lalonde seemed to be wearing about six hats at once, as he videorecorded rehearsals, kept track of production details and even ran to Tim's for everyone's lunch.

And of course, there is Moze, who always amazes me with how calm and relaxed he appears in rehearsal, as if he was the visitor and someone else was about to helm a film of this kind of vision and scope. Moze will weigh in as we go forward with the blog, often offering us his own thoughts, just as he did on Roxana. Stay tuned!