Photo credit: Headshot courtesy of BRB
Céline Gittens ‘In Conversation’ with Gerald Dowler
11th September 2023
The Chair of the London Ballet Circle, Susan Dalgetty Ezra, welcomed Céline Gittens to the evening’s conversation. Born in Trinidad, she grew up in Canada and trained with the Vancouver Goh Ballet Academy. In 2006 she joined Birmingham Royal Ballet, where she has been a Principal since 2016. Susan also welcomed dance writer and critic Gerald Dowler, who would lead the evening’s conversation.
Gerald started the conversation by saying how much the world was looking forward to the forthcoming production of Black Sabbath, shortly to premiere in Birmingham and then come to London in October. Before discussing that show, however, he wanted to explore some of Céline’s background. What was her introduction to ballet and how is it that she is now a member of the Birmingham Royal Ballet?
Céline started dancing at her mother’s studio in Point Fortin, Trinidad when she was just three years of age. She explained that her mother Janet was a dance teacher and a significant figure in promoting dance within that Caribbean community. Her mother still teaches and her influence remains important in Céline’s career. The Gittens family moved to Canada when she was nine years old – in winter, where it was very cold and for the first time she saw snow that was real and not on the television!
In Vancouver she enrolled at the Goh Ballet Academy. In Vancouver she enrolled at the Goh Ballet Academy. Owned by Choo Chiat Goh and Lin Yee Goh, the school provided training based broadly in Vaganova techniques. The training was intense; from class at 09.30 until the studio sessions finished late in the afternoon students were kept working hard. Was such intensity good? Céline replied that it certainly built her stamina. She enjoyed her time at Goh, although with hindsight regrets that the lack of association with an actual ballet company prevented her from learning about the ‘culture’ of company life.
When she was about fifteen Céline finally realised that she wanted to become a professional dancer. Encouraged and inspired by her mother, she was passing Royal Academy of Dance examinations and being successful in competitions, of which there were many in Canada. Asked about the value of competing, Céline said that it helped her to deal with performance anxiety and also manage her perceived imperfections. If you don’t win, you have to deal with all the associated traumas and anxieties; if you are lucky enough to succeed, then you have a range of other emotions to confront. Whatever the result it is essential to have a good teacher to support you, and once again Céline cited the extreme importance of her mother in this regard – as both a parent and an experienced teacher.
In order to complete her training and further her professional career, at eighteen she was encouraged to seek a place in a company or an elite school and thus she went for a number of auditions. Her mother, who had herself trained in England (with Pamela Howard and at the Royal Academy of Dance) and was therefore aware of the world of dance here, advised Céline to apply to the UK. The Royal Ballet itself was not taking on any new dancers and she was invited to audition for the Royal Ballet School. However, no more places were available for international students at the School.
Céline and her mother then went to visit friends in Birmingham where she decided to try her luck with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Unannounced, she turned up at the theatre and was allowed to take part in a Birmingham Royal Ballet company class led by Marion Tait. The class was watched by David Bintley, then Artistic Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet (and now Sir David), and Desmond Kelly, and Céline felt that she had taken part in a rather ‘heavyweight’ audition. She was, however, offered a job with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
She formally joined the company in August 2006, at the start of the new season. The city itself was something of a culture shock, especially the local accent! This was the first time she had really to cope on her own. Never having been part of an actively performing company before, she had to learn how to work with it, to be a part of it and comply with its etiquette. In addition, as a member of a touring company she had to be prepared to move around from place to place.
All of this may have been a shock to your system, suggested Gerald, but Céline replied that she just went with the flow. It was vital to understand how a company functions and she had to do considerable extra work on her own, outside of class and rehearsal, in order to ensure she fitted in with the company’s culture and style of dance. At the time she saw Birmingham’s Royal Ballet as complying exactly with what she felt the British image of dance to be. She learned many roles from Marion Tait and praised the way in which a role could be coached by those who had danced it previously, in many instances having had it set on them directly by the choreographer. Céline considered this first-hand knowledge to be invaluable.
Céline believed that she herself still danced in a more ‘North American’ style, perhaps rather more ‘showy’ and less reserved. She felt this allowed the freedom to bring more of herself into abstract roles. Maybe she was more of a natural for the Balanchine repertoire. Céline said that her strength lay in her technique and also in the stamina built up during the long hours with the Goh Academy. She made copious notes and considered such note-taking important; she cited Patricia Neary who had done the same while working with Balanchine, and was thus subsequently able to mount his ballets so effectively.
Céline’s very first role at Birmingham was as a fish-seller in Romeo and Juliet. ‘That’s the way you start’ she said. While in the corps a dancer performs frequently and can slowly and steadily gain experience; there is really no sense in trying to run before you can walk. In her second season she was cast ‘in brackets’ for the role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. ‘In brackets’ meant that the part should be learned but would be performed on stage only if the main cast member had to drop out for some reason. She felt, nevertheless, that being given this cover role was an acknowledgement of her potential talent. In effect she was being told that she would do the role, but not yet.
Learning Odette/Odile was daunting; Desmond Kelly suggested that she attend rehearsals but remain in the background. She found this difficult and awkward because she needed to learn the role but did not want to interfere with the main cast members’ rehearsal. She resorted to learning the steps by watching video recordings of the ballet.
She had also been cast as Diana in Sir David Bintley’s Sylvia and considered these castings showed that she definitely had something to offer artistically. She praised David’s attitude and management style as Artistic Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet. After a promotion, in her third year with the company, she told him that her aim was to become a Principal. He hadn’t brushed her off or put her down but instead offered to help her all he could to achieve this goal.
One of her favourite roles was that of Juliet (having moved on from playing a fish-seller!) and Gerald asked how she would prepare for such a very full-on emotional part. She responded that first of all she read the play again and then watched films of the various productions. Marion Tait had provided much inspiration and knowledge during rehearsals, which had been invaluable. Céline recalled how during one rehearsal Marion had actually started crying because she had become so caught up in Juliet’s emotions. Céline also said how much she had been inspired by Alessandra Ferri’s playing of the role, with which Gerald agreed. Romeo and Juliet, with its intense emotions, had provided some of Céline’s most memorable moments on stage.
The discussion then turned to partnering. A partner must provide seamless support; you must be compatible and there must be complete trust. Successful partnering necessitated sharing the same work ethic and energy levels. For instance, Brandon Lawrence, now dancing in Zurich, had been a great partner. Later in the conversation she also mentioned two performances with guest dancer Vadim Muntagirov, which had also been wonderful. And what if there are disagreements, points of friction? It’s vital that you sort out problems together, responded Céline, the blame game doesn’t work and there has to be give and take.
And what about choreographers? Céline considered it essential that choreographers get to know dancers, because they must be able to judge what a dancer can do and the way in which they like to approach something new. Everyone – dancers and choreographers – all work differently and developing an effective working relationship may take some time.
Gerald asked whether Céline had guested much with other companies and she talked of her experience with Australian Ballet, with whom she had spent seven most enjoyable weeks. There are regular exchanges of personnel with Birmingham Royal Ballet and David McAllister, then Artistic Director of Australian Ballet, had invited her to perform the Red Queen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The Australian company had been most welcoming. It had been fascinating, and most rewarding, to see the various cultural differences between the two companies; even class had been quite different. Maybe the experience served to emphasise the ‘Britishness’ of Birmingham!
Céline went on to talk about the scholarship scheme which she has initiated with the Royal Academy of Dance, designed to encourage new talent into the world of dance. Her mother, Janet, had such a strong and positive influence on the development of dance within Trinidad and she, Céline, identified with that and would like to try to replicate it in some way. She is a great supporter of the Royal Academy of Dance and hopes that, as a principal dancer in a major company, she may be able to use her status to assist the project, for instance by encouraging funding.
Céline is also a tremendous supporter of Birmingham Royal Ballet itself. Originally the Sadlers Wells Ballet, it was brought from London to the city in 1990 by Sir Peter Wright and she is sure that the present day company has amply fulfilled his vision. She has been with the company for eighteen years and wants to go on seeing it grow from strength to strength.
She would also like to widen her scope of interest, for instance in choreography. As an inspiration she cited Alonzo King, American choreographer and civil rights activist. He was interested in broad aspects of education and philosophy as well as dance. Such a wide range of interests is important; you cannot be just a dancer, she said.
And so finally to Black Sabbath! On paper the concept looks strange. An amalgam of ballet with heavy metal, it consists of three separate ‘acts’ each choreographed by a different individual and representing the many facets of the eponymous band. The aim is to please audiences for both styles of entertainment, while accepting that it will be challenging. The music has been used effectively, being orchestrated so that it works for the dancers. Céline will appear in two of the acts, and the company is still in the process of tying up the loose ends. It opens in Birmingham on the 23rd of September and will transfer to Sadlers Wells in October.
In concluding the evening, Susan, as Chair of the London Ballet Circle, said she could hear virtual applause circling through the ether! It was always fascinating to listen to a professional talking with such enthusiasm about their job and the manner in which they approach it. She thanked both Céline and Gerald most sincerely for giving up their evenings to take part in such an interesting conversation.
Written by Trevor Rothwell, and approved by Céline Gittens and Gerald Dowler
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