Boyz to dance into Royce with MTV-like flair
By David Chang
Oct. 1, 2003 9:00 p.m.
It’s safe to say that William Trevitt, one half of Ballet
Boyz, does not own a fur coat.
“There’s this idea that dancers are sacred beings or
religious figures who concentrate completely on their art and leave
backstage in their big fur coats,” Trevitt said.
“We’re completely not like that. We’re really
just normal people with unusual jobs.”
To re-emphasize their regular Joe aura to the audience, Trevitt
and fellow dancer Michael Nunn film documentaries on the making of
their performances. These behind-the-scenes videos will be
interspersed throughout the two British lads’ dance sequences
at Royce Hall on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
The moniker “Ballet Boyz” originated from a pair of
popular television documentaries, chronicling the two
dancers’ final days with Britain’s Royal Ballet. The
unexpected success of these films prompted Trevitt and Nunn,
self-taught filmmakers, to shoot videos of their everyday
lives.
The reality-TV element of their show might make the pair unique,
but the duo’s bread and butter is still ballet. After leaving
the Royal Ballet, they founded George Piper Dances in 2001. The
company features three other experienced dancers, who will appear
with the Ballet Boyz, performing works by choreographers John
Forsythe and Christopher Wheeldon.
“During our auditioning, we didn’t want new,
inexperienced dancers, so we hired dancers we knew before,”
Trevitt said.
What Trevitt, Nunn and the rest of George Piper Dances do is
fuse classical ballet with MTV-style choreography. Pink leotards
are discarded in favor of more modern and loose-fitting
costumes.
According to Trevitt, the documentaries enhance the subsequent
dancing, and not just by providing backstage humor and
bloopers.
“There’s a lot of footage on developing the dances
in the studio,” Trevitt said. “It gives the audience a
look at how we practice our steps, adding something new to dance
performances.”
