When Aaron Watkin was a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada in the late 1980s, he sometimes found himself overcome by a nerve-wracking fear. “I could feel my body buzzing with anxiety,” she tells me. “I have to tell myself that your solo only lasts 60 seconds and then you can walk off stage. “Sometimes I think I might feel differently if I had a little more support.”
Watkin and I met at the stylish new offices in east London of the English National Ballet, where Tamara Rojo has been artistic director since September, following her departure in 2022 after a decade in charge. Rojo, now the artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, leaves a daunting legacy: Under his visionary leadership, ENB has transformed itself into a European powerhouse with a repertoire that is essentially revolutionary.
However, his reign was marred by unsubstantiated allegations of tyranny; The ballet world is currently rocked by a series of sexual abuse allegations, eating disorder and mental health revelations that reveal the ugly heart of this most distinguished art form. Add to that a difficult financial climate, a rapidly changing cultural landscape and a persistent misconception that ballet is a specialized art form, and Watkin, 54, has a formidable task ahead of him. “ENB is in great shape,” he says in his slight Canadian accent. “But there is no doubt that we need to work hard to change perceptions.”
Earlier this week, Watkin announced the company’s 75th anniversary program, which includes a new production of The Nutcracker, the company’s first in 13 years (ENB’s current iteration of this beloved Christmas staple was seen by 75,000 people on the Colosseum stage in London last year alone). This is a strong statement of intent, affirming ENB’s commitment to the classics and acknowledging that a ballet conceived in 1892 can speak again to modern audiences. What can these viewers expect? “Once the sugar plum fairy [the fairy doesn’t appear in ENB’s current version]” says Watkin. “Oliver-nominated Arielle Smith is the co-choreographer and will bring a new theatrical flourish to the Prologue and Act One. But we’re also rethinking the role of Clara. She’s not just a cute little girl who follows everyone around.
There will also be a new William Forsythe program, including the world premiere; It is a project dear to Watkin, as he worked extensively with Forsythe throughout his career, first at Forsythe’s invitation as a principal dancer at Ballett Frankfurt and later performing several of his own dances. ballet with various companies around the world. She has also revived Akram Khan’s impressionist reworking of Giselle, which brings the 1841 original to a modern immigrant community, and will tour Mary Skeaping’s revival of the traditional 1971 production next year.
Watkin isn’t interested in discarding classics just because they might reflect outdated values or stories. “You can’t move forward without knowing where you are,” he says. “Simply getting rid of something [too] easy. Instead you look at how you can reinterpret them to represent them better. There is beauty in both versions of Giselle. You don’t have to choose.”
His core commitment is to diversity. It’s a word that threatens to sound meaningless, but although Watkin sometimes seems to have swallowed a handbook on management speak, he has worked extensively with companies modern and classical (before coming to ENB he was artistic director at Dresden, where he radically modernized ) repertoire) and body shape, he passionately believes that the former can replace the latter. “I’m not looking for a cohesive look where everyone looks the same,” she says. “I’m interested in individuals and personalities, but of course they also have to have the physicality that a dancer needs.” Her sense of inclusivity naturally extends to trans and non-binary dancers. “I haven’t met any trans or non-binary dancers yet, but if I had, we would sit down with them at ENB and discuss how we can best support them.”
But he acknowledges that some attitudes will be difficult to change. For example, the influence of New York City Ballet choreographer George Balanchine, who preferred his female ballet dancers to be leggy, skinny, and preferably hungry, is deeply embedded in the ballet psyche. “Many people in the culture grew up with a certain physical ideal. Those with more traditional ideas cling to the idea that certain characters should be small, innocent-looking blondes. But not every Giselle has to be fragile and petite. “It’s not just the little women who are heartbroken.”
Likewise, he is optimistic about the classical ballet company, which has traditionally promoted a uniform body aesthetic. “This is a state of being creative. If I were doing a classical production of Swan Lake, I would have the youngest girls be at the front and move up the row naturally. “I hope we will get to a point where there will be so much diversity on stage, that different shapes will not stand out, but rather they will all blend together.”
He was not surprised by the prevalence of eating disorders in British ballet schools, revealed in a Panorama survey last September. “When I was young, these issues were not discussed so much,” he says. “There wasn’t a lot of emphasis on the mental and physical support a dancer needs.” She points out that ENB, like ballet companies around the world, now has systems in place to allow dancers to access help. So if a dancer is surviving on a bag of chips for lunch, would she know about it? “Yes, but we have an artistic consultant at ENB who has a background in dance and psychology and works specifically with dancers to help them manage anxiety and body confidence.”
What about bullying? Have you encountered this? “Historically, companies were managed from top to bottom. My teachers would tell me ‘this is the way it is, shut up and do what you have to do’. But you can’t explain that to a young dancer anymore because they’ll say, ‘I don’t have to do this.’ You have to bring today’s dancers together to collaborate. In my time, art directors didn’t need to think outside the box. “Now you need to keep up with the world and develop with the generations.”
Of course, it is very important to ensure that new generations believe that ballet is a priority for them. We look at ENB’s sparkling new office spaces, assertively located in Stratford, a relatively deprived area of east London rarely frequented by the cultural community. “I am committed to growing our presence here,” Watkin says. “Those who think ballet is elitist and boring will not come to us at the Colosseum. That’s why we have to go to them.”
Watkin took up ballet almost by accident, after attending tap dancing lessons on Vancouver Island with her sister when she was 12 years old. A teacher recognized her potential and she soon began studying at the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto, coming home only once a year. parents could not afford travel expenses. “I was terribly homesick, but I am forever grateful to my mother for insisting I pursue it. “Otherwise I probably wouldn’t be here today.”
For more information about English National Ballet’s new season, visit: ballet.org.uk