Chris: Now don’t give (Joseph) more space than me in the paper, I’m the real guest, he lives here. Anyway, I was really surprised when they asked me to do it. They weren’t positive it was going to happen yet, but Jacques pulled me aside (last January) and was like, “I don’t know where you’ll be next year, but whenever you sign with a company, make sure you get this time off.” I was really flattered because when they invite guests, it’s usually from, like, American Ballet Theater.\nJoseph: In January, Jacques called me and he asked me if I would come back and do the Prince and I thought he was joking.\nC: I did too.\nJ: I was like, they have boys (at IU), so I wasn’t taking it seriously, but in February he kept calling me. So anyway, he said “We want you here but we need a couple months,” so I said, “If you need me for two months, why don’t I just come up there and do an arts administration degree?” This was a long debate process to work out a situation that would work. But, (Associate Dean) Eugene O’Brien OKed the situation, I started a master’s (degree) in arts administration and ended up doing the fall ballet and the “Nutcracker” as well. I got more than I bargained for, but it was nice.
IDS: So how did you both first get involved with ballet?
C: I grew up in Long Island, N.Y. and my mother was my first dance teacher. I started taking lessons when I was 4 years old, mainly as a form of baby-sitting, then started taking lessons in New York at 14. It was actually at Steps with Michael Vernon. Then, collegewise, everything was OK auditioning but I really liked the program at IU, because it focused on ballet, instead of also requiring things like jazz or tap.\nJ: Well, my parents don’t know anything about ballet. They thought I was doing ballet to help with soccer. Eventually I went to Boston Ballet School, then boarding school in Boca Raton, then spent a year at Boston Ballet. I found IU because someone from the program had come as a guest artist at my school in Boca Raton and told me how great the program was.\nIDS: And what have you two been doing since graduation?
C: I’ve been in Richmond, Virginia. I love the ballet company, but I don’t like the city. Anyway, we just did “Don Quixote” and “Allegro Brilliante” and I’m going to be doing “Carmina Burana,” which we’re taking to New York. It’s been a good first year, they put me in a lot of stuff.\nJ: I was working in Charleston last year.\nC: As a streetwalker.\nJ: Right.\nC: He was a pirate in “Peter Pan”.\nJ: I was. Charleston was definitely a learning experience. But now I’m here doing a master’s in arts administration, and I like that.
IDS: Part of the fun of this production is that Chris’s character, the Jester, is not actually in the story. How did the part come about?
C: Well, the whole time we’ve been here, Joseph’s always been the prince and I’ve been the asshole standing behind him. Of course, this time I’m getting paid to be that asshole. But yeah, (the Jester) doesn’t exist in the story. In the story, the Prince is supposed to have four friends and Jacques heard the music and it’s not what he envisioned. He thought of a jester, so he made the Jester’s variation (for the ball scene) and he just started making up more and more throughout the ball. Then in Act 2, he couldn’t figure out why the character disappeared, so he kept making more material for me. He didn’t expect to be such a large part. It’s funny, my original review said that I stole the show. Another time we were walking down the street and this guy’s like “Oh, you were in the show, I liked you so much better than the prince!”
IDS: And how does the prince feel about his jester stealing the show?
J: He can have it.
IDS: How do you feel about the ballet the second time around?
J: I have a wonderful Cinderella (Catherine Wolfson), who I did Sugar Plum (Fairy) with in December. It’s always nice to have a good partner. She’s made it really fun. For me, it really is a lot about the partner, we relate well with each other. It’s also interesting to be doing the same part but to have different people around us.\nC: (The choreography) came right back to me, watching the video. It’s nice to see what I can do better. And I’ve had private rehearsals (with freshman Ben Delony) and got to teach him the Jester, which he will dance in the matinee). I can be like, “This is what I used to do but you can do what you want.” I love this part, I love this ballet.
