Meet Arlecchino

As I mentioned last time, the morning after we came home from Belgium, I had to hightail it to Switzerland. I had an interview with the choregrapher Berhard Gertsch for his commedia dell'arte/funny dance show in November. He was desperate to find a professional baroque dancer who could also play Harlequin.

This whole situation rather clearly explains the mix of preparation, waiting, and crazy luck that goes into getting a dance job. Last February, I sent an email with my CV to all of the European baroque choreographers I could find. I heard back from quite a few, but no immediate job offers or auditions. Then, in May, I went to the Rothenfels baroque dance conference and handed out DVD samples of my dancing to the choreogrpahers I thought most likely to be able to give me a job. (There is a lot of baroque dancing in Europe, but most of it seems to be unpaid amateurs dancing in castles) The Monday before last, I get an email from Berhard (who was not at Rothenfels) asking if I could play Harlequin in his show. A choreographer who was at Rothenfels suggested me for the job after watching my DVD.

I told Berhard that I would happily dance in his show, but then I got an email back that he was still looking at other people because he really wanted a man to play Harlequin. I then wrote back emphasising my modern dance experience which would make me a superior Harlequin. Then he said he had to meet me. Hence the loooong trip to Switzerland and back in one day (11 hours total on the train).

Sound crazy? Were you actually able to read all of that?

I am incredibly excited to do this show-- not only do I get to play Harlequin, I also will be a young farmer, a gypsy, a ghost, a statue, and a baccante!


This is a page from the book, "The New and Curious School of Theatrical Dancing" by Gregorio Lambranzi. All of the dances in this show will be reconstructions of the crazy and silly dances in this book. Since the indivisual talents of the performers are so important in making a comic dance, the book only has engravings that show different senarios with suggestions on how they could be performed and what sort of steps to do. The rest is left up to the choreographer and performers!