István
is dancing on the stage of the Semperoper Dresden. He is performing
„Tristan and Isolde“, choreographed by David Dawson. He is only
performing two hours for the audience, but he has a long story to
tell. It is the story of a young Hungarian boy from Transylvania, who
came kind of tragically to Ballet. „As a kid I had a big
temperament. I wanted to do all kind of things. Then i started karate
and just before my first exam in karate we had a medical examination
where they found out that I had severe heart rhythm problems“,
István describes his situation. His will to move didn't stop after
this incident and after a long healing process and three EKG's per
week his doctor suggested a solution: start to dance. „You can't
really forbid a kid to run around“.
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| István Simon, Tristan+Isolde by David Dawson - Photo by Ian Whalen |
In
the next years István attended local Ballet School in
Marosvásárhely/Tirgu Mures, two times a week. It wasn't typical for
a boy to dance. „We helped the girls with their performances. What
I really enjoyed there was the free time to practice my own abilities
like Saltos and back-flips“, István says. During those years
István had one really lucky day. A talent-scout from Budapest Dance
Art Academy came by and saw his dancing-abilities. „I had to come
to Budapest to the professional school. I really wanted to go,
because I thought it would be be fantastic“, István explains. He
convinced his parents of his dream and with their support he moved to
Budapest to become a professional Dancer.
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| István Simon and Vincent Lubbe at the Semperoper - Photo by Schirin Stephan |
As
I saw István and Anna Merkulova performing one of the four pas de
deux in Tristan+Isolde, I acknowledged a man with a fascination for
his profession and a strong will. „It was one of the best
professional experiences of my life. I love David Dawson’s
choreographies and Tristan+Isolde is particularly one of my
favorites“, István says after his performance in June. To become a
ballet dancer like István you have to go through different kind of
challenges. „You have to love what you do. You need to have a body
which allows you to move in a certain interval, to have the capacity
to lifting your legs. Anatomy which allows great turn out in the hip
joint (this is called “en dehors” in the terminology of ballet) is
an advantage. A “dancer noble” a ballet dancer who is dancing the
principal male roles of the performances needs to have harmonic body
proportions, long lines and strength in the mean time. During the
ballet school you learn the traditional technique of classical ballet
and you get the strength, coordination and dynamics. You have to
reach a certain flexibility and it is very important to take care of
your health and not last you have to learn and constantly develop
how to perform and what to communicate to the audience with your
dance“, István says. He is training 6 days of a week,
sometimes even Sundays. This needs a lot of discipline. Not only the
fitness of the body is a challenge, but also the professional
competition. István describes the ballet school as „grewing up in
a competitive environment, but if you are lucky you learn throughout
the years that the real challenge is to become the best version of
yourself and not compete with others“. He is also very glad to work
at the Semperoper in Dresden: „This company is very exceptional,
dancers are generous and fair with each other. It is a very
supportive environment and gives space for art and humanistic values
which is a rare condition in the dance world today.
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| Anna Merkulova&István Simon, Tristan+Isolde by David Dawson - Photo by Ian Whalen |
Beside
all the challenges there is nothing more special for István to
perform roles and different characters on stage. As i get to know
István on stage as Tristan he was marvelous. You really can see that
he transformed into his role for the moment:“I like how it is
possible to build up a character from the beginning to the end. If I
have to necessarily choose a part I would say my favorite part is
the last pas de deux in Tristan+Isolde. I think that it builds up to
a high and unique level of emotion. Before that point has so much
happened in the piece, what you have lived trough as the character.
All that is there with you and defines you. Nothing is forced, the
emotions just come to you. That is what I enjoy the most actually to
create characters and function within the moment. It is of course not
easy to take such emotional risk. It is a finer sophisticated work to
accomplish. This is the most interesting part. “ Not every
dancer is living the acting during the dance like István.
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When István has to think about the next few years, he is optimistic: „I faced the fear of not dancing in the very beginning as I was injured in my first year. I had to make a very strong and clear choice and go deep down into myself and realized that this is what I want to do and I want to do it with passion. And then when i understood this, it was never a question again. I want to do this and no matter what will happen I will find a way to continue to do it“ The next step after performing could be directing on his own at a big company. I will continue following István Simons carrier as he is one exceptional Primoballerino.
Text: Vincent Lubbe
Photos: Ian Whalen (1), (3) and Schirin Stephan (2), (4)
Professional dancers need to have a very strong character in order to succeed in this competitive world. I myself am a competitive Irish dancer and the world of fierce competition damages many young dancers and makes them lose their love for the dance. I'm thus really happy to hear that the company in Dresden is so generous. Oftentimes, dancers within the same company only see each other as competitors because everyone wants the solo parts...
AntwortenLöschenThanks for this lovely portrait!
Karin