This August ushered in a flurry of charismatic Cupids from our latest Variation Workshop. The dancers spent a few weeks emulating the mischievous and quick footed Cupid from Don Quixote, and performed beautifully for their friends and family.
This iconic solo takes place in Act ll of the Ballet where Kitri and Basilio have helped Don Quixote fall into a restful sleep, and he dreams he is a knight in the Dryads Kingdom. He is greeted by the Queen, Cupid and Kitri who represents Dulcinea, and they perform a variety of dances before the dream slowly fades away.
Originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, Don Quixote’s Cupid overflows with humour and romance. It features playful poses and lighter-than-air footwork, all set to incredibly fast, lilting music by Ludwig Minkus. Funnily enough this petit allegro variation doesn’t actually have that many petit allegro steps, but certainly demands a sprightly performance, precision and musicality from the dancer. From the flirty facial expressions to the costuming, everything about this variation says, “hello, I’m cute!”
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Our dancers took on this challenging solo with enthusiasm, and put on a beautiful and feisty performance for their loved ones. Thank you for sharing your passion for ballet with us and for being each other’s biggest supporters. Bravo!
‘There’s something so magical about adult ballet. No competition, no egos, just pure love for dance and excitement as we celebrate each other’s victories, no matter what they look like! These 4 weeks have brought me much joy, and reaffirms one of my life mantras: if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing no matter how badly you do it!’
– Eunice
‘My first BalletBody variation workshop experience: the Cupid variation, from Don Quixote! I loved learning a variation again. It reminded me of days when we’d do the same steps over and over, trying new interpretations and seeing what stuck, finding new ways to relate to the music and character.
There’s also something special about bringing that joy to friends and family: it was my dad’s first time in the studio today! He took this video! He kept humming the music after! What I loved as much, if not more, was the incredibly supportive community of fellow ballet lovers. We were all there for ourselves- because we love ballet. There’s no better motivation. A special thank you to Alison for bringing us together and cheering us on through the ups, downs, wonky turns, funky timing…’
– Grace
Previous