Artist Spotlight
 | | | Tina LeBlanc & Stephen Legate In Lubovitch's " |
2/9/2006
Stephen Legate was introduced to ballet at an early age and after training at the National Ballet School in Canada, he joined San Francisco Ballet as a soloist in 1991; he was promoted to principal dancer the following year.
In a career that has spanned nearly two decades, Legate has seen the Company's growth under Helgi Tomasson's direction. In January, Legate announced that he would retire at the end of the 2006. In the following Q & A, Legate reflects on what influenced him to seek a career in dance.
What led you to ballet growing up?
My mother was a non-professional dancer and she had her own school in the Southern California desert where we lived. Naturally, when I was four years old I started dancing, but at first I did tap and jazz. Tap was more accessible for boys. It wasn’t until we moved closer to Los Angeles, when I was about eight, that I saw ballet for the first time. I saw guys doing all of these amazing moves and I thought it looked like something I’d like to try. My mother enrolled me in ballet school, and even when I wanted to quit, she made me stick with it.
It wasn’t until I was 14, and had been in school at National Ballet School (in Canada) for several years that I realized I wanted to be a professional dancer. I had never seen a professional dance company before, so I didn’t even connect it to a career. Then I began to see that it was this cool thing that you could do for a living, and I realized that I was good enough that I might have a chance at it.
What motivated you to retire at this point in your career?
I’ve always thought that for male dancers the limit is somewhere between 35 and 40. I just turned 38, and I’m right smack in the middle of that window. Certainly there are physical issues that are becoming greater and greater. But really I was trying to decide between last year, this year, or perhaps next year. I was sort of waffling around knowing it would be somewhere in this range, and a conversation I had with Helgi led me to my decision that the time would be now.
What are some of the most memorable roles you’ve had here at San Francisco Ballet?
I enjoyed dancing Swan Lake, both with [former Principal Dancer] Evelyn [Cisneros-Legate] and [former Principal Dancer] Joanna Berman. La Fille mal gardeé and Don Quixote pas de deux with [former Principal Dancer] Elizabeth Loscavio. Actually, there were a number of roles I danced with Elizabeth that were great. Performing The Dance House with Joanna really stands out in my memory.
There were some fun roles with [former Principal Dancer] Lucia [Lacarra], like Bugaku. There were also some one-off pieces that I enjoyed like Redha’s La Pavane Rouge, Alexi Ratmansky’s Carnaval des Animaux, and Robbins’ The Concert that were very different for me. Quite a different experience than being the prince, and I really enjoyed being as well-rounded as possible and dancing the greatest variety of works.
You mentioned The Dance House in particular. Tell me what made that performance so great?
It’s an outstanding ballet, for one, and beyond that it is memorable just for selfish reasons. Joanna and I had two performances, and one of those came on opening night. It was one of those rare moments where everything felt like it went perfectly; that it could not have been better. I remember coming off stage and [former Principal Dancer] Julia Adam was in the wings and she came up to us—she also did that role—and she said, “Oh my god, you guys! That was perfect!” It is so rare in our careers that we have that feeling—something could always have been done better—so it was incredible to come off stage and think “everything went just as it should have. I couldn’t have dreamed it would be better.” It’s a thing that the audience doesn’t necessarily see, but it is just something you feel inside.
After you retire you're planning to attend chiropractic school. How did that come about?
Basically my interest sprang from my friendship with Dr. Leonard Stein, the company chiropractor. For one thing, I would not have been able to dance this long without chiropractic care every week, at least once a week. That and massage therapy are the most effective methods, outside of a catastrophic injury, for maintaining athletes in their peak condition. I strongly believe in its effectiveness since it has worked for me personally.
In addition, just having a great relationship with Dr. Stein and his offer to mentor me and show me the ropes, has been a great encouragement. It’s a very generous offer that has given me an interesting path to take. It certainly would make sense to apply my experience in the dance world to working with dancers, but I have other athletic hobbies—biking, golfing—that have a strong need for that kind of health care, as well. It’s a great way for me to do something effective that I’m interested in with a connection to my passions, hobbies, and my former profession.
What choreographers have you particularly enjoyed working with?
Lar Lubovitch, because I love his work. Working with him is incredibly, brutally challenging, but I’ve sort of clicked with his work and have enjoyed the experience. Mark Morris as well. He’s sort of the opposite of Lar—the process with Lar is really hard, but I love performing the works and the movements. With Mark the process of creating is really fun, and once we get to the performing stage, from a dancer’s perspective it’s not the most fun part… but a 100 plus performances of Sandpaper Ballet will do that to you! (laughs)
How do you think that the art form has changed over the course of you career?
In general the standard has risen. As with most athletic endeavors, the envelope continues to be pushed farther and farther. The depth of talent at a high standard has changed, and over the years it has continued to grow.
How has the Company changed?
The aesthetic and technical standard has gone up and up. Personally, I’m very happy to have been part of the rise to the pinnacle during the Helgi Tomasson era. I think I got on the train as it was already ascending back in 1991. People like Evelyn, Joanna, [former Principal Dancer] Tony [Randazzo], and so on, were already laying the groundwork by doing many of the new works that Helgi was bringing in, and that was creating excitement. The momentum just kept building. We went to New York for the first time in ten or fifteen years, and then we started to break out internationally. That was really the beginning of it all, and I was fortunate to be able to ride that era with the Company.
What are you looking forward to once you retire from ballet?
I’m looking forward to less painful mornings! I’m also looking forward to more consistent time with my family. I’ll be glad for the ability to do hobbies that I’ve always had to curtail because of work, whether that’s golf or bike riding. I’ve always had to keep those activities to a minimum and now I can throw myself into it. I reserve the right to dance anything that comes up that seems like it would be fun or appropriate. Somebody told me once that a dancer never stops being a dancer—just because you retire from a certain level doesn’t mean you’re not a dancer anymore, and you still have that skill. What you dance obviously matters, so if a fun project comes along I reserve the right to be able to do that.