Interview with Kfir Danieli

CC: Can you tell me your name?

KF: My name is Kfir Danieli and I'm from Israel, Haifa.

CC: What is your profession?

KD: I'm a professional ballet dancer with the Alabama ballet.

CC: How long have you been dancing?

KD: I started dancing-- Actually, I really started dancing when I was 11. I went to movement classes when I was 6, but, um, really taking ballet classes when I was 11.

CC: And how did you end up coming to Alabama?

KD: I left Israel when I was 19 and a half. I served in the Army for 9 months and ...um...got this scholarship from the Ministry of Education in Israel as an outstanding dancer and just, you know, quit the army. And came to America just to-- I was interested in ballet so I just wanted to see what they had to offer here, but I came here as a tourist. And I spent a year in a half in New York City. I took a lot of classes with American Ballet Theatre studio company and Wes came to New York one day and offered me a job down here. I agreed-- I agreed to the offer and I think it was a good move to get a good experience and to get a green card. [laughs] And just kind of like...uh...build myself as a person in America, not as a tourist. And that's how I did the whole move and ended up here.

CC: Are there differences between ballet of the South and New York City?

KD: I knew that Wes and Roger came from American Ballet Theatre. That had a lot of impact on my decision coming here. Because...um...I've always wanted to be in that company. I couldn't be back then. Now when I look back, I can see why. And, I mean, the experience that I've got through Wes and Roger and uh...coaching just has built me up, I mean, to who I am right now. And I think it was a very good decision on my behalf to have spent the last four years here. It's just been-- It's been amazing. I've been very lucky. I've gotten a lot from them. A lot.

CC: As a member of the second cast, what are the differences between the two casts?

KD: Like Jennifer said before they're more experienced than we are...um...But I don't necessarily-- I don't want to dance like they do. I know that. I want to dance like I want to dance. And looking at them and seeing them rehearsing helps me to understand myself or to make a better understanding of myself. The way I should, you know, handle Jennifer while we're dancing together...um...me being the lead man in this ballet. Uh...It just--It just keeps me more creative for myself which means I look up to them and I--I look up to them but I look up to them in order to fix my problems. So, they're a role model for me as well as...um...great coaching...dancers and-- I'm just inspired by different people. And Tatiana sometimes inspires me a lot and Roger does too. I really--I really like watching Roger because he has so much experience as far as partnering with women...principal--I mean, dancers. And the way he works and handles his
partners, it's just-- I mean, for me, for my eyes, it's just helpful. It helps me-- It gives me a lot of confidence and ideas on how to deal with Jennifer when we get into rough spots. I look up to them. I learn. I learn and try to base it on myself.

CC: Is this your first time dancing in Romeo and Juliet?

KD: Yes. Me and Jennifer did balcony pas de deux out of context many times
but...um...right now it's the first full length that we're doing together. So...

CC: What is the most challenging aspect of Romeo and Juliet?

KD: Um... First of all the thing that really scares me about every show is the stamina. I'm scared of-- I go out there and I'm scared about being tired. That's the big demon thing for me. But as soon as I go on stage and if I can relax and, you know, if I let myself relax, I just go through the show. Because the adrenaline is rushing and everything is, you know, working for you and the audience is there and great excitement. I kind of forgot the question. [laughs]

CC: The challenging--

KD: The challenging. The challenging is the stamina and I just want it to feel natural for me and Jennifer because-- To do ballet like this or Swan Lake, it's about the team. It's about me and her. It's not about me or only her. And...uh... the most important thing for me, I guess, is to feel one with her. I want to feel like we're one body, we're one soul. We come together on stage and our energies are not clashing against each other. We're kind of emerging together. And... And sometimes during rehearsals we can feel that. It comes and goes and comes and goes. But the big challenge is to capture that, that unique feeling of one and bring it out that on the stage. I think that's the most challenging thing for me.

CC: What scenes do you find particularly challenging?

KD: Um... maybe balcony pas de deux. I mean that's the hardest part because the whole first act is dancing [and] dancing constantly and then the grand finale for the first act is the balcony pas de deux, which I think is the hardest in the whole ballet. Um... So I think the balcony pas de deux and... And I'm not dreading it, I'll be fine.

CC: Do you have a favorite scene?

KD: Um... I'm very-- Me-- I'm very hot tempered person and I think Jennifer-- She's like that, too. We mesh like that. We have the same hot blood kind of a thing. Um... I love it all I guess. I like the mad scene that I get upset in Act Three. I think my special favorite scene is going to be the tomb. Because it is a very emotional scene and I think I'm a very emotional person. Just seeing her laying down there pretending --I mean, I'm acting but still it's going-- It's going to be real for me, that moment that'll I'll never be able to be back together again with her the way I wanted to. And I think from life experience and from ballet experience, that's going to hurt me the most. And...And I think that's the scene, the tomb scene, that's going to be really close to my heart. So...

CC: I've heard that about the tomb scene.

KD: Yeah...

CC: That's quite a dichotomy serving in the military and ballet dancing.
It's seems like different ends of the spectrum.

KD: It's very different in Israel. Lifestyle is very different. People's approach to life is very different. My background is totally different that's why I think I'm very strict and have a hot temper a lot of the time. And a lot of people...um...that I'm surrounded by sometimes don't understand how come I've got the nerve to talk the way I do or talk back. Because I-- I always say what's on my mind not because I'm mean or want to belittle someone or just be obnoxious. It's just things that I think about I like to say straight ahead. And me and Jennifer, actually in rehearsal, we get into
a quite-- Sometimes we have a little bit of an argument and you know... But I guess it's part of partnership and I see our dancing as partners, as friends, as dancers, it's just natural for that to come out, fighting and loving each other. We're never going to be perfect. We're just going to be what we are. So...

CC: What have you thought about living in the south? How is it different--

KD: From New York? [laughs] It is very different. I've learned to appreciate it as time went by. I learned to appreciate it. I appreciate life more here. In New York, everything is so fast and moving fast and everybody knows what it's like. But here in the south...um...just people are different. They're more open and warm. The weather is great. It's just-- It's just-- You appreciate life more. You can relax sometimes and breathe. You can just say, "It's a beautiful day. I'm going to go for a walk or just see the outside."