Spoznajte balerino Emilie Tassinari, ki prihaja iz Italije in je predana baletni umetnosti od rane mladosti!
Draga Emilie, pozdravljena na mojem portalu. Zaupaj nam, kdo je glavni ‘krivec’, da si se danes znašla v vlogi profesionalne baletne plesalke?
Za to se lahko vsekakor zahvalim svoji materi. Sem edinka in mama me je želela usmeriti v kakšno obšolsko aktivnost, kjer bi se fizično udejstvovala, namesto preživela ves svoj prosti čas pred televizijo ali računalnikom. Tako sem že od rane mladosti trenirala balet in tekmovalno plavanje v domačem kraju blizu Bologne.
Nam opišeš svoje plesno oziroma baletno izobraževanje?
Leta 2009 me je na udeležbi baletne delavnice opazil direktor baletne Akademije Teatro alla Scala, g. F. Olivieri, in mi predlagal opravljanje avdicije za sprejem v njihovo izobraževalno ustanovo. To sem po udeležbi na državnem prvenstvu v plavanju v Rimu pri 15-ih letih tudi uspešno opravila in se preselila v Milano, da bi začela svoje profesionalno plesno izobraževanje. Zadnji dve leti šolanja sem kot članica baletnega ansambla dobila priložnost sodelovati v Teatro alla Scala pod umetniškim vodstvom Makharja Vasieza. Diplomirala sem junija 2014 in se pridružila Nizozemskemu nacionalnemu baletu v Amsterdamu, kjer sem ostala tri sezone. Ker me je želja po popestritvi svojih delovni izkušenj gnala v nove izzive, sem se julija 2017 pridružila ameriški baletni skupini v Houstonu kot članica njihovega baletnega ansambla. Aprila 2019 pa sem se kot plesalka v baletnem solo zboru priključila ljubljanskem baletnem ansamblu v SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana.
Od kod iz Italije prihajaš? Kako te je pot zanesla v Ljubljano oz. v ljubljanski baletni ansambel?
Bologna predstavlja moje domače mesto v Italiji, vendar del moje družine živi v Marseillu v Franciji in selitev v Ljubljano ni bila moja načrtovana izbira. Med svojo drugo sezono plesanja s houstonskim baletom sem postala zelo nesrečna, saj se nekako nisem mogel vključiti v teksaški način življenja in se mu prilagoditi. Imela pa sem veliko srečo, da me je ravno v tistem času, ko sem se odločila vrniti v Evropo (približno marca/aprila 2019), kontaktirala Sanja Nešković Peršin, takratna umetniška vodja ljubljanskega baleta, ker so iskali ženske plesalke za produkcijo predstave Labodje jezero. Tako sem se naravnost iz Houstona znašla v Ljubljani, čudovitem mestu blizu moje preljube Italije, kjer mi je Petar Dorčevski, ki je prevzel umetniško vodenje po Sanji, ponudil pogodbo plesalke v solo zboru. Do danes so minila že skoraj štiri leta in še vedno se spopadam z izzivi v tem ansamblu, zdaj pod vodstvom Renata Zanelle, ki mi je ponudil precej odličnih delovnih priložnosti.
Kako bi se opisala kot tip plesalke? Si tipična klasična balerina ali kombiniraš svojo klasično tehniko z modernim izrazom?
Moje usposabljanje je v večini temeljilo na klasičnem baletu, vendar so me moje delovne izkušnje tesno približale neoklasičnemu slogu, s katerim sem našla skupni jezik, in uživam v izzivih, ki mi jih ta stil prinaša.
Kaj je najpomembneje v karieri baletne plesalke?
Predvsem zdravje – tako fizično kot duševno. Pred tremi leti sem se spopadla s hudo poškodbo stopala, dvojna stresna fraktura v drugi metatarzalni kosti. Leto in pol spopadanja s to poškodbo me je pripeljalo do razumevanja, kako pomembno je skrbeti za svoje telo, trenirati pravilno in sistematično, ter predvsem ohraniti močno stanje duha, da se lahko soočim s kakršnokoli situacijo.
Kaj se ti zdi, da je najtežji element v klasičnem baletu?
Balet je na splošno izredno tehnično zahteven, ne morem se spomniti ničesar, kar bi lahko označila kot ‘preprosto’. V bistvu so prav elementi, ki neukemu očesu delujejo preprosti, pravzaprav eni od najtežjih, saj zahtevajo izredno preciznost. Generalno pa lahko povzamem, da je pri izvajanju klasičnega baleta najtežje delovati naravno in lahkotno, medtem ko v to vlagaš izjemen fizični napor skozi korake, ki so v popolnem nasprotju z naravno postavitvijo človeškega telesa.
Uživaš v izvajanju pripovednih baletov ali se raje prepustiš koreografiji, ki temelji na samem gibanju, plesnih korakih?
Zame osebno je vse odvisno od koreografije in koreografa! Pri našem delu mi je najbolj všeč delovni proces pred predstavo, sodelovanje z baletnim mojstrom/koreografom, čas, ko se poglabljamo v podrobnosti, da bi dosegli čim boljšo raven končnega rezultata. Zato moram poudariti, da mi največ pomenita ‘briljantnost’ koreografa in kakovost plesa, ki ga ustvarja, in ne konkretna zgodovinska narativnost baleta. Menim, da bi baletni umetnik skozi svojo visoko profesionalnost moral biti sposoben prebuditi čustva v gledalcu tudi brez konkretne narativne zgodbe.
Kakšno se ti zdi življenje v Ljubljani? Ti godi ali se oziraš za kakšnim drugim mestom, ki bi ti postavilo nove življenjske izzive?
Moram priznati, da sem vzljubila življenje v Ljubljani in trenutno se počutim zelo zadovoljna. Predana sem predvsem svojemu delu in si počasi (vendar ne preveč počasi !!!) nameravam z nadaljnjim delom prislužiti mesto baletne solistke v domačem baletnem ansamblu.
Ali imaš kakšen poseben kotiček v Ljubljani, ki ti je ljub?
Kot sem že povedala, se mi zdita Ljubljana in Slovenija nasploh lepi in rada živim tukaj, a to, kar najbolj cenim, so ljudje, ki jih spoznavam.
Smo Slovenci prijazni do tebe ali ti ne nudimo takšnega občutka?
Slovenci so resnično gostoljubni ljudje, podobno kot smo Italijani, in ravno zato se tukaj počutim tako zelo domače.
Kaj pa slovenska hrana, kaj pa pogrešaš od doma?
Kar se tiče hrane tukaj, nisem prav nič izbirčna, in če sem iskrena, ji tudi ne posvečam preveč pozornosti! Ker živim blizu Italije, mi v tem pogledu nič ne manjka, sem pa hkrati popolnoma odprta za vse gastronomske predloge, dokler so v dobri družbi.
Ali si oseba, ki načrtuje, ali pustiš življenju, da gre svojo pot?
Do zdaj sem v življenju vedno vse načrtovala, vendar sem se hkrati pustila voditi usodi. Zdaj imam v mislih določene cilje, sicer ostajam fleksibilna in se prilagajam morebitnim nepredvidenim dogodkom, vendar natančno vem, kaj želim doseči.
Kaj meniš, po čem si prepoznavna?
Opredelitev same sebe ni ravno preprosta. Morda sta zame značilni popolna predanost delu in želja po opravljanju le-tega na visoki kakovostni ravni. Pri tem sem lahko zelo potrpežljiva in odločna.
Plesati balet pa je …?
Balet kot poklic je izredno težak in ni za vsakogar. Predstavlja zelo poseben svet in nikakor ne le v pozitivnih vidikih. Zelo me osrečuje, da lahko delam to, kar ljubim. Baletni plesalec kljub izjemnim fizičnim naporom ne predstavlja športnika, temveč umetnika. Balet izraža in združuje lepoto, plesno tehniko, umetnikovo dušo, s čimer se lahko plesalec prelevi v različne vloge. Vendar v baletnem svetu ni vse tako rožnato, kot je morda videti. Zahteva veliko vztrajnosti in vsakodnevne želje po napredovanju ter veliko osebne moči za premagovanje različnih ovir.
In English
Dear Emilie, welcome to my website. Tell us who is »guilty« that you become a ballet dancer?
For that I have to thanks to my mother, I’m an only child and she thought It would be great for me to do some physical activity rather than spend my time alone in front of the television or computer. So, since the young age I have trained both ballet and competitive swimming in my hometown near Bologna.
Can you describe us your dance/ballet education (I could not find anything on google).
In 2009 in a ballet workshop, I’ve been noticed by the Director of La Scala Ballet Academy Mr F. Olivieri who suggested me to audition for the School. After participating to the National Swimming Championship in Rome, at 15 years old, I pass the audition to join La Scala Ballet school and I moved to Milano to start my professional dance education. During my last two years in School, I worked as a member of the corps the ballet in the Company of Teatro ale Scala, under the direction of Makhar Vasiez. I graduated in June 2014, and I join the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. After 3 years with the Dutch National Ballet, I decided to diversify my working experience joining the American Ballet Company Houston Ballet, on July 2017, as corps de ballet member. I finally joined, the SNG Opera ballet in Ljubljana in April 2019 as demi soloist.
You are coming from Italy, from where? How and why Ljubljana happened?
My hometown in Italy Is Bologna but part of my family lives in France in Marseille. Ljubljana was not my planned choice. During my second season with Houston Ballet, I found myself very unhappy as I couldn’t integrate and adjust to the Texan lifestyle. I have been very lucky because just at the same time as I decided to go back to Europe (around March/April 2019), Sanja Nesković Peršin Artistic Director of Ljubljana ballet at the time contacted me as they were looking for female dancers for the production of Swan Lake. So directly from Houston, I found myself in Ljubljana, a beautiful city close to my beloved Italy, where Petar Dorčevski, who took over the management after Sanja, offered me a contract. Now it’s been almost four years and I’m still challenging myself in this company now under the direction of Renato Zanella who gave me great working opportunities.
How can you describe yourself as a dancer? Are you a typical classical dancer or a combination of modern and classic?
I was mainly trained as a classical dancer, but my work experiences have brought me very close to the neoclassical style which I really like to challenge myself with.
What is most important in a life carrier of a dancer?
Health – physical and mental. Three years ago, I had a bad foot injury, a double stress fracture in the second metatarsal, and living with and dealing with this injury for a year and a half I understood how important it is to take care of our body, work properly and above all have a strong mental state to face any situation.
What is the hardest move in ballet?
In ballet absolutely everything is difficult, I can’t think of anything that I consider easy since especially the things considered “easy” are actually the most difficult and require a lot of precision. In general, I think the hardest thing in dance is just to be natural and simple while performing steps that are completely against nature.
Do you like narrative works, or you prefer just choreography with a lot of movement?
From my point of view, it all depends on the choreography and the choreographer! The thing I like most about this job is the working process before the show, the collaboration with the ballet master / choreographer to go into details and reach the best possible level. I therefore have to say that, for me, it depends a lot on the “brilliance” of the choreographer and the quality of the dance rather than the narrative history of the ballet…in any case, our professional aspect of the artist should be able to arouse emotions without necessarily a specific story.
What is your life in Ljubljana like? Do you miss something, are you looking for something new what will challenge your life?
I like my life in Ljubljana very much and I am very satisfied at the moment. I am mainly dedicated to my work and slowly (but not too much!!!) I intend to earn a position as a solo dancer in our ballet ensemble.
Is there a special place in Ljubljana?
As I said Ljubljana and Slovenia in general is a beautiful place to live in but what I consider most special are people that I meet here.
Are Slovene people treat you nice, or you don’t feel that way?
Slovenians are absolutely welcoming people very similar to the Italians and for this reason I feel very much at home here.
What about Slovenian food? What do you miss from home?
As for the food here, I’m not fussy about it and to be honest I don’t pay too much attention to it either! Living so close to Italy, I lack for nothing, and I am absolutely open to all gastronomic proposals as long as the company around is good.
Are you a person who did plans or you just go with the flow?
Up to now in my life I have always had plans, but at the same time I let myself be guided by destiny. Now I have in mind the certain goals, I remain flexible in adapting to any unforeseen events, but I know exactly what I would like to achieve.
What do you think are your characteristics by which you are recognizable?
Defining yourself is not exactly easy but I certainly care a lot about my job and about doing it well and I can be very patient and determined.
To dance ballet is …?
Ballet as a profession is difficult, and not for everybody. It represents a very special world and not only from the positive aspects. I feel very lucky that I can do what I love. Despite the extraordinary physical efforts, the ballet dancer does not represent an athlete, but an artist. Ballet express beauty, technique, soul, you can play different roles…but not everything in ballet garden is rosy. It requires a lot of perseverance and desire to improve day by day and a lot of strength to overcome obstacles.
