Robin Gilbert Campos performs with Carlos Fittante in Bali.
Even under the best conditions, dancing on pointe isn’t exactly a cake walk.
Now imagine how much harder it would be to glide across cement or worse–gritty, marble tiles? (Gasp!) Impossible, you say? Well, ballerina Robin Gilbert Campos of BALAM Dance Theatre begs to differ. In fact, this highly adaptable dancer is performing this month in Bali on some of the most challenging dance surfaces–from mud and moss to unsecured carpet! (Shudder)
Robin recently sat down with BALAM’s artistic director, Carlos Fittante to discuss the perils of pointe work in Bali: “Ballet and point dancing have a very specific training practice and environmental conditions, including being able to take ballet class and rehearse on a good floor on a regular basis. There is not an opportunity for any of that here in Bali. In this tour, we have had to rehearse on an outdoor cement courtyard, often wet with rain, mud and moss, while wearing our walking shoes. The temple stages we perform on are also cement with a thin carpet pieced together without being secured by tape, and sometimes the temple stage floors are bare marble tiles covered with grit. I have my point shoes rubberized as a precaution.” ~ Quote Robin Gilbert Campos
(I don’t know about you, but I definitely wouldn’t want to attempt such a feat!) To read the rest of Robin’s amazing interview, click here.
