Ursula Hageli

Tuesday 31st May 2005
Friends' House, Euston Road, London N.W.1

Our speaker tonight was to have been Anthony Russell-Roberts, but due to an emergency trip abroad, he was unable to be with us. However, he very kindly requested Miss Ursula Hageli, recently appointed Ballet Mistress at the Royal Ballet, to deputise for him and she very graciously agreed to step in at short notice. Miss Hageli was welcomed by Michael Ludgate on behalf of the London Ballet Circle, and the interview was conducted by Robin Key.

Ursula Hageli and Richard Slaughter had for many years their own small company called Ballet Creations but, due to various circumstances, the partnership and company had come to an end and Ursula had contacted Monica Mason as a possible referee for future work. This led to a meeting with Monica and eventually to the offer of the post as Ballet Mistress to succeed Gail Taphouse, now the mother of twins. After the usual interview procedure, the job was offered to Ursula who was delighted to be back with the Royal Ballet, as she had been trained at White Lodge and she would be re-united with many old school friends in London.

Ursula explained what the work as Ballet Mistress entails. It is almost like being a mother figure to the girls in the corps de ballet, giving pastoral and psychological care as much as technical advice. Some of the girls in the corps have come in straight from school and need help in coping with life as a professional dancer in a big company. Ursula described one day in her life as Ballet Mistress and said no day is typical. It may include organising cast changes, dealing with absence through illness, fitting in a rehearsal for last minute replacements, and ensuring that all the girls know what they should be doing at that particular time, among many other things. The corps de ballet have an extremely heavy workload, and it is part of Ursula's job to watch them in performance and see their reactions as individuals. They are all different personalities, and can be helped in different ways to deal with stress or possible physical strain. Ursula has been in the corps de ballet herself and knows what they go through and how it can affect them. Tact and diplomacy are also needed. She praised the wonderful facilities at the Royal Opera House, which is a dancer's dream, and how advantageous it is to have all the medical and other departments under one roof.

When working with the corps on "Ondine", she paid particular attention to noiseless shoes on the beautiful newly sprung stage. Ursula went to the length of acquiring concrete slabs for the girls' dressing rooms so they could soften their shoes, resulting in silent Ondines, and silent Swans will follow. Ursula does not teach class but consults the teachers on what needs attention; for example, she is particularly concerned with working the whole foot, uniform port de bras in the pure English style, or perhaps a particular step needs attention. She then described her work with the revival of "Les Biches", which included research in the archives.

Ursula told us about her own career, which began in Switzerland. She had spent much time with Svetlana Beriosova, whose father ran the Zurich Ballet, and he had sent 11 year old Ursula to White Lodge. She worked happily at White Lodge but realised that she would never get into the Royal Ballet because at that time it was only open to British and Commonwealth dancers, and Ursula was Swiss. However, Ursula was accepted by Stuttgart Ballet, then directed by John Cranko, and went with them on a coast to coast tour of the USA. Following the tragic death of Cranko, Ursula accepted a contract with Northern Ballet and enjoyed working with them very much on a varied repertoire, including works specially created for her. Later she joined London City Ballet, where she was lucky enough to be partnered by her hero, Donald MacLeary. She paid tribute to his wonderful partnering and his coaching today at the Royal Ballet.

Regarding the Royal Ballet School, now that it is adjacent to the Opera House the students are becoming more involved with the company. Ursula will work with the girls there, some of whom she remembers as small children she had already met in Ballet Creations and Youth Ballet productions. Ursula then described her educational work with Richard Slaughter, involving visits to schools and hospitals and bringing knowledge of ballet to a new (and future) audience. She went on to speak of the wide range of nationalities in the Royal Ballet and how dedicated they are to their careers working together in a happy atmosphere.

Ursula talked about the demands of Ashton's choreography on foreign dancers, many of whom are not trained in the use of such expressive épaulement and flexible back. Ashton was influenced by Pavlova, and Ursula talked about her research on Pavlova, which led to the Ballet Creations programme on this great ballerina, and how this helped her understand Ashton's choreography and enabled her to help the dancers with the characteristics of his particular style. Today's dancers have to cope with so many different styles of choreography ranging from Christopher Bruce's latest ballet to Petipa and Ursula praised their talent in meeting these demands. Ursula also spoke about Vanessa Palmer, her Assistant, and how helpful she was when Ursula started in her new position. She looks forward very much to working on the revival of "The Sleeping Beauty" for the Royal Ballet's 75th anniversary in 2006.

Ursula was thanked by all present for coming to speak to us at such short notice, and giving us such a great insight into the work of the Ballet Mistress. She was then presented with a gift from the LBC members, to great applause.