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For choreographer Gemma Bond, returning to Sarasota no longer requires starting from scratch. Fresh off the success of her first full-length ballet with Uruguay National Ballet, Bond presents the world premiere of her fourth commissioned work with The Sarasota Ballet in Program Four: Notes Unspoken. Her return is now shaped by the product of time, familiarity, and trust, all built upon years of collaboration with the Company and its dancers. At the center of The Waiting Room, that trust manifests in one creative relationship, with a dancer Bond relies on to hold the stage.
That dancer is longtime Character Principal, Ricki Bertoni. Bond was 11 years old when they first met as students in The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge. Parting ways to pursue their individual careers, their reunion came years later when Bond first arrived to begin her first commissioned work for the Company.
There’s a different level of communication when you share such a similar background and training as Ricki and I do,” reflects Bond. “His ability to control his emotions and be such an extrovert on stage is no small feat. There’s a certain charisma to being essentially, an actor to music, and Ricki has exactly that.” Bertoni has appeared in all of Bond’s Sarasota works to one extent or another, with The Waiting Room being no exception. Her latest work draws part of its inspiration from his affinity for “being comfortable with being uncomfortable,” as he puts it.
For Bertoni, works like this allow him to tap into the intersection of dance and theater. “The most important part for me is making someone feel something,” Bertoni shares. “I never know how an audience will react to a work, but as long as I invite them into the moment and hold their attention, then I’ve done what I set out to do.”
As Program Four: Notes Unspoken opens, The Waiting Room sees an artistic partnership that even in this moment, continues to grow as the two bounce ideas off of one another to further the work — a work propelled by a dancer who knows how to hold the stage, and a choreographer who knows when to let him.
Audiences can witness this collaboration take the stage January 30 through February 2 at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets start at $35 and are available at The Sarasota Ballet's Official Website.