When he was a kid, Saul Newport would dance all around the house in his New Zealand home. “My family used to get sick of me especially for dancing in the kitchen when mom was trying to cook.”
Born in London, Newport eventually made his way to Houston and now is a member of the Corps. He’s about to dance in the mixed rep program In the Night that offers the choreography of Lila York for Celts, Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch for Maninyas and Jerome Robbins for In the Night..
“I will be dancing the purple man in Maninyas and I will also be dancing the red man in Celts,” he says, explaining that the first is a ballet of five couples. “[It] explores themes of a relationship and paring back our layers and opening up to human connection.” The second, he says, has “kind of an Irish folk dance theme and the red man is more of a gritty Celtic warrior feeling.”
Each dance is about 30 minutes long. The Robbins piece In the Night is danced to the music of Chopin’s nocturnes. It premiered in 1970 with New York City Ballet.
Maninyas is set to Ross Edwards’ “Maninyas Concerto for Violin and Orchestra,” while Celts is set to music by The Chieftains, Mason Daring, William J. Ruyle, Bill Whelan, and Celtic Thunder. Newport, as he puts it, weaves in and out of these two pieces.
“What I’ve loved exploring with these works is the balance of vulnerability and tenderness with the grit and power that comes with the physicality of the movement. Both pieces are so physical and so expressive, especially Maninyas has also themes of tenderness linking it back to the themes of relationships and dancing with a partner,” Newport says. “That’s one of the magical parts I love about performing is when you’re out there with a partner and you’re being vulnerable to the audience it ignites a certain magic on stage that hopefully translates to the audience.”
The dancers in the mixed rep have been rehearsing six hours a day since January and also are practicing for Sleeping Beauty that opens the following weekend, he says. Asked to name his biggest challenge in the mixed rep program, Newport says: “The movement is so expansive and physical but there’s also a huge amount of precision involved. The idea is not to get too carried away with the physicality that you lose the precision. Irish folk dancing has a lot of fast footwork and learning that new style has been a huge challenge that I’ve really enjoyed.”
Newport comes from an artistic family, he says, but he’s the first dancer. “It’s always been a part of me and who I am and wanted to do”.
He was born in London and raised in New Zealand where he studied multiple styles of dance starting at age 6. “I was at a gala in Toronto where many schools from around the world perform dance” when he was spotted by Houston Ballet’s Artistic Director Stanton Welch and invited to attend the Houston Ballet’s summer intensive program. From that point Newport has worked his way up to be in the corps.
“There’s something exciting and nerve wracking and daunting about performing and dancing on stage. I loved being able to express my self. I found that was my happy place.
“I would say to anyone who’s wanting to pursue a career in dance is to go for it with your whole heart and body and to listen to your teachers and train really hard. And to not compare yourself to anybody else. And to find what makes you special as a dancer and artist. And to really know what that is and to hone that and trust that is something worth seeing.
“I think what’s so special about the mixed rep programs is the ability to tell three diff stories throughout the evening. All three of the ballets we’re performing In the Night mixed rep are all so unique and so different and they tell such beautiful and different stories. I think a mixed rep program allows for you to walk away really seeing three beautiful. different stories.
“They do a beautiful job of blending classical ballet with modern styles — [a mixture of] new and cutting edge choreography with the same classical form that you would See in Sleeping Beauty but maybe with a modern twist.”
Performances are scheduled for February 27 through March 8 at 7:30 p.m. on February 27 and March 1,7 and 8 as well as 2 p.m. on March 2 and 9 at Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For more information, call 713-227-2787 or visit houstonballet.org. $25-$159.
