Dance for You Magazine Issue 76 (2017)

8 DANCEforYOU magazine
Marcin Kupinski in ´La Sylphide´© Costin Radu
How was the first impact with Copenhagen?
It is an amazing city, but at the beginning it was not easy
at all to get used to it. A new language, new people…
the Danish mentality looked so different to me. I guess
having my brother with me helped a lot.
Did you feel alone when he left?
Not that much. At that time I had already adapted myself…
It was healthy, in a way, Dawid to leave: he has a
very strong personality and I felt more free to express
myself, when I found myself alone. I had to learn to show
who I was better, probably, and so to mature. A part of
myself missed him, however, and still does. It makes me
so happy when we both come back to Poland for holidays!
I always try to stay there as long as possible. I consider
Copenhagen my home, today, in any case… though
I still cannot speak Danish very well! At the Royal Danish
Ballet nearly everyone speaks English. But I can tell you I
can understand Danish language quite well today!
The preservation of the Bournonville
repertoire, at Royal Danish Ballet, has
always been a high-stakes issue. What is
your approach to it? Was it new to you, when
you arrived to Copenhagen?
I had heard about it, but I didn’t know that much about it
in practical terms. It was hard to find my way to move and
to give the audience something through Bournonville.
Those low arms… it was nice to learn how to use my upper
body in a different way, but, you know, with Bournonville
there is so much less arm work and much more leg
work! I had to become stronger to dance some leading
roles the way I wanted to do. I had to learn how to jump
as if I was flying. And to make it look easy, fun, effortless.
Which has been the biggest challenge for you
so far?
To deal with the Danish mentality and attitude at the
outset. Teachers have always been very direct and straightforward
here – they don't embellish nor pretend. As
far as the roles are concerned, James in “La Sylphide” is
probably the role that has tested me the most but that
has made me most happy. It is filled up with emotions
– James’ dilemma is so real, in some way. He is torn between
two worlds… between his affection for a peasant
girl and the dream of something bigger and better. He
makes his choice and he ends up disappointed, very sad.
But it has always been fun to portray such a character.
How much do you vary the details of a role
from one performance to another?
Every show is different and I like when details change. It
remembers us that we are human. I also like to improvise,
when a performance allows me to do so… I had some beautiful
experiences of modern creations in which we could
mix dance and interaction with the audience – it was great
to see how different people’s reactions could be! Then, as
an example, I had so much fun dancing the White Rabbit
is Christopher Wheeldon’s “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”
last month! So many details to remember in a role
that combines dancing and acting. You should never forget
that if you believe in what you are doing, your audience
will believe in it even more.
What relationship do you have with your
image, as a Principal dancer?
In my day-to-day life I can be shy, sometimes. But being exposed
to audience or to media is nothing of a problem in any
manner. After all, there is some narcissism in all of us dancers!
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