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November 20th, 2008
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A prima ballerina dances her way into Prague hearts
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January 16th, 2008 issue

By Lucie Rozmanková

COURTESY PHOTO
Klimentova will reprise her star turn in Swan Lake in a performance with the State Opera ballet company.
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Swan Lake

When: Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 7
Where: State Opera
Tickets: 100–850 Kč, available through Bohemia Ticket and at the venue

Staff Writer
Next week’s performance of Swan Lake at the State Opera features a very special guest: Czech-born Daria Klimentova, a prima ballerina with the English National Ballet. She will perform the double leading role of Odette/Odile with her English National Ballet partner, Russian dancer Dimitri Gruzdyev.
Klimentova is not only a great dancer, but a successful photographer whose main subjects include dancing and maternity. She has won international photo competitions, and the English National Ballet made a calendar using her photos.
Local residents also know Klimentova as a teacher who runs summer ballet master classes in Prague. When she visits, she is often accompanied by her 7-year-old daughter, Sabine.
The Prague Post recently caught up with Klimentova to talk about her upcoming visit and performance. Though she spoke on the phone after a long day of rehearsals, she was fresh, energetic and good-humored.
The Prague Post: Are you looking forward to dancing in Prague?
Daria Klimentova: I go whenever I’m invited, because it is my home — I was born there. Every single day I can spend in Prague is a pleasure for me.
TPP: How long will you rehearse for your performance here? Do you have to get used to a different production?
DK: The ballet is very much the same for us; we will dance our parts [the swan/princess and the prince] in acts II and III. Act IV is completely different, but I have done this version with the [State Opera] company three times before, so it’s just about trying to remember. And I am doing Swan Lake here in London about four days before I go to Prague, so I do not need to rehearse much.  
TPP: How do the Czech and British productions differ?
DK: The dances of the corps de ballet are really quite different. But the choreography of the prince and princess is quite traditional, so that will be nearly the same.
There are a few differences in the story. In the Prague version, I start as a princess and the Rothbart turns me into a swan, and then I become a princess again. In the English version, I start as a princess but I end up as a swan. The prince and I die and go to heaven together. It is quite sad.
 
TPP: Are you shown going to heaven?
DK: I cannot be saved, so I decide to commit suicide. The prince is running after me, and we both take our lives. At the back of the stage, there is an image of us going to heaven.
TPP: Will you have a chance to do anything else while you’re in Prague, like spend time with your family?
DK: Actually, I don’t have much family there anymore. My father died, my brother died and my mum lives with us in London. But I still have some uncles and aunts and friends. Sabine is not coming this time; she has to go to school and it’s not really worth it for four days. But we are going to spend a month and a half there in the summer, which will be much better.
TPP: Does Sabine speak Czech?
DK: She speaks perfect English and Czech. My husband does not speak Czech, though; he only knows a few words.
TPP: Your husband, Ian Comer, is British. Is he coming on this trip?
DK: Yes, we’re celebrating his birthday in Prague. His birthday is on the 21st, and I’m dancing on the 22nd.
TPP: Was the performance intended as a birthday present for your husband?
DK: We weren’t planning it that way, but yes, this will be a present for him. He was not supposed to come to Prague with me originally. But then he realized that it would be nice to celebrate his birthday there.
TPP: Do you have future plans in Prague?
DK: I am dancing a gala there in April, and I’m doing Swan Lake again in May with a different dance partner, from the Royal Swedish Ballet. I think it might be interesting for the public to see different partners. Also, I was invited by Laterna Magika to do some classes with dancers. If I have time, I am definitely going to do that!
TPP: You must be very busy as both a mother and a dancer. Do you take your daughter to the theater with you very often?
DK: She sometimes goes with me. She watches ballet and loves dancing, but she does not want to take classes. She prefers to play the piano. I am really glad, because I think dancing would be hard for her. I’m a prima ballerina, but there’s only a small chance that she would make it as well. It would be quite horrible to live behind her mum all the time.
TPP: Anything else you would like to add?
DK: I love Prague!
Lucie Rozmanková can be reached at lrozmankova@praguepost.com


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