Sterling worth

SHAKE A LEG Sterling Hyltin performs Stravinsky Violin Concerto.

Photograph: Jeff Gurwin

[Editor’s note: This is an extended online interview.]

In the spring of 2002, Sterling Hyltin took my breath away, performing a solo in George Balanchine’s Ballo della Regina in preparation for the annual School of American Ballet Workshop Performances. It was a run-through in the studio, and a crowd of fellow students, clad in tights and leotards, their faces barely masking a competitive tension, watched. But this is how disarming Hyltin is: After she finished, a gasp from one dancer was followed by applause from the rest.

Hyltin, now 22, hasn’t stopped blossoming. Since she became a member of New York City Ballet in 2003, the dancer—who began her performing career as an aspiring figure skater in Dallas—has quickly ascended the ranks. After making her debut as the lead in Peter Martins’s new production of Romeo + Juliet last spring, she was promoted to principal dancer. This week, she appears in Christopher Wheeldon’s new quartet, Rococo Variations.

How did you become a ballet dancer?
I was a figure skater, so that’s how I started ballet—it was to help my figure skating. Actually, when I first started ballet, I wanted to stop. My mom is the one who made me keep going. I’m very much somebody who, if I know I’m stuck, I’ll place my focus on trying to do well and giving my all to it. I won’t just sit there like a log. I started excelling more at ballet than at figure skating, which came as a refreshing surprise. I stopped figure skating and started dancing, except I also did sports. I played a lot of tennis, soccer and track—long-distance running and the high jump.

Do you still run?
No. I couldn’t even imagine going to take a jog. [Laughs]

How serious of a figure skater were you?
I was young—ages six to nine. I did three competitions. I probably skated for about three years. I would do the whole go-to-the-rink-at-the-crack-of-dawn-sort of thing, and eventually I just faded out of it.

What was the basis of your training at Dallas Metropolitan Ballet?
It was a combination of Russian and Balanchine. So the dancers could go anywhere, and that’s why the School of American Ballet was wonderful for me. It was sort of a finishing school of clearing up what little bit of Russian training I had to join the ranks of Balanchine fully.

How did you hear about SAB?
My dance teacher called me the night before the audition for the summer course; I really didn’t know much about it. I auditioned and attended for two summers before I was asked to stay for the year when I was 15. After the first summer, I watched NYCB perform at Saratoga Springs. I had never seen NYCB, and that’s when I thought, I would really like to do that. I had my work cut out for me, so I trained hard the next year, and when I went back for the summer, I was asked to stay for the year. That’s what I was hoping for.

You were only in one year of the Workshop Performances at SAB before you were hired as an apprentice. What do you remember about that experience?
The workshop experience was really good for me. I didn’t know I would join the NYCB—I had hoped, but I didn’t know. I’ve always been sort of shy, and it was my first one. Usually when it’s my first anything I take part, but I really like to observe so the next year I know what it’s all about . But I didn’t get a next workshop. That year, I didn’t have so much of a primary role; I had featured secondary roles, a Ballo della Regina solo and one of the demis in Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. I was also in Damian Woetzel’s piece. So it was nice; I didn’t just have one focus. I got to perform a lot of choreography, which was really nice because it gave me a taste of what NYCB would be like.

Did it seem like it was happening too fast? Did you want another year at SAB?
No. I did not want another year in the school. I mean, I would have been fine. I wouldn’t have been discouraged if I hadn’t gotten in that year, but I was ready to join the big league. I was ready to perform more.

What teachers were meaningful?
Susie Pilarre was very important to me. I think it had to do with our personalities. We got along. Not that I didn’t get along with the others, but I understood what she was saying, and I could relate to the imagery she was giving when she taught. Kay Mazzo opened my eyes to musicality. She gave me phrasing. Susie also gave me a fluidity of movement and body placement that would help my dancing, so I wouldn’t be struggling. And Suki Schorer’s class is a lot like a meal. You can work your way to where you need to be that day. Her classes build in a really nice way.

You were promoted to principal pretty quickly.
Very quickly, yes. I certainly always trust Peter [Martins]. I trust his judgment, I trust what he puts me in. I enjoy working under him very much and I have a very strong loyalty to him. Romeo + Juliet was such an exciting time that my promotion didn’t really sink in until maybe two months later. I think, to a certain extent, it’s still sinking in.

Do you feel like a principal dancer?
Sometimes. [Laughs] I have my moments. It’s the same question as, “Do you feel like you’re a good dancer?” Some days you just feel so fabulous, and some days you just can’t quite pull it together.

What do you feel good in?
I feel good in almost everything, but it depends on how prepared I feel. I’m very used to dancing Peter’s choreography. I absolutely love Jeu de Cartes. I felt like I really grew a lot and that was a ballet that made me feel accomplished. And like I was okay with where I was in my career and with my promotion. Dancing Romeo + Juliet will always be a highlight.

How did you learn that you were being given the part of Juliet?
I had had a really physical winter season. There were eight debuts last winter, and the week we had off—I took it off. [Laughs] And I remember the first class back; I didn’t have very much to rehearse that day, and I thought, I haven’t danced in a week. I’m going to take it easy and just work my way back into it. So I’m leaving class early, and Russell Kaiser catches me and says, “Sterling, you need to go to Peter’s office.” I did, and he asks me: “Will you do this for me? Will you be my Juliet?” And I was like, “Are you even asking me my opinion? Are you kidding? I would absolutely adore it and would love to work with you for this.” The next day I had six hours of rehearsal to start learning the balcony pas de deux, and later that day he created a solo for the ball in the first act. In the weeks that followed, he choreographed the whole second act.

What was that process like?
It was probably the most liberating experience I’ve had so far, simply because Peter really trusted me, and he really gave me freedom. First of all, his excitement about the ballet was absolutely contagious. I would really think about what we had done the day before and say, “I’m going to try something different today. Will you tell me if it reads?” He would give me the freedom to do that every day. Always with Peter, what was so wonderful and why I felt I worked so well with him was because I would have an idea, but he had the ability to take the idea further, to say, “Okay, you do that well, but if you add this it will read better.”

Can you give me an example?
A lot of it was acting. For the moment right before I take the potion, I said, “I should make sure my parents aren’t going to see, so I should look in the direction of Romeo, who has just left. So it sort of reads that I’m looking to him.” I would do it, and he would say, “Yes. But how about if you blow a kiss, too?” So he would add that little extra to each situation.

You improved so much in this season’s run of Romeo + Juliet. Did you change your approach?
I thought about it a lot. Definitely the acting, in terms of what reads and what doesn’t. There are always moments that you can improve. I watched the video from last season and made adjustments. The death scene was way too busy. Sometimes my anger wouldn’t read the way I wanted it to in different scenes. And I think sometimes I moved a little bit too fast; I should have been more in wonder of Romeo. It was very hard because I graduated with Robbie [Fairchild] and we were very good friends in the dorms. I think that our Romeo and Juliet pairing was interesting because out of all the couples, we were the best of friends. Some of the really young girls were new in the company. To dance with someone who had been in the company longer—you have that intimidation already. I definitely didn’t have that with Robbie, and I had to find that. I think that was the biggest challenge for me. It made the acting even more involved. I love that ballet. I think Peter did such a good job, and I commend him for doing something avant-garde and different.

How is it avant-garde?
The sets—having the idea of having only one set change everything. To make it two acts. To have younger people in it. And the fencing—it was really involved fencing. It wasn’t just stage fencing.

Did it make you sad when it didn’t get great reviews?
[Sighs] Well, I was sad, of course, but the process of putting that ballet together was so uplifting that it’s almost like you can’t even come down. It brought NYCB together—more than any ballet so far. Just as far as putting it together, it took a lot of administration and a lot of communication.

When I interviewed Andrew Veyette, he talked about a restless energy that you and he shared.
We do. I think I’ve improved that restlessness, and this is one thing I’ll say about Christopher Wheeldon: He’s helped me to improve as far as not being so restless and not being so stiff. Or he makes me aware of not being like that.

You appeared with Wheeldon’s company, Morphoses, at City Center last fall. How did you happen to join?
Chris just called me up. It was uplifting to be part of something new. It was fresh and it was with my peers, so it felt very close to home at the same time. It helped me grow a lot. And not that I didn’t have self-confidence, but it was just nice to be asked—and to be one of the first members of something that will hopefully do very well for him.

Could you tell me about your part in Rococo Variations?
Giovanni Villalobos is my partner, and it’s definitely going to be a very difficult ballet as far as cardio and stamina are concerned. My pas de deux is very romantic; there are aspects, when I think about it, of Giovanni having to hold on to me or else I’m going to escape. It’s not that I’m trying to get away from him or that he’s chasing me. It’s almost like a mind game. Rococo’s nice because it’s classical, but with a twist—it’s classical with Chrissical twists. [Laughs] So there are little surprises here and there.

How important is it to spend time in the studio with Wheeldon?
He’s always good when he restages his old ballets, but when you’re working on a new ballet and you’re working with him every day, it’s even more of a different side of him. Working with him every day has helped refine my dancing, and hopefully made me softer. I’ve been working toward that. He’s always given me really wonderful corrections, and a lot of them are not the type you can fix that day; you fix them over time. So it’s nice to have part of a ballet made on me. I can utilize those corrections with him watching every day. And I have to make those adjustments or else it won’t go so well.

You spoke about how Chris has helped you to refine your dancing. What do you mean?
I think the idea is to just make me a softer dancer. There are times when I get panicked that I’ll be late or something, and he’s taught me not to panic.

What kind of dancer do you want to become?
I want to be versatile. I want to be able to do classical things, but also more modern work. It’s important to be able to move both ways. I think what’s nice, since I’ve been promoted, is that I’m less busy, so I get to rehearse things more. A lot of my opportunities in dancing came so quickly—even last winter. I loved having so many new roles because it gave me stamina and experience, but at the same time I didn’t get to spend as much time on each ballet as I had wanted to. And I don’t mind that because I’m still very young, and there’s always room for growth. I’m looking forward to the growth in each role.

Do you work in the studio alone?
I love to work by myself. Sometimes I don’t even want a pianist. I just take a tape. It’s my time to experiment, to see how things really look and to take it slow. If you give me a task, I’m very much somebody who likes to take it home and not have anyone see it until I’m ready. And I think sometimes it makes it hard for me to be choreographed on; it’s difficult when I’m given a rough draft of a step to make something of it immediately. But I can come in the next day and it will be something. I promise. [Laughs] Sometimes I’ll watch the step and if it’s complicated, I can tell it’s here [Touches her head], but it hasn’t flowed down yet, and I can’t quite do it with my legs. I just look like Bambi. I do. It is completely embarrassing.

When did it become apparent that ballet would be a career?
I think it came in layers, like an onion. When I thought, Oh, maybe I could be in NYCB someday, I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be a principal. And it wasn’t that I didn’t have that goal or that I didn’t believe in myself—I just wasn’t there yet. Bottom line, I like to work hard, I like to be busy, and I like to sweat and exercise. When I got promoted, it was a very happy time, but it wasn’t like, This is what I’ve always dreamed of. I just hadn’t dreamed, period. It wasn’t that I wanted something different. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Were you ambitious?
I was very ambitious—because I like to please and I like to work hard. But not for rank. Just for parts and dancing and praise. It was a different mentality. And I think maybe that’s why it did happen quickly for me. I didn’t consume myself with promotions. I was day-by-day. That’s the way I still operate. [Laughs] That’s the only way.

Who do you enjoy dancing with?
I perform with Robbie [Fairchild] a lot. I like dancing with him because he knows what I’m going to do before I do it. If I’m going to take a step back accidentally when I normally step front, he knows I’m doing it. It’s the weirdest thing. And likewise for him, I know what he’s about to do. And he really looks me in the eye. I really like to dance with somebody. That’s what it’s about for me, and he does that. Additionally, both the Angle brothers—Tyler and Jared, I absolutely adore dancing with. Jared is like a big teddy bear; I can do anything, and I know he’ll help me no matter what. He’s so talented. And Tyler is just wonderful—I came up through SAB with him.

Does it seem surreal in a way that you do something so rarefied and special as ballet? That this is what you’ve chosen, as a young person in contemporary culture, to be?
It’s very funny to walk into work and think, Okay, I’m going to be a fairy. I’m 22 years old and I’m an adult and I have a life outside of this, but I’m going to go in and be a fairy. Or I’m going to be a princess. How many women get to play a princess? It’s certainly a labor of love, and I don’t question it. But there are times when you see somebody hurt; you think, I can’t believe I’m in a profession that does that to you. Sometimes you forget the toll it takes on your body, but I absolutely love it. It’s very unique and very defining.

What Balanchine do you want to perform?
I would really like to dance Concerto Barocco, Serenade—I want to dance a lot—the waltz girl. I would really like to do the Dress MacDonald in Union Jack. And Allegro Brillante. I could go on forever.

And what about Robbins? I thoroughly enjoyed your performance in the “Winter” section of The Four Seasons this season. You are funny, but you never overdo it.
I didn’t think I was that funny! Every show I’ve been really startled at the audience laughing. I mean, I know it’s a cute thing—that the other dancers don’t want me to join their little group because they’re so cold, but it startled me a little bit. Actually, during the first show I looked down to make sure I didn’t have something on me. I would love to dance The Concert and In the Night. And another Balanchine I would love to dance is the Sleepwalker in La Sonnambula. Also, I want to do Bugaku.

Why?
I think there’s such a femininity about that role. You have to be very delicate in your movements. You could say this about any ballet, but because that is about tradition and a marriage, every step has a purpose. That’s definitely one I would have to take home and not let anyone see me do until I was really good and ready. [Laughs]

Are there any dancers you look up to?
Darci Kistler is probably first and foremost. She taught me at SAB, and I think she was one of the people who made me want to dance in this company. She would teach that day and I would see her that night performing. It was magical and so motivating. She’s a very kind person and there’s such a joy in her dancing. I got to know her a lot better during Romeo + Juliet, and that was just a wonderful bonus. And there are so many others. Merrill Ashley and Patricia McBride. To see Kyra Nichols retire was incredible. I had just been promoted, and seeing that meant a lot to me; that was when my promotion hit me for the first time. To see a ballerina go and to realize that one day it’s going to end, but that it can end in a good way was uplifting. She was ending a chapter.

New York City Ballet performs at the New York State Theater through Feb 24.