REKA GYULAI
California Ballet, Columbia Classical Ballet
I : F O U N D A T I O N
Looking back, what was your journey into dance? What path did you take to get to your first lesson? Was there a person or event that made a key contribution to your decision to begin your dance training?
When I was five, my sister took ballet lessons with a teacher in my hometown, Veszprem. This teacher offered open ballet classes for children and I got curious about ballet myself, so I started taking the class as well. I was always musical and had an artistic side and I enjoyed it. Not too long after my teacher saw that there was talent there and I was recommended to go audition for the big state ballet school in Budapest (Hungarian National Dance Academy / Magyar Nemzeti Balettintézet), which I did and was accepted at the age 10. That’s when I started training professionally. By age eleven or twelve I was very homesick away in Budapest (boarding during the week and home only on the weekends) that I wanted to quit. But the teachers convinced and encouraged my parents that I was talented and that I should continue and so I stayed. Looking back I am grateful now that my parents helped me to continue. My parents always inspired us to become something, to have a better future than they did, to work hard towards an achievement we could also be proud of.
At seventeen I was selected by the Hungarian Dance Academy to come to the states via their six-week exchange program with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts / North Carolina Dance Theatre. This was an incredible, incredible program and here I just knew I wanted to dance professionally.
Do you feel like dance chose you, or you chose dance?
I feel like it chose me first. I knew very little about any of it and it just started drawing me in. Only when I learned so much of the technical difficulties and the unique lifestyle it required is when I got more fascinated with it. Now it’s just a part of who I am.
What from your childhood or adolescent home-life, family, or culture still impacts who you are as an artist today?
Mostly, the discipline my parents raised me with. They were always hard on me about things like values, being polite, respecting others, working hard, never giving up, as well as spending lots of time in nature. All those things combined help me stay on track and keep me going.
When you were young, were there other things you wanted to do or be when you grew up?
I played the cello for 5 years and I was pretty good at it. For a while that was another art form I could have pursued but I found it way harder and not as much fun as dancing. I also would have loved working as a vet because I love animals.
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II : P R I N C I P A L
Once you began your formal dance training, what was your path to Principal Dancer?
After graduation from the Academy at nineteen, I auditioned and got my first job and contract at Columbia Classical Ballet in South Carolina. I danced next with International Ballet South Carolina where I got to do some of my first principal roles. Then New Jersey Ballet in corps and soloist roles. After that I was with Dance Alive National Ballet in Florida starting in the corps and worked my way up into principal roles, then San Diego Ballet (corps), Tulsa Ballet (corps), and finally California Ballet dancing Sugar Plum Fairy my first year there as a corps member. I was promoted to principal in the 2016-17 season, premiering as Odette/Odile that year.
Did you ever want to give up? Were there sacrifices you had to make or overcome to get to where you are today? What kept you going?
One of the biggest sacrifices was to leave my family at the age of 10 to go to professional school for ballet. The second one was to leave them again to join a company here in the US. I’m still struggling with that, being so far away from them! All other obstacles like watching what I eat, working hard, working on myself every day to become a better dancer, artist is challenging, but easier than being away from people I love. That’s the way I see it.
Looking back from now, what advice or words of wisdom would you have been most helpful to your beginning-career self?
I would probably be more focused on my dreams. Tell myself to work hard, but for what. You need to know what you are working hard for. I feel like especially in your twenties you get caught up in the society around you, ahead of you. A lot of things influence you. There are cultural and social pulls. I’d tell myself to aim towards my goal and try to not get distracted. To focus on dancing, on artistry and not just technical things, and being my best self on and off the stage. It is so important. When I was younger I didn’t focus on it as much as the technical side of dancing. There is no reason to not focus on it right now, at any moment, or any age.
What’s your typical work week like, schedule wise?
A typical week is Monday to Friday, starting with company class from 9:30-11a, and rehearsals from 11:15-3:30p. Right before theater week we have additional rehearsals over the weekends (especially if doing last minute studio run-throughs with the school level dancers) and sometimes in the evenings.
How do you keep yourself physically well and ready for the demands of class, rehearsals, performances?
Being a more experienced principal dancer the answer is every single way I can. Learning so much about my body throughout the years with injuries, the way I performed, the way my mood was affecting my dancing, my emotional state gave me the self realization I needed to do better. I would not call myself a fanatic in dance but I am a maximalist in everything I do and I realized that that’s the only way I can do ballet. Not only because I wasn’t happy with the outcome when I did worse but because of potential injuries.
At this point of my life I literally start in bed when I wake up. I start moving my head around side to side and moving my shoulders because I have a lot of tension in my upper back. When I sit up and start doing stretches for my hips before I get out of bed. I try to watch what I eat: mostly very healthy nutritious foods to keep my muscles in shape and also to have enough vitamins for energy. I stay away from dangerous sports, hiking and anything that can jeopardize my body. I spend lots of time outdoors in the fresh air, I meditate, I pray. No matter how the rehearsal or a performance went, I try to stay positive. If something went really wrong I evaluate why and then I put it in the back of my mind where I don’t let it bother me. I focus on being grateful for every opportunity I get so I can move forward. A long time ago I noticed that I wasn't able to recover because of negativity.
I make an effort every day to be physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. I believe that the human body, mind and emotion all connect together and it defines how I am able to train, take class and perform. It determines the way we develop as a dancer and as an artist.
Is there a role or piece that has been special to you, if so, why?
Swan Lake in 2017 (Odete/Odile) was very special for a lot of reasons. It was the first and only time I’ve done it (so far), and it was probably the first time where I really had to get to a new level of artistry and physically prove to myself that I can become this role. I had to do it; I was able to do it. I think Swan Lake is just very special with how diverse it is—soft, gentle, submissive … and then aggressive, ruling, controlling, powerful, confident—all within one ballet. I feel like I have all of those characters within me, but how to show that while you are dancing is a big challenge. I had a lot of fun doing it but it was a great challenge.
Another role was Juliet in the Romeo & Juliet balcony pas de deux for a gala performance. We only had a week of rehearsal, with rushed long days. I felt like I really had to dig deep within me to convey that role. Gratefully the audience let me know that I did it and that was a remarkable feeling in the moment.
The third one would be Jared Nelson’s Cinderella. This was a huge honor because Jared created his own Cinderella for California Ballet at the time and I was first cast as Cinderella. I felt like it was a huge responsibility, and I did have a hard time with it because it was the first time in my career when I had to cry in a ballet for real. He wanted real tears and I didn’t consider myself a great actress so it took some time for me to get there. Of course, on stage I was able to just really let it all out of myself, thanks to his coaching and all the adrenaline and emotions I had from being in character. The whole process took me to the next level as an artist and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Is there a ballet or piece you still want to dance and haven’t yet, or something you long to dance but it doesn’t exist yet?
I’ve always wanted to do Carmen, haven’t yet, and would love to do it. And even though I’ve done Kitri before (Don Quixote), that role always excites me and I’d love to do it again—no performance is ever the same. I very much enjoy dancing contemporary ballets, I’d love to dance more of that.
Do you have any personal rituals around your classes, rehearsals, or performances?
Yes, I exercise before class, I don’t let anything bother me at the studio so I can focus 100%. Before performances I always eat a nutritious meal and aim to think positive thoughts. I listen to fun music that pumps me up! I pray before each show to give thanks to God and to remember my family I love and acknowledge how lucky I am to be doing ballet!
What are you working on to challenge yourself physically and/or artistically?
A special focus for me artistically is really becoming any character the role calls for. Especially with story ballets, the biggest challenge is to carry that character as your own self, even down to the breathing so you can disappear in a selfless way. With any choreography, it's about forgetting who you are, your fears, wants, your ego away in any way required to fully give the audience what they might need out of that character or piece. Selfless submission to the music, the movement, the audience, and the art.
I am also exploring and pursuing my creative side as an emerging choreographer. I enjoy the transition from being a dancer into having the opportunity to create on other artists while I’m still dancing. It is opening up a whole new spectrum and it is quite challenging and very exciting! I especially enjoy deepening my relationship with music and letting my creative side loose to find out what how I can better myself further and what I am able to offer to my audiences.
What still inspires you about dance today?
Perfecting myself for sure—it's an endless pursuit for technique and artistry. But, as a choreographer, this is my current and future inspiration. It’s an incredible experience to see how far you can dive into music; where it will take movement in pursuit of a feeling. The music for me is always number one. The music has to capture the audience and dancers (and myself). If it makes me feel a certain way, I’m hoping the audience will feel the same. This plus working with other artists, really trying to highlight someone else’s talent and humanity. This is the process I find great joy in exploring. It's a fervent pursuit of beautifully and intentionally matching movement and music together, to the point where the movement quality would speak for itself. To create a piece where someone moves and it's completely effective in delivering a message, a specific feeling, or emotion is the ideal.
“It’s an incredible experience to see how far you can dive into music; where it will take movement in pursuit of a feeling.”
III : B E Y O N D
Beyond your professional commitments, what else occupies your time and life?
Beyond performing, teaching, and choreography, I am an outdoor person. I love nature, being outside, and animals. I have many pets at home that I take care of—three dogs and two aquariums with freshwater fish that need constant care. Ever since I was little we had pets at home so I got used to having and caring for them. I quickly noticed that when I’m not around animals I miss their presence. I also love plants and really enjoy spending time in my garden trimming plants and caring for them as well. Nurturing life is a gift
What are some of your recommended top things to do for someone visiting San Diego?
There are many, but I love the Botanical Garden. To be around all those beautiful plants, the fresh air, plus every ticket supports their mission of preserving rare creatures of this planet. Visiting is a total renewal of body and soul. I leave a better person every time.
Where are you happiest outside of the world of dance?
Visiting my family and being with my fiancé and my dogs in nature.
If you had not pursued a career in dance, where do you think you would be today?
That is a very hard question to answer! I’m very musical. I learned to play the cello at age four, and had a promising future there so I might’ve been a cellist, but so many things interest me. it’s very hard to say what I would’ve pursued. I’d like to think that I would’ve tried to pursue something with excellence though!
Where do you see the future of dance headed in the next 10-15 years? And/or where do you wish the world of professional dance was headed in the next 5-10 years?
Though this has always been happening, I see dance going even more abstract, less narrative, and more out of the box than ever before. Taking traditional narratives and “modernizing” them, deconstructing them, abstracting them for experimental or exploratory sake. Even more collaboration and inclusion of new technologies. We are already seeing this and it's unpredictable how far it will be pushed. At the same time, I do feel there are many choreographers who are sticking to a more humanistic approach—keeping the person in it. Bringing it down to earth and root meanings. Together, it’s a widening of offerings and possibilities.
What do you hope audiences will get from your dancing? What type of artist do you want to be remembered as?
Dancing for me is such a spiritual experience—I’ve been through so much personally, that when I’m on stage, it truly becomes this sacred space of liberation. It becomes all about that character, that movement, the music, the meaning. I want to be able to give the audience a true and fully realized performance. I commit to putting in the hard work, love, and dedication to give them this experience where they can then use what’s on that stage to feel what they need—enjoyment, love, grief, beauty, inspiration—if even for a moment, lifting each other to a higher, transcendent place that is so special and worth it. This is why I dance.
✦
GREENROOM
Hometown
Veszprem, Hungary
Previously
Hungarian National Ballet (Magyar Nemzeti Balett), Columbia Classical Ballet, California Ballet
Notable
Elvira Vecsei Prize and the
Scholarship of the Republic from the Hungarian Ministry of Education
Promoted to principal
2006 at Columbia Classical Ballet
Height
5’ 3” (160cm)
Language(s)
English, Hungarian
Sign
Aries
Recommends
“Memoirs of Geisha” by Arthur Golden (Book)
Dances with Wolves (Film, 1990)
Instagram
@rekagyulai
@rekag_choreography
TPD x REKA GYULAI
S A N D I E G O , C A L I F O R N I A
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