Dancing with Soul, Stanton Welch

Born in 1969 to a pair of gifted dancers—Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch—in Melbourne, Australia, it only seemed natural that their son, Stanton Welch, would follow in his parents’ balletic footsteps. And he did—but not until he was sixteen, or, according to him, “I tried to not dance as long as I could.” That said, the dance world is all the better for having Welch in it.

Connor Walsh as Romeo with artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Photograph by Lawrence Elizabeth Knox (2023), courtesy of Houston Ballet

Winning a scholarship to San Francisco Ballet School in 1986, three year later he joined the Australian Ballet, where he performed such principal roles as Des Grieux in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s “Manon,” and Lensky in John Cranko’s “Onegin.” Fast forward to 2003 and moving from performer to artistic director, Welch took the reins at Houston Ballet, the company that was founded in 1969 and has been hailed by the New York Times as “one of the nation’s best,” and where he has been sharing his directorial duties with Julie Kent since 2023.

Along the way, Welch, who received his first choreographic commission from the Australian Ballet in 1990 and became its resident choreographer in 1995, as well as receiving the Order of Australia in 2015, has created some 100 works for such prestigious international companies as San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Royal Danish Ballet. His 1995 “Madame Butterfly” not only became a signature work internationally, but is also in the repertoires of, among others, National Ballet of Canada, Boston Ballet and Singapore Ballet.

In 2013, Welch choreographed “Sons de L’âme (Sounds of the Soul”), a commission from superstar pianist Lang Lang that premiered in Paris’ historic Théâtre des Champs-Élysées that same year. Set to 20 piano pieces by Frédéric Chopin, it played to standing ovations, with Houston Press’ D. L. Groover describing the ballet as “dreamy yet strongly of the earth.” And now, after a 13-year hiatus and two performances last April at Houston’s Asia Society, “Sons de L’âme” comes to Segerstrom Hall October 15-18, with George Li on piano.

Fjord Review spoke with Welch over Zoom, where topics ranged from “Sons de L’âme,” his choreographic process and what qualities he looks for in a dancer to what he thinks of the state of ballet today.

What inspired you to create “Sons de L’âme” and what aspects of the Chopin works felt most choreographically generative?

Initially, it was a project to work with Lang Lang and a group of dancers [because] of a release of a new album he was doing of Chopin pieces. I got to choose from his full library of Chopin. And Chopin, in general, is very danceable. I don’t think any of his pieces are undanceable. It’s a showcase. And because being a ballet dancer, you grow up with it in class and see it in many ballets all around, it really felt very rich in the ability to dance it.

It also had many emotions for me, personally, over the years of listening to the music, so I actually felt like it was a really rich and fertile ground for choreography. It’s about two hours or under of dancing with an intermission.

That’s also a lot of piano playing. But, instead of Lang Lang on the keyboard in Orange County, you tapped George Li, whom the Washington Post praised for his “staggering technical prowess” and “depth of expression.”

In Houston, we'd done small portions of [the piece] at different events, but we'd actually never had it in a season, because it's a unique piece. You need a pianist of [high] caliber to bring it together. When we started talking about how nice it would be to have a have a premiere in Houston, the Asia Society, which is a different venue from where we normally perform, was interested. And then George Li was a suggestion of theirs, because they had presented him before. When we met him, it was great, and the collaboration was great [when] we did those performances in April here in Houston.

Houston Ballet artistic director and choreographer Stanton Welch AM with artists of Houston Ballet rehearsing “Vi et Animo.” Photograph by Alana Campbell, courtesy of Houston Ballet

How did you approach building a cohesive arc from a series of musical selections rather than, say, a single narrative?

Because I had been so familiar with each piece of music and had grown up in many ways with each of these, I had my own stories or emotional content to each of them. So, I built an arc that made sense to me emotionally and then knowing that what I would create would sort of reflect upon that. Variety is, of course, key, so each act has a broad selection of pieces of music, but they had to have some kind of special meaning to me.

There’s also the arc that the relationship a dancer has with a pianist, and how often a dancer is in a room with just a pianist and piano music, and what an intimate relationship that is.

What did you ask of the dancers in terms of musical responsiveness?

With classical dance, they, too, have been around so much Chopin that it was in their genes, in their DNA, so to speak. But it's rare that we have the music completely in control by the performer. Normally, we're a little bit more collaborative back and forth about tempi, but in this instance, with Lang Lang and George, I wanted the dancers to react to their interpretation of the music.

So, we had to pick people that, of course, were extremely musical and capable, but also approaching it differently, approaching it with the concept of [something] like riding a wave or surfing a wave, and we are operating with that. I think that makes the piece kind of special.

I’m wondering why you chose not to have a set.

The idea was very much about kind of being unplugged or an acoustic version of ballet. So, the costumes are very neutral, no color, just based off their skin, and the pianist is in very simple attire. Then there’s no scenery, and all the colors of the show also are quite muted.

I's really like an “MTV Unplugged” show, when they bring the artist in and sing without any support. It's like you're in the studio with the dancers and the pianist in an intimate environment. That was the concept of it.

Sounds like NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concert.”

Exactly. I love that!

Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s “Giselle.” Photograph by Alana Campbell, courtesy of Houston Ballet.

How does “Sons de L’âme” fit into your broader body of work, and what does it represent for you artistically?

I think it's quite a self-reflective work. It's not something called “Alice in Wonderland,” “or “Peter Pan.” And I think the fact that it's all so undressed and so naked and exposed, that appeals to some people. For me, I look at it and find it quite a personal work, and I also see a lot of the dancers who it was made on in the work.

It's very immediate to the people in it, unlike the things that I'm working on currently, “Manon,” where we’re not playing French courtesans and stuff of that nature. I like that. It's different; it sits in its own world. I think it's its own moon in my repertoire.

What comes first for you: the steps, the music or the concept, and how do you develop something into, say, a full-length work?

I change a little bit how each thing happens, but a full-length work, like a full-length story ballet, will often come from the story initially. If it has music that comes with it, like “Raymonda,” that's great, but a ballet like “Marie” Antoinette, I found the music and selected it and put it together to fit with the story that I'm creating.

Then there's ballets like “Sons de L’âme,” that are very much a reaction to the music. I didn't have a lot of preparation, other than picking the dancers and knowing the tone of what I wanted. Then, in the room, the creation process is unfolding, so it's a lot more improvisation and finding the edges than when you come in with “Raymonda,” and say, “By the night, you have to die,” and I needed to be holding this sword at that time. It's a little bit less structured, [but] it can be both ways. The Chopin was definitely from the music, and it was what pieces of music moved me.

How do you think your choreographic voice has changed from your early works to your current creations?

That’s interesting, [because] I have yet to go back and really do a reflective look that way. But I find it fascinating that you don't get less nervous and I definitely feel like I'm trying to find modern stories, which is a new phase. In my early days, I had ballets I wanted to do, “Romeos,” “Giselles,” and now I’m in a place where I feel a little, I guess, braver or a little bit more adventurous. Trying some stories that might not have been told before is really appealing to me.

Now I’m entrenched in “Alice in Wonderland.” Using composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross [Nine Inch Nails] is a departure for me. They do a lot of film score work, [and] I’m deconstructing the story not unlike a rave—using phones going down the rabbit hole—and all the obsessions with people on their phones. That’s what I’m in the thick of. I think that that might be how I've changed a bit. I feel like I need to, at this age, explore the edges a little bit more; that makes sense to me.

Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s “Swan Lake.” Photograph by Amitava Sarkar, courtesy of Houston Ballet.

What qualities do you look for in dancers during an audition and when shaping new choreography?

I'm just going to say that, of course, being a good dancer is what we're looking for. But on top of that is [the idea that] a choreographer needs people that are very imaginative and can bring into the studio an idea or a perspective or can transform from walking like a zombie to flying like a swan, to, you know, finding anger in movement, finding joy in movement.

You have to be someone who loves that kind of theater, that wants to throw yourself into all of those things. So, I think in auditioning and what do I look for, it's those kinds of performers, and, of course, all the technique and all the lines and all that stuff. That special sauce – that’s what makes a great dancer with choreography. It’s not just turning up and learning stuff but bringing all this information and creative input. It’s like a tennis match.

What are your criteria when commissioning or programming new works for the company?

We look for all sorts of things—young, up-and-coming people. We have rigorous programs in our school. [Soloist] Jacquelyn Long is making her first ballet. That’s one trajectory. And knowing where we are in Houston, isolated from companies passing through, so variety is important. A diversity of styles and types with a broad range. It’s great to nurture young talent.

I definitely have some one-act pieces I’d like to do—aspirationally—such as Leonard Berstein’s “Chichester Psalms.”

How has it been sharing artistic director responsibilities with Julie Kent?

Julie's wonderful. It's great to have a comrade and a friend so that you can be [doing] these sorts of things [interviews]. While she’s working on “Manon,” I'm here talking to you about ballet, which was not always the case. So, it's nice to have those separations, and to be able to really involve myself just in this.

Finally, Stanton, what do you think of the state of ballet today?

I personally find it healthy, although we could sell more tickets. We have a robust audience [and] this year we’ve got 12 “Swan Lake” performances. We’ve had sold out shows, and we have a very large boy class within our academy, so the idea of getting young men isn’t an issue.

It’s about getting young people to come. It’s how dance needs to stay alive. We need to be involved in education and find more avenues for young kids getting free access to us. We are here for the public, and we need to get to a place again where ballet was in the ’80s and ’90s. As much as we supply it, how often can we get a ballet dancer that’s not from New York on a TV or morning show? I want those TV stations to want a ballet dancer.

Victoria Looseleaf

Victoria Looseleaf is an award-winning, Los Angeles-based international arts journalist who covers music and dance festivals around the world. Among the many publications she has contributed to are the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Dance Magazine and KCET’s Artbound. In addition, she taught dance history at USC and Santa Monica College. Looseleaf’s novella-in-verse, Isn't It Rich? is available from Amazon, and and her latest book, Russ & Iggy’s Art Alphabet with illustrations by JT Steiny, was recently published by Red Sky Presents. Looseleaf can be reached through X, Facebook, Instagram and Linked In, as well as at her online arts magazine ArtNowLA.

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