Ryan Tomash Steps into a New Role

Back in October, New York City Ballet got a new cowboy. His arrival occurred in the final section of George Balanchine’s “Western Symphony.” This new cowboy was tall, smiling, easy going, and he seemed to be having the time of his life, as did his partner, Isabella LaFreniere. I, for one, have never seen LaFreniere, usually a reticent dancer, so relaxed. Like everyone else in the theater, I grabbed my program to figure out who this champion roper was. It turned out to be Ryan Tomash, a dancer from the Royal Danish Ballet, who just joined the New York City Ballet at the rank of soloist (he was a principal dancer in Copenhagen). It was his début with the company.

Ryan Tomash in “Western Symphony” by George Balanchine. Photograph by Erin Baiano

A few weeks later I found myself in Copenhagen for the opening of Alexei Ratmansky’s new ballet, “The Art of the Fugue” (about which, more soon) at the Royal Danish Ballet. And there he was again, minus the ten-gallon hat, watching a rehearsal on his fall break from New York City Ballet, before the onslaught of “Nutcracker.” He was back “home”—but where is home now?—visiting friends. The break turned out to be short-lived. A cast-member in “The Art of the Fugue” was injured, and he had been asked to fill in. He will début on Friday Nov. 7, after learning the ballet in a day and a half from Ratmansky and his team.

Tomash is originally from Canada, where he studied ballet at the National Ballet School. At 18, he joined the Royal Danish Ballet, for reasons he discusses below. He spent 8 years there, under the direction of Nikolaj Hübbe, rising to rank of principal. Before arriving at NYCB, he had his fist immersion in the American ballet scene earlier in the summer at the Vail Dance Festival, where he performed with dancers from both New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.

I caught up with him a few days before his impromptu début.

You’re stepping into “The Art of the Fugue” at the last moment. Such a complex work. Was this your first exposure to Alexei Ratmansky’s choreography?

It’s a lot of steps, yeah! Actually, in New York, last season, I was almost thrown into Ratmansky’s “Voices.” I was watching a rehearsal, just because I was interested. And the rehearsal director came up to me and told me that somebody was sick and asked if I could learn it. So we had some rehearsals. The person ended up being fine, but that was my first encounter with Ratmansky’s choreography.

What was it like working in the studio with Ratmansky here in Copenhagen?

He’s incredibly focused. While you're dancing, he's saying things like “lift that arm up, faster, now slower to the floor,” and I'm trying to do all those things, and also trying to remember the steps. He’s there with you every step. You can feel the energy that he wants.

Just to rewind a bit—why did you decide to come to New York City Ballet this year? And is it a permanent move?

I’m on a leave of absence for one year, and then I can ask for another year. The beauty of a leave of absence is that it's a huge safety net. Having that possibility and not using it would have felt like a huge missed opportunity. After eight years with the Royal Danish Ballet, I came to the conclusion that I really want to learn something new, and grow. And I feel like, in order to exponentially grow, you have to go somewhere and maybe do something very uncomfortable. I know the Balanchine style, and I've danced a few of his ballets here, as well as Jerome Robbins’s, but there was something about going to the mecca, and moving to New York, that felt scary, and like exactly what I had to do. Since I've been there, a new flame has ignited within me.

Ryan Tomash. Photograph by Camilla Winther

Were you starting to feel too comfortable at the Royal Danish Ballet?

I wouldn't say that. Maybe it was more about being in a place for a certain amount of time for me. This [Copenhagen] is also my home, and I love it, but moving to New York felt like jumping into cold water, and I think that that can only benefit my dancing. Whether that means dancing in New York City Ballet for a long time, or coming back here, I don’t know yet. I just knew that I needed a little bit of a change. It’s also about the place. I wanted to be somewhere that felt larger than me. I was craving a big city.

How did you end up in Denmark?

I had an amazing teacher at the National Ballet School, [the former Danish ballerina] Sorella Englund—we’re very close. She used to come to Toronto and teach us drama and expression. She’d come for like a month, two months every year since I was about 12. She taught us parts of “La Sylphide,” and we were always doing different types of acting exercises that allowed us to explore with our imagination; nothing was off limits. She would always be very, very clear that you can try any and everything and nothing is wrong. We got on really well. So when it came time to audition, interestingly enough, I had a similar feeling to now. I had a job at the National Ballet as an apprentice. But I also wanted to be somewhere new and different, where people didn't really know me, and I could do new things. Sorella was the one who said, you should really come and audition, I think you would love it, and I think they would love you.

The Bournonville tradition is such a big part of the Royal Danish Ballet’s identity, and his ballets are full of acting and mime. Did you dance a lot of Bournonville?

I've danced “Napoli” and “A Folk Tale,” but I haven’t done the full range. I never got to dance James [in “La Sylphide”], but I've learned the role. I've always been the understudy. I've done the second act at galas. And Sorella and I have analyzed it and rehearsed it as our own fun little side project.

What have been some of the highlights of your time at the RDB?

I did a lot of lead roles in John Neumeier’s ballets, like Romeo, and Oberon, and Armand in his “Lady of the Camellias.” He left a really big imprint on me, personally and artistically.

It’s interesting, then, that you have gone to a company with a focus on the more abstract Balanchine repertoire, one that does very few full-length narrative ballets with meaty characters.

For me, though, in Balanchine, it’s not that there’s no story. I find it fun to bring myself and my life and my experiences to the stage. There’s always a story, in the music and in little gestures. I like to look for that.

Are there ballets you are particularly interested in taking on?

I find “Agon” so interesting. And I got to learn “Theme and Variations” this year. Whenever I watch or rehearse it, I find that there's so much story there, embedded in the music and the choreography. It's a story without words. I love the way Balanchine uses music, and at certain points in the music, I thought, there's something so incredibly special there.

Ryan Tomash and Miriam Miller in “Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3” by George Balanchine. Photograph by Erin Baiano

Your first appearance with New York City Ballet was in “Western Symphony,” a cowboy ballet set to old American tunes orchestrated by Hershy Kay. The most American ballet ever. What was that like?

Oh my gosh, the funnest “Welcome to America” ever. The music is so fun. The choreography is so fun to do. And it's also fun to be a cowboy. The coaching I was given was really nice because there was a lot of space to try new things. It felt natural.

How do you like doing pirouettes from a straight back leg?

When I start with two bent knees I feel like I can get a lot more power, but when I do it with a straight back leg, I'm always way more on my leg. I'm starting to get used to it. And I'm also learning to spot front in pirouettes. Lame ducks, spotting front—that’s something I’m still struggling with. Lots of learning in the studio. That’s fun.

Are there other aspects of the Balanchine technique that challenge or intrigue you?

There’s a greater emphasis on certain things, like precision and speed. Tiler Peck is such a great example of that. She's so precise when she dances, and there's so much beauty in that. That is something that is prioritized at NYCB, and that I'm really starting to try and prioritize myself.

There is a role in Ratmansky’s new “The Art of the Fugue” that I think would be perfect for Tiler.

She would eat this one up.

You’re also quite tall, which is great for the taller ballerinas in the company. Do you enjoy partnering?

Yeah, I’m 6’1”. And I really enjoy partnering. And I have to say that there are men at NYCB who are some of the best partners I've ever seen, like Tyler Angle. I worked a lot with Andy Veyette on “Swan Lake.” He unlocked something new in my head about partnering. And I’m learning a different style of partnering, with the fingertips. It’s so beautiful when it’s done well.

Ida Praetorius and Ryan Tomash in John Neumeier's “Lady of the Camellias.” Photograph by Henrik Stenberg

You grew up in Toronto—did you grow up in an artistic family?

I have a brother and a sister. My father’s a dentist. My mother is very artistic. My grandmother, my father's mother, was born in the Soviet Union, in Odessa, Ukraine, and she and my father moved to Canada. She was a doctor, but she paints every day of her life now. I also think of my dad as an artist. He’s always playing Chopin at work. I think “Lady of the Camellias” is his favorite ballet. He fell in love with it when he came to see me dance it. My mom is from Kingston, Jamaica. They both moved to Canada when they were 10, 11, and then they met in university.

How did you start dancing?

My sister is the one that got me into it. She’s nine years older. So basically, my sister started, and then my brother. My mom was working as a secretary at the studio, because she was there all the time. I kind of grew up in the dance studio, watching. When I told her about learning “The Art of the Fugue” in a day and a half, she said, “You're that same boy that was learning everybody's dances when you were three years old, standing outside the studio.” I grew up around dance.

Who have been your partners at NYCB so far?

Isabella LaFreniere and Miriam Miller, mainly. And Mira Nadon and I danced together at the Vail Dance Festival in the summer. We did “Diamonds,” and Chloe Misseldine and I did the “Black Swan” pas de deux, and then I did this piece by Bobbi Jene Smith called “The Hopeful Parents” with Unity Phelan. Bobbi has a very special place in my heart.

How was it dancing with Nadon—to me, she embodies freedom onstage.

I love her. She's incredible, such a kind and honest person, and she brings that to her dancing. She told me she had been coached by Suzanne Farrell in “Diamonds,” and she shared some of the thoughts and ideas that Suzanne shared with her. It was a really special moment for me.

What are your impressions of living in New York so far?

I live near Central Park, and I like to walk to work. Right before I came back to Copenhagen, we were having real fall weather. I would take a Citi Bike and bike through Central Park. I just love doing that. Or just going to a neighborhood that I haven't been to before and just walking around.

Marina Harss

Marina Harss is a dance writer in New York, a frequent contributor to the New York Times and the New Yorker Magazine, as well as to Dance Magazine and Fjord Review. She is the author of a book about the choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, The Boy from Kyiv, published by Farrar Straus and Giroux in 2023.

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