Going toe to toe

Joyce Scherer

Given the opportunity, what questions would an aspiring ballet student

ask a well-known prima ballerina? “How many hours a day do you rehearse?”

“What is your favorite ballet?” “Have you met Mikhail Baryshnikov?”

But Newport Beach resident Christina Fulcher, 13, has a more pressing

query when she speaks with American Ballet Theater’s Ashley Tuttle.

“I want to know how she prepares her point shoes,” she said. “How does

she bend them and how long does she wear them before getting new ones?”

And Claire Munsell, 13, of Costa Mesa says she wants to know if Tuttle

has brothers or sisters who dance.

“I also want to ask if she ever went to college and what she wants to do

when she retires from dance,” Munsell said.

But 12-year-old Quenby Hersh just hopes she’s nice.

“We had Julie Kent before, and she was just like a nice person,” said the

Newport Beach resident. “That is how I would treat the younger dancers

who looked up to me. I would be nice and talk to them about their parts.”

The girls will have the chance to get their questions answered when the

Fountain Valley-based Festival Ballet Theater performs “Giselle,” which

stars Tuttle and fellow American Ballet Theater dancer Gennadi Saveliev.

The two-act production is slated Saturday and Sunday at OCC’s Robert B.

Moore Theatre.

Festival Ballet Theater, founded by former Cairo Ballet Opera ballerina

Salwa Rizkalla in 1988, was formed to allow talented young Orange County

dancers an opportunity to perfect their art and perform such classics as

“Sleeping Beauty,” “Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake.”

“Even though we have a small company, we are known to some of the

principal dancers,” said the Egyptian-born Rizkalla. “And when I contact

them, they are wonderful to dance with us. It is important for the kids

see how seriously they take their job. It inspires them to see how

principal dancers are hard workers and also very humble.”

Tuttle, who joined the New York-based American Ballet Theater in 1987 as

a 16-year-old, was promoted to soloist in 1992 and principal dancer in

1997. Born and raised in South Carolina, she started dancing at age 6.

“I never sat down and made a conscious decision to become a dancer,”

Tuttle recalled. “I didn’t decide not go to my prom or high school

football games; I just wanted to dance, and that is what I did.”

And just like the young aspiring dancers, Tuttle is looking forward to

their talks.

“It is so nice to be around the kids,” she said. “The really young ones

usually ask me if my point shoes hurt, mainly because they’ve never had

them on. The older ones are sometimes shy and don’t always ask me

anything, but then I am a little shy, too.”

However, Tuttle would be glad to pass on to Fulcher her point shoe

techniques, which can include banging them with a hammer or hitting them

on cement, cutting the tip off with a razor blade so they are not so

slippery and scraping the bottom of the shoes. They are usually ready to

wear in about 20 minutes, and it takes a few rehearsals to mold them for

a good fit. And yes, she goes through a lot of point shoes a year.

Tuttle said she has thought about what she will do when she retires but

has not made any decisions.

“I really like real estate,” she said. “But it’s funny because growing

up, I always thought I would work with handicapped children. And, I do

like teaching ballet, especially to the young girls who are very sweet.

We are so focused as professionals to being perfect while young children

are so free to move naively.”

And just like the younger dancers, who are in awe of her dancing, Tuttle

says there were several people who influenced her career.

“I was most inspired by my parents and my dance teacher in South

Carolina, Ann Brodie. She danced in New York before there were big

companies. She was a wonderful teacher who taught me to love ballet,” she

said. “That is reason I know smaller towns have an impact, too. In fact,

most of our company is from small towns, like my best friend, who is from

Iowa.”

Tuttle, who practices about six to seven hours each day, said she likes

to impart to aspiring dancers that it takes much more than talent to

become a professional.

“Dancers must have a lot of determination and be constantly disciplined,”

she said. “It is one thing to get in the door, but then you have to push

harder each day both mentally and physically.”

WHAT: Festival Ballet Theater’s “Giselle,” starring American Ballet

Theater’s Ashley Tuttle

WHERE: OCC’s Robert B. Moore Theatre, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday

HOW MUCH: Advance tickets $17 for adults, $14 for seniors and children.

PHONE: (888) 622-5356 or (714) 432-5880