Manuel Legris, La Scala Ballet in Hong Kong : "Passing on is what I love".

Dancing was always part of me

How did you start to dance? 

It must have been in me; I don't know how desires come to be. But as soon as I heard music, I started dancing. I danced all the time. I asked my parents to take classes at four. They thought it was a bit strange but they agreed. I enrolled in a small conservatory outside of Paris, and the teacher told my parents that I should try out for the Paris Opera School. I got in and things took off. Dance took over my whole life.

How did you experience the transition from first dancer to ballet director?

I already had the vocation of director beforehand when I was managing programs and dancers at the Paris Opéra. During my last year there, Dominique Meyer, the General Director of the Vienna Opera, offered me the job of ballet director in Vienna.

The transition from dancer to director went smoothly; it was a choice. I had no frustration as a dancer: I'd danced everything. I arrived ready to give and share with a new generation of dancers. I stayed in Vienna for ten years. I was asked to stay on but I preferred to follow Dominique Meyer who had been appointed to La Scala. Having a director who loves ballet and gives you carte blanche is quite unique. Passing on is what I love.

I look for creativity within dancers

What do you look for in a dancer?

What speaks to me most are dancers who are very musical. Music has always guided me, so I like to see dancers who have music in their bodies.

Secondly, dancers with intelligence and creativity; not just machines to whom you have to explain everything. I like people to have an idea of what their profession means, otherwise you get bored. Technical perfection isn't necessarily what audiences are looking for; it's emotion and sensitivity.

How do you build a ballet programme?

Vienna, Paris and Milan are great companies for classical ballet but they can no longer be satisfied with that. I build on more contemporary shows; I look for new choreographers like Philippe Kratz or Simone Valastro.

But novelty can also be achieved through classical work! Alexei Ratmasky's Coppelia [for the La Scala ballet], which is very traditional, was a triumph because there's an audience for it. I found the ballet refreshing and new; it is ballet for 2024. Ballet is my school, but I don't like it when it's a bit old-fashioned.

I have my own way for creating stories

How do you make classical ballet modern when you're choreographing? What does the ballet of 2024 look like?

I started choreographing in 2016; since then, I've staged two major ballets, Le Corsaire and Sylvia. Choreography is only one of the things I do; I wait to find the ballet that speaks to me, that hasn't been seen over and over again. I hadn't seen any version of Corsaire; I only know two versions of Sylvia; so why not mine? I'm not interested in doing another Casse-noisettes, because I know too many versions that I like.

I have my own way of creating steps, of telling a story. Today's ballet require lighter codes, lighter costumes... You can modernize classic versions with different materials; you can lighten things up and still make people dream. Yet, you can't create a classical ballet without knowing its history, without having a love for ballet.

Would you like to choreograph something other than ballet one day - contemporary maybe?

No, because I know too many excellent choreographers out there. There are people with a very strong contemporary universe. I do what I know how to do, and I know there aren't many people who do it. Ballet is where I feel I belong.