The Heart Dances - the journey of The Piano: the ballet (2018) - full transcript

You don't need to talk to express something very deep or strong.

We are humans. We use our bodies to express something.

Love. Desire.

Fear.

Everything.

For me, dancers, this is what we express.

We are all dancers, dancing...

Always

I always try when I go on stage to feel like this is my space.

For ten years I danced here - I know every corner of the stage.

I always felt like I'm in my living room.



I knew the stage. I was the god there.

Once you smell this ambience you really are hooked with it.

Somebody took a big hook and just dragged me.

I think when I was younger me and my brother

we liked the physical thing about it.

But then when I was older what I really loved was this kind of

enlightenment, going somewhere... somewhere else

forgetting yourself and just being in the moment.

Are you there Jiří?

Yes I am.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

So excited about this project

and what's happening here in New Zealand



and excited to have you here.

I'm going to ask you a few questions about the artistic side

so that we are prepared for when you walk into studio day one.

We've taken a look at the casting sheet but it's all in Czech

and so I'm not exactly sure how many women you will need

and how many men you'll actually need for the entire piece.

And as we create next season's dancer roster The Piano is first

So we want to make sure we have enough dancers in the studio

for you to start staging the piece immediately.

Good to have two casts from the beginning at least.

I'm hoping that we'll have three casts that perform

but that will all be up to you once you get here,

start working with the dancers and making sure that they fit in

to the vision you have for the production.

Our parents were acrobats.

We were very lucky because in that time there was communism in the country

but they still could travel to Africa, Europe, America, wherever...

and so my father had the possibility to have videos of the ballets.

So we could see how Barishnikov danced or Nureyev

and that was a great inspiration for us.

But the first videos that we saw

were not Nureyev or Barishnykov – it was Michael Jackson.

I remember Otto was crazy about him.

He started to dance before me.

He was already imitating Michael Jackson and stuff.

That was the time when we didn't even know that here

five minutes from where we lived there was a dance school.

I remember when I was still dancing

through the music I always saw spaces.

I could see fields or I could see forest or sun.

Of course it helps if you have the right things around you

when you're onstage.

The lights and the scenery and the costumes...

and then it can be good art.

Well with The Piano - the story and the movie...

it was a masterpiece.

Each time I watched it, it just really honestly made me cry.

I want to do this story and I want to do a good job.

But I wanted to wait until I was ready for it

because this kind of dramatic ballet stories

you have to grow up as a personality, as a human being.

But I think I'm at the level of being a choreographer

who can do it now.

So I called up my brother one day and I said

"We are flying to New Zealand."

This is our dressing room here

and one floor up is the business.

I have to find the time...

What time is it?

Everything's got a story.

I think storytelling's one of the methods by which

our ancestors would pass down knowledge of

who we are and where we're from.

And how those stories are told...

it depends on who's telling them.

My dance training is modern dance - New Zealand contemporary dance

fused with traditional dance.

So I'm here to offer my perspective as an artist

that draws my whakapapa from the land

someone who has experienced the ancestral knowledge

someone who has experienced using that in a way to create contemporary art

and I'm offering my perspective on

what the ballet is trying to do in this production.

My name is Moss

and I am a director and a choreographer

and I am here as the Māori advisor for

this special production 'The Piano'

which is about to start today.

I'm going to have quite a particular perspective on how

the choreographer, Jiří, will be approaching the work.

The use of any traditional element, any Māori element.

I'm here to make them feel welcome here in our culture...

Good luck man - all the best.

but also the area we're getting into

which is fusing specific elements of kaupapa Māori (Maori ways)

and this other dance form.

It's very brave for a ballet company to take on something like this

but that's what makes it really exciting.

A ballet company or an arts company in general

has a responsibility to the honour the heritage of the art form.

But equally we're all on an evolutionary journey, we're all in the 21st century –

what's happening in the world of ballet or dance?

What are the stories? What's relevant?

Where can we go with the art form?

The first time maybe I would say Jiří this is a crazy project

we will not be able to do it but he says

let's do it, let's try.

What I appreciate is that he dares.

He dares to take the story of The Piano

and make a ballet about it.

For us to touch is normal

When you go outside, people when they touch it's already something special.

Your hands say a lot about the details.

So if I say do it like this, it's really like this.

It's not like this, not like this...

For me it already expresses something.

Ok, let's try.

So many people say: "but guys, how do you want to do this?"

How do you express what is happening in the movie?

It's very complicated.

So, you just plié on six...

then just jump like this.

Very good.

And then you start quite low...

and then you...

do that – and passé.

So you start with the hand...

leading you this way,

kind of bending.

You kind of do a proposition with the arms here...

push to second...

to passé...

down...

elbow up... rond... pas de chat

Now, take your head...

and here.

It's just rough, especially first week back.

Mentally it's quick – very, very quick dancing.

He choreographs quite quickly.

Four, five, six, seven and...

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven and...

One... two, four, five, six and...

One... four, five, six, seven, eight!

You put butter on your bread.

He definitely has a style.

I think a lot of us have found it difficult to

be able to mimic that

because it's so coordinated in the way that he moves

and the way he puts together his steps.

...six, seven and step on one, two..

...four, jump on five, six, seven... and one...

It's quite hard to be honest because we just came back from holiday.

It's difficult figuring out how to move

how to get into the new steps.

So far it's been good. I'm very sore.

Big steps. Nice.

Jump.

Jump higher.

It's physically a shock.

Up and down.

Your torso's going towards the ground, going backwards.

You have to just switch on, be quick and go with him

or else you get lost somewhere in the middle.

...then you go inside, like this...

I've been doing buckets of ice in the evening

to try and stop my feet from swelling up too much.

Yeah, life of a dancer.

The choreographer always knows so much more than the dancers, for so long.

And then when they finally put the
pieces together it just makes sense

it's just like a puzzle and it was there all along.

We've got existing costumes and we can do the jackets and things like that.

If you and I work together on getting those right with the sign-off of Otto.

At the end of the day we've got to do something

that's culturally relevant and sensitive.

As long as it sits right with you...

Yeah.

and it blends into their style of things

so it's that crossover between the European and Māori stuff.

Now everything takes like one count.

So it's like one, two, three...

We might move on to music.

It's usually an artistic thing to raise but...

I think it's going to be similar to the costume conversation.

Yep.

And the appropriateness of the songs that are used in particular sections

and why they're used in that particular place.

...and one, two three, four...

The problem for Jiří is going to be the choreography that he's created.

Finding something that is in a similar tempo

and is appropriate to the theme of the scene...

That could work.

He's going to run out of material to teach

and we're going to run out of time.

Yeah.

Because he's got to create it in his head first

and he won't do that until he hears the music...

Normally you'd have a six-week process for a new ballet to do everything

and that would be with music already thought about -

like that's with the whole score set...

So how many weeks is that?

We've got... four with big holes in the score.

Two to the side, passé and balance, yeah? Nice and easy.

Dancers playing Māori - I find that a little bit strange.

Has that been the big elephant in the room since you started this project?

Or has everyone been thinking it and I've just voiced it?

Yeah, I've been thinking it and you've voiced it.

But I suppose it's like

when you do things like Madame Butterfly

you have the same kind of thing.

Yep.

It's... there are Japanese roles in it

and you don't always necessarily have a Japanese person doing that role.

Ok, so how do you get around that?

It just...

They're characters...

Right. That's interesting.

Or like you're doing Giselle and your Albrecht is a Japanese dancer...

You kind of... you remove that from it.

The role's the role.

In this story, the daughter is the voice of the mother.

She is the through-line between that dynamic triangle.

And I think that to get that kid to be confident and say

"Yeah, I know what I'm doing" – it's hard.

The thing I've found with kids is if you push it properly

they actually have much further, further, further that you can push them

than you would ever have imagined.

But if you push them too fast then they break

and it's really hard to bring them back.

The big conversation which you might find a little bit scary –

but I understand because I am a choreographer as well –

is the use of the music.

So the placement of the traditional songs that you have within the dance

are not appropriate necessarily to the themes of the particular sections.

Just tell me what is not appropriate in your view.

To give you some context the haka 'Ka Mate' is our most famous dance.

It is used primarily when there is about to be a challenge, before battle.

But that's exactly what the beginning is – it's a fight.

It's the conflict between the woman and man there.

And it starts with this beginning... the sea is very wild.

That's what it is.

Please explain to me about this music more, then maybe I know.

Tell me about this music.

Can I just talk one second?

So there are different types of haka for different times.

The current haka that's there with the music and the movement

isn't appropriate for that time and place and space.

I try to not be blocking myself so I really hear what you're saying.

I'm not doing a piece with all my respect about Māori

I'm making a piece about Ada, a love story and all these things.

My suggestion is that you don't use that dance

but replace it with something that is more appropriate

to the idea of arrival.

Why can we not use it because it's so famous?

We have hundreds of songs...

Why not this one? What's stopping you?

It is not appropriate to that start of the dance.

What does it mean 'not appropriate'?

This dance is specific to a particular area of this country

and it is specific to a particular group of people.

OK.

So to be able to use that music and that dance

you need to have permission...

I see

and you can not change the movements and the actions.

Ok we will never get the rights, the people they will be upset

we have to use really the steps only with this music

that makes sense to me. This I understand.

There is another dance called Tōia Mai

and it's a similar idea of drawing people in.

We can find the easiest way for you to be able to

marry that into the choreography that you have.

In the beginning I was a little bit surprised

because there was a request from the ballet staff

that I contact him.

So I contacted him in October and then

I didn't have any answer for three months

So I thought everything's fine, I guess he's happy.

Suddenly I came and he says

'Ok the music doesn't work...

this is too holy – we can not use it

and let's think about the haka.'

So my first reaction was a little bit like

I protect myself.

But then I thought about it and

you can see he has knowledge and

it's in his blood, it's part of him.

So it's a great input actually - I'm very happy for that

and I think we can make it even richer and more authentic.

I just hope I don't have to re-choreograph everything.

Kia ora everyone, good to be back in the studio.

Hope you've had a good day.

So we've been talking...

I've suggested that for the current choreographic section

if we interlace it with more of a traditional section.

We're going to try it and we'll see how it feels.

And you're going to go...

So it's a rowing action.

Altogether.

Seven, seven and eight - yeah?

That's good.

Stay down.

Step relevé

Ready... go after.

So you go like, arabesque...

This way, this way...

and you reach for the girl.

Open, here...

Turn and... take it.

The first few days you have to learn the choreography

you have to show them you can do the choreography

show them you can pick it up quickly

but also show them the feeling

and your interpretation of the movement well enough

so that they can depend on you for the role.

You step with the left one behind the right one.

For Ada it's even more important.

She is the ballet, she carries it

and they need to know that

you can take that responsibility on you, that pressure.

So the first few days it's crazy!

You have everything going through your head.

Am I doing it right? Is it what they want?

You have all those emotions.

Down... open.

Here... open.

If you have her and her...

she and him may look very nice together.

If you have more in there

then once we get close to the performance

we can say "ok, next time we'll..."

Casting doesn't always have to do with

you know, this person does the most pirouettes

or this person has the highest jumps.

It has to do also with emotions and how we fit together.

And that's the process that Jiří is going through right now.

I hate casting because you always make

someone happy and you always make someone sad.

And I don't like to make people sad.

Everybody has something and everybody is lacking something.

The smaller dancers, sometimes they do things better

but the taller dancers they fit better for the role.

We are looking for someone who is gentle as well

but she's very good.

It's end of second week, I think next week

I slowly start to say who is going to do what.

Maybe somebody will surprise me and I will be like you are doing it.

This is the hardest – to say "you are it."

Let's have him for one more day.

So you can do four?

Yeah.

I like to wait.

I want to give them a chance to find themselves in the steps.

Your dream is to get the piano back from the beach.

The piano is your voice, it's you, it's part of you.

And this is the first time you see it.

It's like welcoming somebody for a long time you haven't seen.

Ada's a very complex woman with a lot of complex feelings.

She's going through these deep, real-life problems

and she's driven by love.

I do want to do Ada justice

and I want to play her in a way that is believable.

Yeah, still enough moveable room.

I've thought a lot about...

how she carries herself.

She's not a volatile character

but she does go through a lot.

She can't talk

but she probably knows exactly what she wants to say

I can relate to her in that way.

I do try to give my personality inside that character.

I'm not trying to be somebody else –

I'm trying to be me in that situation.

And it will be buttoned down.

I'm still working on the character -

being able to portray her and staying true.

The process has been a lot harder than I thought.

It is a challenge.

If I think about it too much I find myself

evolving it to a point where it's not true to Ada.

In the beginning I felt like my role

was just to directly assist Jiří with his artistic process.

Wasn't quite sure how it was going to go –

still not quite sure how it's going to go.

The problem, the big problem

is having people who are not Māori dressing up as Māori

and then doing dances that are not theirs.

It's bad.

What do you think about them if they all

have make-up to look like Māori?

Who?

The dancers.

No, no.

I think a New Zealand audience would be shocked by that.

It's really like that?

Oh yeah.

They would be like

"What are you doing? That's crazy. Yeah."

Seriously.

People pretending to be Māori here in the country of Māoridom is...

Of course... I understand you

but in one way you have to see it as a show

as a performance which is abstract in a certain way.

It's not something that is real, no?

Unfortunately this is an example

of what has happened multiple times

with our traditional forms and our traditional symbols

being appropriated by people who are mostly not from this country

but certainly New Zealanders are guilty of it as well.

We're so early on in the process

I don't really want to start closing doors

and shutting things down because I think that's

going to be detrimental to the vision of the ballet.

Do you understand the reasons?

I understand the reasons when you actually speak to me now

I understand more the reasons, you know?

Other people wouldn't be as nice as me.

They would be really hard, would be really angry.

Other people would be not be nice like me too...

Other choreographers could be they would just say

"no, that's it" and we cancel the premiere

but we don't do this, we help make it good...

It is a very serious issue.

Yes of course.

I'm in a situation now where I have to

find a way for it to work out, you know?

Because this is the 21st century

and we have to find a way for us to feel strong

in ourselves and our mana

we have to stand proud as Māori

but we also have to find ways to work together

and to be together and to create together.

Sometimes of course everyone, what they create

it's their babies.

And suddenly if you criticise their babies it could create a problem.

But one has to open for something new, something different

because in the arts it is always very hard to say

what is right and what is not right.

...eight and a one...

...two... three...

...four... back...

We're raised in a ballet studio to take direction.

Our whole lives are geared towards bettering ourselves

not each and every day

but every moment.

Our craft is a neverending pursuit of perfection

pushing yourself as hard as you can

and as far as you can is what we do.

So it's finding when a dancer has more to give

or when not to push.

The casting process changes depending on

the depths of the talents in front of you.

Do you believe that that artist

will have the capabilities that you're looking for?

Trying with the right one...

We're going to try it with all of you.

For today we will try to find which mother fits you.

So let's start with you.

And Sara maybe we start today with you.

So this is like...

your mother

she has this piano she loves to play

but she can not talk so you

learn the sign language and communicate that way together.

For her the second way of speaking

is through the piano.

But when she came to New Zealand

the husband that she married sold the piano

because he wants to buy land.

So now, she's missing the piano

so she has a knife

and she makes holes in the kitchen table

and it's the white keys and the black keys.

You come in and you see

why did she put these holes in the table?

So you're thinking maybe... she can not speak

maybe there's something more that is wrong with her?

So you're watching your mother

Yes...

and she says "Please sing"

So you stand up.

La la la la...

I was... look three metres and I didn't hear you.

So what about your mothers?

And what about the people who are sitting

on the beach somewhere there – in the last row – higher.

They paid a lot of money to see you

so I want to hear you.

Don't be scared.

Look - I don't care what people think.

La da da da, la da da da...

Just go for it, it doesn't matter

like you are at home.

You have a sister or brother?

Sister? So just be like she's your sister.

I'm your father... not father...

I'm your friend – I want to say friend.

So let's just have fun, yeah?

If you come home from school

and your mother is sitting at the kitchen table

and making holes there in the table

what would you think?

Mother are you ok? What happened?

We are not having lunch today? What's happening?

The light goes slowly on... it's just on the table

and you kind of watch your mother

and she's making...

that's it.

The audience is going to see Alasdair as the antagonist

which he clearly is.

He's not very forgiving

He doesn't really have patience for Ada

He doesn't really understand her either

and that's very clear in the way that he interacts with her.

But there was also a moment when he wanted to get to know her -

he really wanted to understand her at one point.

I think he looks down upon everyone else

who isn't the same as him as inferior.

He made a bad call selling the piano at the start

but I mean

Baines was his friend, Ada his wife.

Baines is kind of...

as a character he is overcome with lust and love for Ada.

He bought the piano because he wanted to get close to her.

It wasn't a thing of the moment.

He deliberately thought about, well...

the piano was left at the beach

she loves that piano

if I get the piano I'll get her attention.

There's a point where a duet starts

and I just touch Ada by the wrist

just so little and so delicate and she's playing the piano

then when I touch her everything stops -

for six counts it's complete silence.

And that electricity in that moment is so wonderful.

It's intimate but it's so very chaste at the same time.

He's bringing her out of her shell and it's

kind of a wonderful process – it's falling in love.

She will only be with you if you make her

believe in you. Slowly.

One... two... three

four... five... six... on one.

...four... five and... travel...

...and one... two...

three and four...

five and six... and one...

two...

six and one...

three and four...

gently, soft, soft...

two and... three...

four...

fast fast faster and... surprise!

And – surprise!

You have to really get to know your partner well

and after multiple rehearsals you start to understand

maybe someone's flow or their movement qualities.

You need to be able to

go beyond that first level of partnering and trying to figure things out

especially in the love scenes

your bodies have to mould together as one.

It's very important to have someone you can trust.

To be able to trust someone and then to be able to dance with them

gives you that added layer of security.

When we all come from such different backgrounds

when we get together there is always that collision of styles.

I love breaking down movements so we can find a foundation

so we can find a connection between the way

we like to do a movement and then putting it together

because then that step is not only mine and not only hers

it's ours together, so when we do it

it's easy to find meaning behind something that we constructed together

because we together worked to build it

a step that worked for us, that came from

half my part and half her part.

So it makes it very special and unique.

We always like to get to the point where muscle memory takes over

so you don't have to think so much about the steps.

Once we get to that point

then the emotion can take over and become

more and more raw and real.

When you can find those moments with your partner it's really magical

it's what I live for as a dancer

where you can just look at someone's eyes and know exactly what they're thinking

It's very cool, very special.

The technical crew is there to support the dancers

so that they can tell the story that the choreographer

is wanting to put across.

We're the ones that take the choreographer's and designer's vision

and turn it into something that is a reality

something we can put on the stage

that we can pack into a container or a truck

ship it to the next stage and do it again.

It's very... you feel the rhythm, no?

And it's the heart and that's the...

that's the life.

I know it seems we are not really doing big balletic stuff

but... I want to have it right.

I don't want to have it written in the reviews:

"Czech guy came and tried to imitate Māori."

I don't. That's why those two gentlemen are here

and we're going to get it right together

especially here in this place.

When we're talking about some of the choreographic material

I can feel optimistic about that.

However there's still the big issue of

non-Māori dancers performing a Māori dance.

I've spoken with Patricia a few times now about the casting

It would be much more appropriate for the dancers to be

actually Māori dancers from New Zealand.

So I'm not sure where we are in that conversation

but for the moment we just need to continue with rehearsals

so that you can ensure that the choreography is there.

It was obvious that our waka design needed to be remodelled as well

so I got in touch with my good friend James.

When I get involved with projects I look at the spirit of a project.

The Piano – it's like a meeting of cultures and people

sort of like Shakespeare... love and trauma.

People are trying to communicate.

That's sort of what The Piano is about.

If I can get in and help on a creative level

to help rectify something that should have been done in the beginning

which is quite interesting because it was all developed overseas

and shown in Germany

it makes you sort of laugh and smile a little bit

but it also makes your blood boil as well

from an indigenous perspective.

Every aspect of a waka has its own function, you know?

Every person on that waka has their own job

whether they're sitting at the front or at the back

or whether they're the captain.

Some people get an instruction to turn left

so they got to paddle a different way than the people on the other side.

To create harmony you all have to have the same

understanding of the function of a waka.

And I don't necessarily think that is where the waka is at at the moment.

We're trying to help without causing too much friction

as our canoe plows through the waves, if you know what I mean.

Don't stay on the oar - try to be down to the earth.

Yeah, that's good.

We haven't actually met as a group team

the artistic director, the choreographers and the designers

we haven't actually had a single meeting together.

I'm not the kaihautu of this waka, I'm not driving this waka

the Royal New Zealand Ballet is driving this waka

and I think we need to actually come together

so that we can all move together.

When I saw this country I just fell in love with this country.

The light... the landscape.

It's so enormous this feeling that you have when you see this country

that I almost didn't know how to express this.

But it was very important to capture

the enormous power of the sea or the mountains.

So I thought ok what can I do?

So I said let's make huge big walls

where we will project something that I will film in New Zealand

and make it almost like a picture, but still moving.

I think this is fine for the dancers.

In this show we've got four guys

whose sole job is to move the two walls around the stage.

And they have their own little dance.

As we have rehearsed we've had to go:

"We need this wall to move slightly faster than that wall"

so that the two walls can then marry up together.

They're making their own little choreographic number of wall moves.

The left side is a little more open than the right side.

Being here today I feel lighter – lighter yeah.

Because to be honest I was ready to actually say I'm leaving today

I had turned up in my mind saying if we don't have change today

I'm just going to say "look, sorry, I've helped as much as I can

but it's actually compromising my position as a Māori."

The suggestions that I had been making

I didn't know if they were being considered.

So it wasn't until today that I heard

that there was understanding there – and then actually saw it.

The biggest shift was having that open and frank conversation with Patricia.

As a result of the non-Māori within the show

being portrayed as Māori

Patricia heard that and understood it.

I said we need to actually address that not only in the production

but in the programme, we need to talk to our audience,

we need to let them know how we have approached this issue.

We're going to tell the audience that the Māori characters in the production

they are embodying the concepts and ideas within Māori culture

but they are not Māori.

We're going to say they represent a concept

which draws its inspiration from Māori culture.

So they are hybrid characters

almost elemental.

That's a compromise

as a result of the fact that the Ballet

is not going to employ Māori dancers to be in the production.

So I said to Patricia where are the Māori ballerinas?

Where are they?

They're not here.

Can I have everybody back please?

I'm just a little bit disappointed that we can not really

mix the cultures...

that it can not be the Māoris meeting the Europeans

and that it had to be kind of... erased.

This decision was made without us

and without me being choreographer.

I'm sorry but if you want to do such a drastic thing to the story

then talk to me and like we said

we talked about the music and we changed it

we talked about the waka boat and we changed it.

We were really open to change and I'm really actually open to any ideas.

With knowing what I know now in this moment

I would change even more and do things totally differently

but I didn't understand that.

And then slowly your hands turn into fists and you get this..

I think this ballet continues to push the frontier of the relationships

with the culture here in New Zealand and of dance.

The experience of having so many people come through

and touch this project and be a part of it

and laid eyes on the project with an opinion, with guidance

is I think remarkable.

But in the end there has to be somebody who says

this is the path we're going on

and this is what we're going to present to our audiences.

How do you make the dancer understand this complicated relationship?

You get married to a man you don't know

but your feelings are for this other guy

but you can not be with him...

So there's a lot of layers.

So I always try to ask them...

and maybe draw on something from their life.

And they feel it and they react as a human reacts

and it's true and it's real.

You're saying here: "Don't you get it? I love you."

Because this doesn't fit you.

This is not Abigail – this is you trying to play a role.

I mean you can hit him this way but

how would you say to a man who just doesn't get it?

Man, just... I'm here, I decided to come back!

He's like, go - leave!

And you're like, I came back because I wanted to tell you I love you!

There's a wonderful moment where Ada comes to George Baines

and he just says "I can't eat, I can't sleep

I'm just fixated on you so if you're not here for me

then just go, just go."

We were working on that a bit

and Jiří said "just do it like Abigail"

and tears started streaming down my face because

I just felt so involved in it and

as an artist you want to get to that point that

it's so real for you that... it's going to come across

rather than playing something

You have to be in it and...

I'm getting tearful thinking about it now!

Yeah, it's lovely.

The tension that Ada goes through

it's like a tight string that pulls her from both sides.

It's like, what is the right thing to do

and what is my heart telling me to do?

I can say without any doubt that this is

the most challenging role I've ever had.

Alasdair really, really pushes me to my limits.

It is challenging because I have to forget

the relationships I have with these people, these dancers

in real life

and I have to become

someone that I don't want to be.

It seems so heavy

but at the same time there's that believability

and that's what makes it...

more harrowing.

It's set a long time ago, however

the way that it's been told by Jiří

I think is quite a contemporary telling.

It just feels relevant to today

and any relationship happening today.

It's human nature

and I think that is the core of the story really.

So it doesn't really matter about the time period

you could strip it away and it could be set in

2050 or on the moon.

The characters are still relevant to human nature and human relationships.

It's been a process all the way through to bring this to life.

It's been a great learning journey for everyone in the company

and it's an exciting piece because there will be some dialogue about it.

It's a way for people to go out of the theatre and have a discussion.

What did you feel about that and what did you think about that?

And we can then have conversations

that are actually also important to our culture and to who we are.

I felt like Moss was trying to explain to me this huge problem

but I didn't really understand in the beginning.

I thought that we are actually fine

that we are saying an ok story that they are ok with.

If I would understand earlier maybe the process

would have been totally different, you know?

Next time if I do some project like this

I really will from the beginning want to know everything much more.

I think in the theatre it should be that you can express anything

and people should take it as a kind of opening of eyes

and something that we could think about.

We should be able to do anything because

the art should be free.

I totally agree and it was really nice how you said it

but still in the theatre are humans in the theatre

and humans have some certain stories.

It's not made of paper, you know?

Good evening ladies and gentlemen

and welcome to the Royal New Zealand Ballet's

'The Piano: the ballet' performance.

The moment the music plays

it's almost like we all get in to this separate world.

We all become these characters.

I get so focused on what I'm doing

I'm not looking at Paul any more – he becomes Stewart.

I'm not looking at Abi any more – I'm looking at Ada.

Is the story really a love story or is it about seduction?

Will she really go with him?

Is that the new love?

What was the story?

I think...

...and then she just walks

and you think about that.

Because it's not one of those typical love stories

and those typical love endings.

I don't think that the story is honestly that.

Yeah.