Being Daisy

I am incredibly excited to play the role of "Daisy" in Ron Cunningham's brand new ballet - The Great Gatsby - based, of course, of the famous novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  While today was considered the first official day of rehearsal for this new work, we actually have been in the process of creating sections/experimenting with ideas for movement since last Spring.  (Thank god for video recording, or else it would be very hard to remember all the steps we came up with almost one year ago!)  Now however, it is our main focus in our daily rehearsals and it's time for me to really develop my character with the careful coaching of Ron and Carinne Cunningham.

I read the book in High School, again this past summer, and also brushed up on a few passages over our Holiday Break...so the novel is very fresh in my mind.  What I find most intriguing about being Daisy is that by the end you really think she is a very despicable person.  Daisy is incredibly shallow, careless, bored, and so engulfed by easy access to wealth that she feels she can retreat behind her money whenever she's made a mess out of a situation.  Why does this excite me?  Because I've never gotten to portray such a selfish character!  Other roles I've been fortunate to dance such as Juliet, Cinderella, Alice (in Wonderland) or even the Sugar Plum Fairy are pretty much the exact opposite of Daisy.  It's thrilling to pretend to be someone so beautiful and charming on surface and cold, base and corrupt at heart.  It's unlike anything I've experienced before.  The main reason I love my job is because, not only do I get to exercise my body to music, but I get to act, play and pretend to be people I'm not nor would ever want to be in real life.

A friend of mine recently asked me what my back story was for Daisy as, in the book, she is only characterized through Nick's and Gatsby's eyes.  I enjoyed this inquiry because it made me realize that I get to come up with my own interpretation of why Daisy is the way she is.  There really is no early history of her so her morals, or maybe better said, lack thereof (!) are for me to make up.    The Great Gatsby is a fantastic story examining people's values in a time where passions took precedence no matter the consequence.  As I begin to mold my version of Daisy feel free to find me on facebook and twitter and message me about your ideas and suggestions.  Until then, back to the studio for some more jazzy fun!  Don't miss this show - it's gonna be the cat's meow!

Alexandra Cunningham
@alexandrajklc