© David Allen and SFB Pipit-Suksun in reviews recent SFB reviews Renee Renouf reviews

Talking with Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun in a meeting room at San Francisco Ballet’s administrative wing recently brought my enthusiasm for Asia and dance together in Western classical ballet. Imposing on stage, Nutnaree’s relatively small height struck me as she walked through the door and greeted me with a Wai—the Thai greeting of palms together at the chest. I expected a Southeast Asian version of Beryl Grey’s distinguished proportions. Here was this delicately boned, oval faced creature; her well-spaced eyes with their intelligent gaze, at once aloof and receptive, added to the impression of her deep pleasure in dancing.

Bangkok-born Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun is one of San Francisco Ballet’s newer soloists. Ballet company followers already know Nutnaree arrived on the ballet scene after winning the Adeline Genee Gold Medal in 2001, since named “The Vintage Year”.

Thai classical dance is a form at the opposite end of the spectrum to Western Ballet, so we touched upon the anomaly of her pursuit of ballet. “I started studying ballet because of my mom. She wanted me to have an activity to keep me fit. Plus she thought it would be good discipline.” Nutnaree related in gentle, musical tones, with a light accent influenced by her sojourn at the Royal Ballet. “I had a lot of friends at normal school who took ballet at the same time. We all started out together—it was an activity in our private school. People think of ballet as a hobby, not as a career. We didn’t have a company because it is a Western thing and Thais don’t really know much about it. I started studying ballet more seriously around eleven because my teacher told me I had a really good potential for ballet. I was having a lot of fun and at that point, ballet had become my biggest passion, which I looked forward to every evening after school.”

 

Kanchana Chonlavijarana was her prime teacher with William Morgan. Morgan was English: “He used to dance in Cape Town—he traveled all over, before he settled in Thailand, where he remains today.” They have a school in Bangkok which Nutnaree described as a “pyramid”. “They have lots of little kids” with the classes getting smaller as the students get older, and the training is based on the R.A.D. syllabus.

Making the life-changing decision to study ballet is serious enough, but someone from Thailand contemplating studying abroad must have felt it momentous. “The decision was hard to make at first because I did well in school and because nobody in the family had done ballet before. In order to “make it” you have to leave Thailand. But since both my parents have been out of the country they are more open minded and very supportive. They said I just have to do what I love to do.”

At 15, Nutnaree had attained R.A.D.’s solo seal, passed the advanced level exams, and was accepted at the Australian Ballet School. When Miss Debra Wayne, the R.A.D. examiner, came to Bangkok, she suggested, “Why don’t you go to the Royal Ballet School?— It's more like your style. If you go there you can also enter the Genee Competition.” Nutnaree sent a video and the forms. The School accepted her on full scholarship.

Gayline Stock, who directs The Royal Ballet School, felt Nutnaree a bit young for the Upper School, and placed her in the Lower School. “I really didn’t know how to speak English, and it was my first time away from home” said Nutnaree. “Ms. Stock suggested I go to The Lower School, White Lodge, where I was from March until July. Then she moved me into the Upper School.” With this transaction, Nutnaree was studying English and absorbing it by saturation. “I studied at home and at school, but to speak a language you have to live in country.”

 

Perhaps less known is the fact that Nutnaree’s award-winning participation in the R.A.D.’s Adeline Genee Competition occurred right after her arrival at the Royal Ballet School. “I arrived in March and the Competition was in April, 2001, just three weeks after I arrived.”

Regarding Nutnaree’s arrival in San Francisco, I asked when she had been in touch with San Francisco Ballet—had she sent videos? “In my graduate year we all went to Stuttgart at the end of March, 2004, a school tour. Helgi came to one of my shows, but didn’t say anything really. We were introduced by Jay Jolley, the assistant director of the school, but that was it.”

Asked when she was offered the contract, she replied, “Actually, I was offered contracts by Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre Studio, Birmingham Royal Ballet, La Scala, and Hamburg.

“During the Easter holiday, I took a trip to America, to Houston and New York, taking classes. While I was here, Mr. Jolley called me to say ‘San Francisco wants you to fly, see them, and take classes.’ I said, ‘My flight is already booked back to London—what am I supposed to do?’ He said, ‘Don’t worry. The ballet will organize everything, the hotels and stuff.’ I took three classes.”

Asked about her initial impression of San Francisco Ballet, Nutnaree replied, “Because I studied in London, I had no idea what an American company is supposed to look like. I was impressed with everything. The people were really nice.”

 

Nutnaree laughed, “I called my mom straight away.”

Then what happened? “Before I left, Helgi came to watch class, and said, ‘Okay, go get changed and come to my office and talk about it.’ I came in and he smiled and said, ‘So, how about a soloist contract?’ I was like, ‘No!’” Here, Nutnaree’s modulated, matter-of-fact tones gave way to candid emotion. “I was in shock! I never expected that. I asked Helgi if he thought I was ready, and he felt that I was.”

Talking about recent assignments, Nutnaree responded to my question about working with Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird, in which she dances the Princess. “He can be scary, because he’s so big and has a loud voice. But he also is sweet and can be very funny. At first the steps were a little awkward, but what I liked was telling a story. This is the first time I had to act on stage, a new challenge. It makes the dancing much more fun, representing someone, instead of dancing without meaning.”

I asked her if she would be dancing Lilac Fairy in the upcoming performances of The Sleeping Beauty, and she confirmed that. “I’m also learning Blue Bird, with Moises Martin.”

Asked if she had any favorite roles to date, Nutnaree responded “I always try to do my best in each role, but they all have different feeling and interpretation. I particularly like the piece 7 for eight. I dance with Pierre-Francois Vilanoba. I’ve been learning a lot by performing with different partners. At the school I had four or five dances but with only one partner. Besides Pierre and Moises, I also dance with Tiit Helimets.” She smiled, “I get all the big guys.”

Nutnaree also is learning Yuan Yuan Tan’s role in Chi-Lin. “I really admire her work, so it’s definitely an honor to be given that opportunity.”

 

With ambitions to dance La Bayadere and Manon, Nutnaree commented on the demands in dancing Balanchine ballets. “Everything is so fast. The attack is more intense than the training at the Royal. We learned the same things, but the emphasis is different. The Royal paid a lot of attention to the port de bra and epaulement.”

Discussing the English meaning of her name, Nutnaree hesitated delicately, searching for English-language equivalents. “Suksun means ‘happy’ and Pipit means ‘to gather’, or, to gather happiness. And the name Nutnaree? A longer pause and hesitation— “It means wisdom lady.”

What could better describe Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, San Francisco Ballet Soloist.