SEVENTEEN INTERVIEW WITH SASCHA RADETSKY:
Where are you from?
I'm from California originally. I've lived in New York for the last four years.
You studied in Russia?
The conditions are not the same as we are used to here, but it was a great experience. I really enjoyed it a lot and got a lot out of it. It was a dance school. They do more discipline and harder classes and strenuous schedules.
How did you get into dance?
My older sister danced [ballet] and I used to watch her and saw some performances and the exciting male dancers doing these big leaps and turns. It appealed to me. I started when I was 5 years old, and right now I'm 22.
So you didn't go to college, right?
No. Eventually I would like to get a degree. It is just that right now, it is impossible, if you want to have a career in ballet, unless you take one class at a time. Since our years are so limited, at 35, you are pushing it.
What is your character Charlie like?
He is kind of an All-American type guy. He goes to this Ballet Academy and he's a little bit of a flirt. He has his eye on Jody, but although they are friends, she doesn't wise up until the end. She and Cooper have a fling, and that creates some animosity between him and Charlie.
What happened after you tried out for the part?
It was down to the wire and I was finishing my season in New York with the American Ballet Theater last June. I got a call right before we were to leave for Japan for two weeks to tour. They said they wanted to offer me the job. I was pretty shocked. They brought me back from Japan a couple of days early.
Do you want to go into acting? What are you doing now?
Still working with ABT, and that is my primary career.
Since you are the professional, how closely do you think the film depicts ballet?
I would say the film accurately depicts what goes on at a high caliber ballet school, but to a point. This is a movie -- there has to be story lines and plot lines -- and it is fiction. But they definitely, Nick [the director] definitely wanted to keep it true to life. They were asking us all the time, 'Would you say this, would you wear that, would you do this step?' We had a lot of leeway as to what moves we wanted to do. There was a choreographer, but she didn't choreograph every single ballet sequence. Sometimes we just kind of came up with whatever we did.
How did the actresses do?
They were great. Zoe has danced a little bit, but she'll fool everybody because she really looks like a dancer -- she's long and thin. She did have a double for some stuff, but there are some things she just can't fake. Susan too, she did a great job. They worked really hard to get the style.
What was your splurge with your paycheck?
I certainly bought something, but I can't think of anything big. I really had to hold myself back from getting a motorcycle. I went to nice restaurants. I got a cell phone.
Do you walk on the street with it?
I try to talk only in restaurants. No, I'm just kidding.
*SaScHa LiNkS*
*PiCs + AuTo*: These are the BEST Pics I have found, plus Sascha's autobiography! (I put this one together)~Official Center Stage Site~: This also has Sascha's autobiography and a few pictures, plus information on the other dancers/actors.
^@ fan PAGE @^: Another fan's page!
(0 AnOtHeR oNe Of SaScHa'S AuToS 0): A REALLY short autobiography from ABT.
~* Emma Abraham's "Center Stage" Premiere Page *~: Page dedicated to the movie's premiere!
# ABT photo GALLERY #: A reallllllly weird pic. of Sascha!
` More informatioN On saschA `: More information on Sascha as well as random pictures from "Center Stage." (I put this one together too)
*CENTER STAGE INFORMATION*
INFORMATION ON THE MOVIE "CENTER STAGE" (Sascha as Charlie) AS SEEN ON THE OFFICIAL SITE(http://www.sony.com/centerstage):
From Nicholas Hytner, the acclaimed director of "The Madness of King George," "The Crucible" and "The Object of My Affection," and Academy Award- nominated producer Laurence Mark ("Jerry Maguire," "As Good As It Gets") comes " Center Stage," a drama with heart and energy that follows the hopes and dreams of a tight-knit group of young dance students as they try to make a name for themselves and become stars in the fiercely competitive world of professional dance.
Vibrant and supremely gifted, they are students who devote themselves to their art, sacrificing ordinary pleasures of life to train with the rigor of Olympic athletes. While experiencing the normal joys and sorrows, loves and conflicts of youth, they vie for a place in an ultra-selective professional dance company. Featuring a diverse musical palette, from Tchaikovsky to Jamiroquai, "Center Stage" traces the story of these fresh-faced, talented friends as they strive to take their place center stage.
"Center Stage" is a Columbia Pictures presentation directed by Nicholas Hytner and produced by Laurence Mark. Ruth Myers, Academy Award nominee for "Emma," is costume designer and Caroline Baron is co-producer. George Fenton, Oscar nominee for "Gandhi," who has written the scores for all of Hytner's films, is the composer. Tariq Anwar, an Academy Award nominee for this year's hit, "American Beauty," is editor. David Gropman (a 2000 Oscar nominee for "The Cider House Rules") is production designer and Geoffrey Simpson ("Shine," "Little Women") is the director of photography. The film introduces a talented ensemble of young performers, including Amanda Schull, Zoë Saldana, Susan May Pratt, Ethan Stiefel, Sascha Radetsky, Ilia Kulik, Eion Bailey and Shakiem Evans in addition to stage and screen veterans Peter Gallagher, Debra Monk and Donna Murphy.
Sign My Guestbook
View My Guestbook
If N-e 1 HaS n-E iNfO tHeY tHiNk sHoUlD bE aDdEd 2 ThIs PaGe E-mAiL mE @: