Few establishments on the local cultural scene have had as consistent a track record in recent years as the Olivia Dow School of Russian Ballet. The school's annual performance of an original ballet, designed as a showcase for the considerable talents of the young ballerinas studying at the school, has become a fixture on the calendar for the hot summer months.
This year's show, entitled Thru' the Barres and scheduled for August 5, promises to be a worthy continuation of this tradition. About half of the school's pupils - 127 ballerinas - will be performing in the event, which, as Olivia Dow explained to me when I met her at the school in Naxxar, will continue the shows' traditional blend of classical and contemporary elements. This time, however, this familiar blend will be executed somewhat differently.
"I wanted to have the classical elements all together," she said. "Usually we mix everything together, but this year I thought, no, we'll have the classical side separately and only then go into the more contemporary aspect."
To that end, the ballet will be composed of two distinct sections. "The first section of the ballet is all going to be classically inclined, and we're going to show the pupils on the barre, and then coming away from the barre. Then there'll be a scene change and we're going to do a pirate theme, in which obviously we do different styles of dancing."
What is the thinking behind this change in format? As Ms Dow said, it's all about placing an increased emphasis on the classical aspects of ballet. "What I'm trying to say to people is that the classical aspect is the most important. With the classical you can do anything, it's like classical music, you learn the classics first, and then you can play jazz and be able to do whatever you want."
This year's performance, however, is primarily notable because it is the first that the school has put up without the participation of John Baldacchino, Ms Dow's husband and the school's co-founder and artistic director, who passed away last February 15. Mr Baldacchino has been a driving force in the school's development, and his input has been key to the school's previous shows, for all of which he wrote the original librettos. This year's performance is intended as a tribute to Mr Baldacchino, and Ms Dow emphasises the fact that the show remains very much in his spirit.
"We've done it for so long, you know, you can call me well-trained," she laughs. "I know what he would have wanted, and so do the girls. I mean, most of the girls were brought up at the school from the age of three. We've had the school for 14 years, so some of them are 17, 18 - they're just one big family, basically. We all know what he wants, so we're all going to work in the same direction."
As such, though this is the first show Ms Dow has developed by herself, it remains very much a continuation of her long years of work with her husband. "When we worked things out, we always worked them out together. When you work with someone for so many years - cause don't forget I met my husband in 1972... A long time... so you become..." She clenches her hands together tightly.
A more extensive tribute to Mr Baldacchino is planned for next year. Ms Dow explained: "What I want to do in the future, we didn't have time this year, is... actually before he died he started discussing with the National Orchestra, and we're hoping to put our original ballets to an orchestra. And I want to, next year, recreate all six of them. That's the aim for next year. We're going to do all six of them together."
But, in the meantime, the focus remains on continuing the school's 14-year legacy, of which the annual performance is only a single aspect. What is Ms Dow's motivation to continue the hard work she puts into her school?
"I would like to give my knowledge over to the people and let them do it. A lot of them have got a lot of soul, we just have to nourish it and bring it out, with a discipline that doesn't crush their personality. I am strict, but I do allow them to come out of themselves. Each child has a different character, and you've got to allow it to come out."
The payoff, after all the long months and years of training, comes in seeing her pupils grow and mature, from little girls to young adults, and in seeing this maturity manifested on the stage. "It's beautiful, when you see them on the stage... The younger ones of course have got no inhibitions. You've got to give the older ones a bit more confidence in themselves, because their bodies are changing, their minds are changing... they go through the teenage years," she laughs, "which we've all been through, and I think we all probably remember. But once they get past that teenage stage they are, then, dancers, and they're completely different. They're professional, they know what they're doing, what they want, and it's amazing to see them on the stage. All my thanks come when I see them."
This year's show, entitled Thru' the Barres and scheduled for August 5, promises to be a worthy continuation of this tradition. About half of the school's pupils - 127 ballerinas - will be performing in the event, which, as Olivia Dow explained to me when I met her at the school in Naxxar, will continue the shows' traditional blend of classical and contemporary elements. This time, however, this familiar blend will be executed somewhat differently.
"I wanted to have the classical elements all together," she said. "Usually we mix everything together, but this year I thought, no, we'll have the classical side separately and only then go into the more contemporary aspect."
To that end, the ballet will be composed of two distinct sections. "The first section of the ballet is all going to be classically inclined, and we're going to show the pupils on the barre, and then coming away from the barre. Then there'll be a scene change and we're going to do a pirate theme, in which obviously we do different styles of dancing."
What is the thinking behind this change in format? As Ms Dow said, it's all about placing an increased emphasis on the classical aspects of ballet. "What I'm trying to say to people is that the classical aspect is the most important. With the classical you can do anything, it's like classical music, you learn the classics first, and then you can play jazz and be able to do whatever you want."
This year's performance, however, is primarily notable because it is the first that the school has put up without the participation of John Baldacchino, Ms Dow's husband and the school's co-founder and artistic director, who passed away last February 15. Mr Baldacchino has been a driving force in the school's development, and his input has been key to the school's previous shows, for all of which he wrote the original librettos. This year's performance is intended as a tribute to Mr Baldacchino, and Ms Dow emphasises the fact that the show remains very much in his spirit.
"We've done it for so long, you know, you can call me well-trained," she laughs. "I know what he would have wanted, and so do the girls. I mean, most of the girls were brought up at the school from the age of three. We've had the school for 14 years, so some of them are 17, 18 - they're just one big family, basically. We all know what he wants, so we're all going to work in the same direction."
As such, though this is the first show Ms Dow has developed by herself, it remains very much a continuation of her long years of work with her husband. "When we worked things out, we always worked them out together. When you work with someone for so many years - cause don't forget I met my husband in 1972... A long time... so you become..." She clenches her hands together tightly.
A more extensive tribute to Mr Baldacchino is planned for next year. Ms Dow explained: "What I want to do in the future, we didn't have time this year, is... actually before he died he started discussing with the National Orchestra, and we're hoping to put our original ballets to an orchestra. And I want to, next year, recreate all six of them. That's the aim for next year. We're going to do all six of them together."
But, in the meantime, the focus remains on continuing the school's 14-year legacy, of which the annual performance is only a single aspect. What is Ms Dow's motivation to continue the hard work she puts into her school?
"I would like to give my knowledge over to the people and let them do it. A lot of them have got a lot of soul, we just have to nourish it and bring it out, with a discipline that doesn't crush their personality. I am strict, but I do allow them to come out of themselves. Each child has a different character, and you've got to allow it to come out."
The payoff, after all the long months and years of training, comes in seeing her pupils grow and mature, from little girls to young adults, and in seeing this maturity manifested on the stage. "It's beautiful, when you see them on the stage... The younger ones of course have got no inhibitions. You've got to give the older ones a bit more confidence in themselves, because their bodies are changing, their minds are changing... they go through the teenage years," she laughs, "which we've all been through, and I think we all probably remember. But once they get past that teenage stage they are, then, dancers, and they're completely different. They're professional, they know what they're doing, what they want, and it's amazing to see them on the stage. All my thanks come when I see them."