With dancing, it is not so much about keeping your weight down. Your weight seems to stay down naturally because you are dancing as much as you are. It is more about [that] with classical ballet, there is definitely a type of body. With modern dance you can [be] more muscular, you can be more boxy, and can be more about strength. It really depends what kind of company you are in.
Did you feel pressure to maintain a weight?
I definitely felt pressure for myself to get back to my dancer body, and to feel up to par with the dancers. But it is more about being capable of doing the movements. It is more about getting the strength back.
When you heard that this labor of love of yours was finally going to get made and Robert Altman was directing, how did you feel about that?
I couldn't believe that he had taken it on. Barbara [Turner] and I, when we started this four years ago, we really said this film has to be Altman-esque. We never thought we would get Bob, but we thought it should be Altman-esque. [The] reason being is because we wanted this to be about a world and not just be about three characters. If you look at most of Bob's films, he is really good at having 80 characters in a film and somehow you get to know each of them for a moment. It means something, and you don't have to follow just one story line. That is sort of the way we based this story, even before we got him.
What was he like to work with?
Bob was phenomenal. Phenomenal. What is so beautiful about Robert is that he does not stray from the truth of what it is that he is trying to say, or what it is that he is trying to make. He never sells out for box office or anything like that. He is really true to his vision.
What I really learned from him is the way that he can maneuver himself on a day-to-day basis. We had been set up that we were going to shoot "Funny Valentine" at this beautiful location and suddenly we lost it. Instead of freaking out and getting angry and frustrated and blaming someone, like most directors would, he took a breather, took a moment, and came up with a better idea. He wouldn't waste his time on the stuff that he just knows happens. He has been in the business long enough to know that that is just going to happen.
Were any of the stories in "The Company" from your personal experiences?
No. But you know what? They are all personal experiences. If you were to look at the thousands of pages of transcripts from the interviews that Barbara and I had, about 80% of them are exactly the same story. I would say half the dancers we would ask, "What was your first experience with ballet?" And they would say, "I saw ‘The Nutcracker’ and then my parent bought me lessons. I got into a really good school at 9 and I trained and I had a hard time..." Everyone has the same story.
How involved in the actual writing process were you?
Barbara wrote the script. My involvement was sitting down with her for years, interviewing the dancers, discussing what things we thought would be interesting, what we didn't think would be interesting. Going through the transcripts, picking the pieces, finding the order. But Barbara wrote the script.
Have you kept up with your training after finishing “The Company?”
Four days [after finishing] I flew to New Mexico to do a movie with Val Kilmer and Sam Sheppard and Faye Dunaway. There are no ballet companies in New Mexico. There was [the] Santa Fe Ballet and I found them in Santa Fe and I took two classes with them on a weekend. That was all I was able to do. It was a huge adjustment again. I take classes as much as I can on my days off.
Domingo Rubio, who was in "Funny Valentine" with me in the movie, he has moved out here and wants to start up a company. I am going to help him with that. But I am going to find ways to stay involved with dance in some way. You can't be acting and making films and dancing at the same time. You are either dancing or you are not.
How did being a dancer help you to be an actress?
Dance is incredibly disciplined and incredibly challenging. I think it has helped me with challenges, to handle them and not be overwhelmed and attack them. I am daring, or I can be daring, because of dance. Dance can be daring. I also learned to take care of myself fairly well. As a dancer, you can't afford not to.
It is humbling being a dancer. You don't have any control of your career. You are constantly looking to someone to guide you and correct you and help you every day to point out your problems and point out your mistakes. You learn to deal with criticism very well. I think that has helped me.
ADDITIONAL "THE COMPANY" RESOURCES:
"The Company" Photo Gallery
"The Company" Movie Credits
"The Company" Trailer and Websites
