Scapino Ballet dancer Ashton Benn gives an insider’s view of Ed Wubbe’s final production.
On a humid August afternoon, Ed Wubbe stood at the front of the spacious Codarts Circus studio in Rotterdam, smiling warmly at the organized chaos unfolding before him. In one corner, dancers from his company, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, diligently rehearsed his whimsical choreography. Nearby, a circus artist perfectly balanced in a stick-straight handstand.
As an intern with Scapino for the 2024-25 season, I found the scene both daunting and exhilarating. With the 2024 Rotterdam premiere of Oscar just a few weeks away, the cast and crew were deep in preparation for the show that will be Wubbe’s farewell production after serving as Scapino’s Artistic Director for thirty years.
After moving to the Netherlands in July, I was warmly welcomed into the company and tasked with learning the show. Fortunately, many of the dancers and circus performers helped create Oscar in 2022 and had the choreography tucked inside their muscle memories. The biggest change for this re-staging was casting new dancers to fill the iconic roles of Oscar and his wife, as the original performers had retired.
Filip Wagrodzki understudied the character of Oscar in 2022 and is now stepping fully into the role. “It’s very easy to hide behind steps. But here it is all about presentation and breaking the fourth wall between the audience and stage,” he said. “People need to believe that I am Oscar Carré. They need to like me, fear me and be interested in me for a full two-hour show.”
Although initially challenging, Wagrodzki feels he has found the human connection needed to personify the character. A significant part of that comes from his co-star, Ellen Landa, who plays Oscar’s wife.
While the role of the wife helps to support and observe Oscar, Landa is uncovering more complexities. “I represent Oscar’s several wives so there are a lot of different colors and emotions to dive into,” she said.
With each full run of the show, I watched as every performer found imaginative ways to embody this magical circus world. Being part of such a monumental production—one that honors a legend in both Oscar Carré and Ed Wubbe—was the perfect introduction to Scapino and a powerful reminder of the impact of high-quality performance. Ashton Benn 2nd September 2024
Ashton Benn was born in Dallas, Texas in 2002 graduating from the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles in May 2024. She gained a BFA in Dance and an MA in Specialized Journalism (Arts and Culture), both from USC. She was awarded the USC Presidential Merit Scholarship and now lives in Rotterdam where she is a participant in Scapino’s Young Talent Programme.
Read our full review of Oscar here
