Dancer Harvey Littlefield talks Scottish Ballet lead role debut
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Taking the role of lead male in The Snow Queen when it comes to Inverness, Harvey Littlefield plays Kai who is almost lost under the spell of The Snow Queen herself in the Scottish Ballet production. Harvey is fairly new to the company and this is his first lead role. Below, he talks about life as a young dancer joining a new company.
Q Can you remember when you first saw dance or ballet – and did it feel like something you wanted to do, or did that come later?
Harvey: From very early on I was surrounded by dance and theatre. My mum was a dancer and is an actor and my dad is chef lx at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow, so I feel like I’ve always been around it. Really it would have been seeing my mum cartwheeling and doing the can can around the house, that would have been my initial feelings of wanting to be involved with the arts.
Q When did you first get involved with Scottish Ballet’s junior associate programme, Harvey? How did that all happen? What do you do first of all when you become a junior associate, is it dance classes or were you performing quite quickly?
H: I was 10 when I joined SB’s JA [Scottish Ballet's Junior Associates' progremme]. I auditioned with a very apprehensive mum as she knew that a career in dance is difficult and full of challenges but also magical. My mum is the opposite of a stereotypical ‘dance mum’ and really wanted me to think about auditioning, and if this was something right for me. At the time I went along as most of my friends from school were also going to audition. There is no performing at first. It’s very basic, technical classes in ballet, creative and character. At the end of terms we would invite family and friends to the studios to watch a showcase of our classes. I really loved my time at JA’s. It was the first place I really thought that this is what I’m supposed to do.
Q What was your first-ever performing role and what was the best thing about it for you?
H: The first performing role I ever had was Oliver, in Oliver. This was when my mum had a theatre school and I just enjoyed being able to tell a story and sing and dance with friends! The process was very enjoyable for me. I love the technical aspect of performing and the journey leading up to the performances.
Q What does your day consist of as a dancer ie what training do you do, what do you eat and when (wonder if you have breakfast?) and do you rehearse every day?
H: My day to day is normally quite busy. At SB we can work a six-day week and it be full of company class, rehearsals and S&C (strength and conditioning). Class is from 10am to 11.15am and then rehearsals from 11.30am onwards and we can finish anywhere from 4.30pm to 6.30pm at the latest. I normally tend to have a small breakfast as I don’t like dancing on a full stomach, but then I snack all day and have a lunch with some protein in it! My go-to lunch is smoked salmon with a new potato salad. I tend to eat whatever I want really. All dancers are different when it comes to food but whatever fuels me for the day and is tasty I go for !
Q Was life different at the Norwegian Ballet Junior Company, do they do things differently?
H: The junior company in Oslo is absolutely fantastic for dancers just out of training. It was the perfect transition for me and taught me so much and gave me the experience needed to confidently go into a main company anywhere. They don’t really do anything differently, we just used to follow the main company’s schedule but have extra time with coaches to guide us and coach us.
Q Why did you make the decision to join Scottish Ballet?
H: My time in Oslo was affected by Covid so I was very unsettled there in my personal life. I missed home a lot and also thought that ballet wasn’t for me during my time there. I came back home and thought I was going into acting or musical theatre, yet I knew deep down that I still wanted to pursue a career in ballet. I had no intention whatsoever to get out and audition for a ballet company. I was busy doing self tapes and musical theatre auditions, until I saw the ad that Scottish Ballet were looking for a tall dancer. It just happened very quickly. I did the audition and then around two weeks later I was dancing with the company. I’ve never felt so welcomed somewhere, it felt from the get go that it was supposed to be.
Q You will be playing Kai in the show when it comes to Eden Court? Is it an exciting role to play? What are the challenges?
H: It’s so exciting to play Kai. It’s my first principal role and I’ve really enjoyed the challenge. I love being able to tell a story and hopefully act as escapism for our wonderful audiences. The main challenge for me has been stamina throughout the shows. It’s full-on being on stage from beginning to end and having to perform tricky pas de deux’s in between but it’s also been so rewarding and most importantly enjoyable. Alongside Kai I’ve also been dancing my corps de ballet roles, so it’s been busy but a perfect time to practise my resilience and learn about myself as an artist.
Q What is your favourite thing about The Snow Queen?
H: There is only a few moments of solitude for some dancers on stage, so most of the time we are all together as a company and that’s my favourite thing. I love dancing with my friends and enjoying each other’s company together when doing the thing we love most. It’s a powerful experience…and just pure fun!!
Q Do you know what other shows you will be doing with Scottish Ballet this year?
H: In the upcoming season I will be performing in Coppélia at Sadler’s Wells in London. Following that, we then begin touring A Streetcar Named Desire! We have a great season coming up with lots to look forward to including The Crucible, which tours in the USA this year, and festive favourite Cinders!
More on The Snow Queen: scottishballet.co.uk
For more on tickets, performances and extra events around the show at Eden Court: https://eden-court.co.uk/event/the-snow-queen
