"The first time I saw Apollo was a long time ago," he says. "I was just kind of 'Wow!' You know? What a piece. What a challenge. And from a dance standpoint, every dancer, male and female, they'd just die to dance Apollo. Because when you think and go back to the casting at the New York City Ballet and all the leading companies, legends and stars dance Apollo. Do you understand? From a dancer's perspective: 'I am dancing it now, and before me that one and that one.' "
Similarly, the Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, danced to an excerpt from Swan Lake, is described by the Trust as "an eight-minute display of ballet bravura and technique."
In contrast are the Gershwin dance variations: "Very jazzy and very fun."
As for Tarantella, which is based on the energetic Sicilian folk dance of that name, Djuric says, "After nine, 10 minutes, you just want to go to the hospital and be connected to the oxygen tent.
"The dancers' challenge is that they're not to show it, not to show this difficulty," he explains. "Do it with ease, like it's nothing, like anyone can do it."
