Roman Mejia, NYCB’s Resident Adrenaline Junkie, Is Taking on a Woman’s Solo at Vail

Roman Mejia is only 19, and he has the energy to prove it; in the studio and onstage at New York City Ballet, this standout corps member bursts with a kind of uncontainable ebullience. Like his idol, Edward Villella, he specializes in extroverted, allegro roles: Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Candy Cane in The Nutcracker, one of the sailors in Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free.

More recently, he has caught the eye of several big-name choreographers: In the last few months he understudied William Forsythe’s Hermann Schmermann, and strutted his stuff to Kanye West in Kyle Abraham’s The Runaway. Alexei Ratmansky, who prepared him for his debut in Pictures at an Exhibition in the spring, is also a fan: “He’s like a reincarnation of Eddie Villella,” the choreographer said recently. “Great energy and attack, and fantastic technique.”

This solo has always been danced by women. I hear Ratmansky asked whether you’d be willing to dance it on pointe?

Yeah. At first I thought he was kidding, but then he kind of looked at me like he was serious and I was like, oooh. I considered it for a second, but then I decided maybe not this time. I’m doing a lot more at Vail than I did the last two years.

How did Ratmansky adapt Fandango for you?

He added a lot of jumps, including a series of sauts de basque. That wasn’t in the original! And all those turns at the end. I’m planning to end up on the floor, with a blackout. I just tried a move from Le Corsaire, but I don’t know if I’m going to do that in performance. I’ll figure something out.

What’s the hardest thing about the solo?

Just getting through it. The stamina. It’s seven minutes, and I have to pace myself. I tend to hold my breath a lot. And up at Vail, you have to learn how to dance in high altitude, where to take breaks, where to rest.

The stage at Vail is outdoors. How do you like dancing so close to nature?

Honestly I love it. It creates a different atmosphere. The first year, I did Tarantella and it was raining and I felt like I was in the middle of a thunderstorm. I kind of used it—it gave me energy.

What do you feel you’ve learned from working with Ratmansky?

I’m learning about presentation, but also about style. It’s about learning to show a style. Fandango is super Spanish-flavored, and I’m finding ways to show that.

Did you watch videos of Sara Mearns and Wendy Whelan, who did the role before you?

The first time I saw it was with Sara dancing. She did it at a gig in South Carolina. It was amazing. And I watched videos of both of them. They were pretty different. The steps were the same, but Sara had a little more attack, and Wendy was more subtle. Wendy was really flirtatious. I’m trying to incorporate both.

Last year you got to work with Kyle Abraham on his Runaway, which was such a hit. What was that like?

It was eye-opening. I don’t usually get to move like that. It was like working with Alonzo King on this new piece, just a completely different movement style for me. And it felt so great to dance to Kanye West. Letting go felt really good.

What was the process like?

Kyle would experiment with different steps, some of which didn’t make it into the final ballet, and we even experimented with contact improvisation. That was really strange for me. It took me a while, but eventually I felt like I almost got to that place where I was comfortable trying things and not feeling like the people around me were judging. I felt that working with Alonzo too.

What excites you about dancing?

Definitely the adrenaline rush and the feeling of flying. I’m an adrenaline junkie. I try not to hold anything back. And I love how it makes me feel afterwards.