A Brahmin in Love.

WHEN VICTOR BARBEE PERFORMS the High Brahmin in La Bayadere he has a commanding presence, his muscular arras and earthy stride at once severe and sexy. But while many see this character as a menacing figure, Barbee has a different take. "I know the Brahmin is considered evil, but I can't play him that way," says Barbee in his soft Southern accent. "I can play him as jealous and vengeful against Solor, but he's in love with Nikiya."

Now associate artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, Barbee joined the company in 1977 and has been performing character roles since former artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov asked him to create the role of a parent in his version of The Nutcracker. Today he is celebrated for his diverse portrayals--from his wicked Carabosse to his hilarious Gamache--and he still performs regularly. Aptly described by Clive Barnes in The New York Post as the "uncrowned king of character actors," Barbee is an expert at bringing ballet's fathers, witches, kings, and fops to life on stage.

Barbee strives for three-dimensional portrayals of his villains. "When you're playing a character, you have to go deeper to find out what makes him tick," he says. "The only two characters I can think of that might be innately evil are Carabosse and von Rothbart."

Barbee never had any formal training as a character dancer, but years of performing have taught him key elements of stagecraft that give his perfomances their impact. For instance, Barbee creates a specific walk for each character: Gamache in Don Quixote has a light, poised, but goofy, gait; Romeo and Juliet's Lord Capulet has a heavy, authoritative stride; in Coppelia, Dr. Coppelius' walk is energetic and fidgety. "When you find your walk, you will feel how the character feels," he says. "To feel the emotion, not just act like you're feeling it--that's the trick."

Barbee's dramatic timing and musicality help make his characters larger than life. "The music helps you phrase your mime and acting," says Barbee. "It's the same way you phrase a variation of your speech pattern--you put emphases in places." He further explains, "Let's say you have four phrases of eight to travel forty feet. You may want to stand for twelve counts, stagger forward for five counts, find your footing, and then for the last twenty counts take one step per count."

But even with all the preparation in the world, Barbee confesses that things can still go wrong. When he noticed his black trunks were missing during La Sylphide one night, Barbee made a split-second decision to wear a pair of valentine red underwear beneath his Madge costume, a big dress that shows his bare legs. In the second act, he stepped on the back of his dress and fell. "All I could think was, It's just not going to look right that Madge wears red underwear," Barbee laughs. He was relieved that no one noticed.

In a profession where many dancers retire before the age of 35, Barbee is one of the lucky ones--this year marked his twenty-ninth spring season with ABT. "My favorite character is the one I'm doing at the moment," he says. "When you're o, stage being the character and feeling what he feels, it's pretty remarkable. It makes it all worthwhile."