Dowell: dancers can't have their cake and eat it too.

London - Anthony Dowell, looking the quintessential elegant Englishman in a tweed jacket and slacks, sits on the couch in his small office in the building that also houses the Upper Royal Ballet School. Every so often, he raises his eyes as another tube train rattles into the Baron's Court underground station just below his window. In three years he should be sitting in an office that rightly expresses his rank as artistic director of Royal Ballet. Meanwhile, in the coziness of his present quarters, he talks about English balletic style, RB's recent work with Twyla Tharp, the logistics base for two years, dancers and their contracts, and his own future.

There has been much criticism and fear expressed that RB is in danger of losing its unique English style, the result of changes in training and the input of different choreographic techniques. Dowell responds, "I think that what is unique about the company is its extensive repertoire, which we are constantly adding to. Style moves on, taste changes." Discussing historic stylistic influences on RB, Dowell refers to former principal choreographer Frederick Ashton, the late resident choreographer Kenneth Macmillan, and company founder Ninette de Valois (also known to her colleagues and artistic descendants as "Madame"). "I was trained with Ashton and MacMillan, and their work taught me to combine speed, grace and refinement," he says. "Madame had originally qualities, and Fred refined the even further while Kenneth brought us the drama. . . Today, without them, we have more opportunity to expand and add different styles. We now have a great wealth in our repertory which keeps our vitality, our own natural energy and pulse."

"All of the knowledge that we learned, we who were trained and worked firsthand with them, we pass on," adds Dowell. "But we cannot freeze dancers into molds of what we were. Each has his or her own individuality and we can but offer guidelines. In the end, they must find their own way and cannot be allowed to adapt the choreography to suit themselves. I happened to see a performance of The Dream - I won't say which company it was - and the result was like [the English parlor game] Chinese Whispers - you know, one says, the next says, and so forth until the end product is very different from the original. It was ghastly!"

Dowell sees significant changes in ballet, as more precision and greater technical demands are required in addition to greater speed. "Fortunately, I was always able to be speedy," he says, "but some slight allowances have to be made for individuals. The Russians who have come to do Ashton with us have found it difficult to achieve Fred's speed and lightness. He was always clear about getting from A to B, and nothing could be masked and [everything] had to look natural and effortless no matter what! There is talk of setting up an Ashton trust for the future, something along the lines of the Balanchine Trust. At the moment, we have first hand dancers passing on the works, but we must look to the future."

Twyla Tharp worked with the company for the first time last fall, creating a three-act ballet. The collaboration was a happy experience for everyone, according to Dowell. "Twyla has been amazed at the dancers' abilities," he says. "It's because they have been exposed and have adapted to many different styles. At times, they are ahead of her! ... It's been a tonic for me to have her here and to have her favorable comments on the company. They have been stimulated working with her." [For Tharp's view of the experience, see Hotline, page 33.)

Recent articles in the British press have stated that some dancers, such as Darcey Bussell and Viviana Durante, want more freedom in their contracts. Dowell sighs. "Dancers want [to have] their cake and eat it too," he says. "If they are committed to a company, they have a certain obligation. We try to fit in with their plans and bend over backwards to let them go and do other things. But if they want to become guests like Sylvie Guillem [who was a principal guest has a contract that demands only twenty-five performances with RB per season], they will find it quite difficult. Doing class with different companies, having no one to refine and polish you - all dancers need a home base to keep their technique up to par."

The Royal Opera House closes in 1997 for refurbishing, and for the next two years the ballet and opera companies will be housed in the Tower Bridge Theatre. Dowell foresees problems because, at the moment, only one studio is available, and traveling back to the Baron's Court base will be inconvenient and will seriously cut into rehearsal time. He has been very involved in planning the refurbishment. "It will be wonderful to live over the shop," he says, smiling. "We will have five studios compared to three now, and administration will be housed there, too."

Meanwhile, Dowell's plans include revivals of Ashton's Illuminations and Ondine. When RB returns to the Opera House in 1999, he plans to revive Ashton's Homage to the Queen. One thing is certain. If he battles the problems - balletic or budgetary - over the next three years, Dowell will be rewarded with a new office.