When I asked Vladimir Derevianko to join my company in Zurich I began creating roles for him straight away. The first was "Firebird" which I literally sculpted on him. The same can be said about "Scarlet and Black" in which Vladimir dances the principal role, that of Julien Sorel. I had been wanting to produce a ballet based on Stendhal's famous novel for some time and when I met Derevianko I realised that I had finally found my Julien Sorel. Derevianko has also danced the leading role in my ballet "Die Schöpfung" (The Creation). This is a semi-abstract ballet in which the recitativi from Haydn's oratorio are visualized thanks to the dancers. With Derevianko, "Die Schöpfung" became a one-man show because not only did I give him the Archangel Raphael's recitativo, but also almost all the other ones too. This is because Vladimir is the ideal dancer for representing all the angels in Heaven. His aspect is so androgynous, he seems supernatural - he certainly does not look like a creature of the earth.
I have an "explosive" relationship with Derevianko! This is because we have very similar personalities. We are both Capricorns, our birthdays are close and we are the same age. It is both easy and hard to work together. Together we have grown artistically in these past years. I still have lots of ideas I want to bring to life with Vladimir because he is, for me, a perennial source of inspiration.