HIGHLAND FLING: Andrea Marini plays the young Scotsman in “The Spirit of the Highlands,” Ethan Stiefel’s new take on a historic ballet at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center March 7-9. (Photo by Harald Schrader)

By Anne Levin

For American Repertory Ballet Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel, adapting the 19th century romantic classic La Sylphide was logical — some might say inevitable. The Spirit of the Highlands, which debuts March 7-9 in New Brunswick, draws from several facets of Stiefel’s life and experience.

The ballet is set in a Scottish village; Stiefel is partly of Scottish descent. During his performing career, he danced the male lead in La Sylphide numerous times. He is an admirer of the Danish choreographer Auguste Bournonville, whose 1836 version of the ballet is the one most frequently presented today.

“It was in the back of my mind for a while,” Stiefel said during a phone conversation. “I’d thought about doing a version of La Sylphide that would work well for this company. Because they have more than the technical ability that is needed. I feel they’ve developed their skills very well in terms of creating characters and acting. All of that is required for this.”

When his father died a year and a half ago, Stiefel spent time with his family, talking a lot about their background. His mother is particularly passionate about researching her roots. On one of her trips to Scotland, she visited the castle of Clan Munro, to which the family traces their heritage.

“Through that, the spark really got ignited,” Stiefel said. “I could actually start to see how to set a ballet, design-wise, using the motifs of Clan Munro. So the tartans for the costumes by Janessa Cornell Urwin are specific to the Clan, and they came directly from Scotland kilt-makers.”

Then there was the Highland dance class that Stiefel and his wife, ballerina Gillian Murphy, took at New York’s Carnegie Hall, just before the pandemic. The teacher was professional Highland dancer Kendra Monroe — another Munro connection.

“We stayed in touch. She actually gave our son a kilt in the Munro tartan when he was born,” Stiefel said. “When I started to work on this ballet, I asked her to work with us. She led a workshop with the dancers at the start of the rehearsal process.”

Like the Bournonville technique, Highland dance requires a lot of jumping and lightness. “It’s turned out like ballet, but in a different way because of the way the kilts fall,” Stiefel said. “We share certain terms, too. So it really lent itself. I wanted to make it authentic, as much as I could. Because I think cultural appreciation is really important.”

As much as he admires La Sylphide, Stiefel felt some updating was necessary. “The mime in the ballet is wonderful, but it’s very specific to the period,” he said “I’ve looked to make it more legible, for the audience of today. I wanted to refresh it in a way that makes sense.”

There have not been many productions that took a different approach from the original. “This does it, hopefully, respectfully,” Stiefel said. “I’m not looking to upset the apple cart. I want to be respectful of Scottish culture, the work of Bournonville, and my own background. I want to capture the essence.”

The Spirit of the Highlands is at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 11 Livingston Avenue, on Friday, March 7 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 8 at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30-$60. Visit arballet.org.