Ballet Nacional de España

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Performance by the Ballet Nacional in March 2006

The Ballet Nacional de España is dedicated to the tradition of Spanish dance and its further development.

Since 1978 it has played an important role in the culture of Spanish dance, namely flamenco and bolero . For many first-class dancers and choreographers, it was a crucial station in their careers and further training, including Farruco , Mario Maya , El Güito , Antonio Gades , Javier Barón , Antonio Canales , Javier Latorre , Joaquín Cortés , Antonio Márquez and Aída Gómez . It offers young choreographers the chance to realize their ideas with an excellent company.

organization

In May 2016, the company consisted of 35 dancers, accompanied by a singer and six musicians. It was managed by its director, Antonio Najarro , until August 2019 , and since then by his successor Rubén Olmo . A staff of coaches , ballet masters and a dance instructor support the company's work. Almost 40 employees work, among other things, in technology, administration or help and alleviate through massage and physiotherapy .

The ballet is disciplined by the Instituto Nacional des las Artes Escénicas y de la Música ( INAEM ), an authority of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.

history

The beginnings

By decree of the Dirección General de Teatro y Espectáculos at the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Ballet Nacional Español was founded in January 1978 . Antonio Gades was appointed as the first director . The ground floor of the Estudios de Amor de Dios in Madrid's Barrio de Antón Martín was made available for the ballet.

Antonio Gades set to work under meager conditions. He staged several performances at the Teatro de la Zarzuela , hired 36 dancers and appointed Aurora Pons, Paco Fernández, and María Magdalena as ballet masters. In June 1979 the official big premiere took place at the Teatro Principal in Valencia . Antonio Gades motivated highly respected Spanish choreographers to create a repertoire for the company. Choreographies by Antonio Ruiz Soler , Mariemma , Rafael Aguilar and Pilar López were created . Gades himself contributed to this with the piece Bodas de sangre . Then there were the classic flamenco palos: Bulería , Farruca , Seguiriya , Soleá and Soleá por Bulerías, Martinete , Rumba , Guajira , Cantiña and Zapateado , danced by first-class dancers such as Cristina Hoyos , El Güito and Manolete .

The first successes were quickly achieved. The Ballet Nacional Español performed in Cuba, at the Spoleto Festival and in Verona . Nevertheless, there were tensions between Antonio Gades and his political superiors, so that the Minister of Culture Ricardo de la Cierva removed him in March 1980.

He was succeeded by Antonio Ruiz Soler . He renewed and enlarged the company. Cristina Hoyos, El Güito and Manolete stayed with her, and Manuela Vargas and Merche Esmeralda were added as other famous dancers . Furthermore pushed Javier Barón , Felipe Sánchez, Javier Latorre, Lola Greco, Maribel Gallardo and Aída Gómez for Ballet Nacional. They made a name for themselves a short time later.

Antonio Ruiz Soler created a new repertoire; for this he relied largely on his own work. He created choreographies to music by Enrique Granados , Manuel de Falla , Antonio Soler , Pablo Sarasate and Manuel de Falla. José Antonio , Rafael Aguilar , Vicente Nebrada and Luisillo contributed with further choreographies to the program. Flamenco also found its place in this new repertoire. Manuela Vargas showed Caña , and Antonio Ruiz Soler even staged 1980 Flamenco , a great performance with Alegrías , Soleares , Mirabrás , Seguiriyas and Tanguillos . He designed a choreography for Tardes de la Alameda by Carlos Suriñac, but never got around to putting it on stage because he was dismissed as artistic director in 1983.

Artistic success - and a failed merger

With his departure, the Ballet Nacional Español was united with the Ballet Nacional Clásico to form a joint organization. María de Ávila was appointed as director . This former prima ballerina of the Liceo de Barcelona put the emphasis on regional dance and the forms of bolero. Four choreographies were created in 1984:

In the same year the Ballet Nacional brought another new production of Pablo Sarasate's Zapateado on stage.

1985 created:

In 1986 José Antonio brought Con mi soledad by Carlos Santos and Castilla by Isaac Albéniz to the stage. In the same year he joined the ballet as deputy director. In this role he staged flamenco , a performance with Caracoles by Martín Vargas, a Soleá by Merche Esmeralda, a Rondeña by Felipe Sánchez and some Romeras and a martinete by José Antonio himself.

The success of those years was marred by a conflict between María de Ávila and the Ballet Clásico ensemble . It manifested itself from the spring of 1985 and culminated in April 1986: At the gala performance of the Expomúsica in the Teatro Monumental in Madrid, a poster accused María de Ávila of “betraying dance” (“traición a la danza”). In early September 1986 she resigned from her post as director.

Separation and a new beginning

At the beginning of 1987 the Ballet Nacional and the Ballet Clásico went their separate ways again. The Ballet Nacional was now called Ballet Nacional de España. Its new director was José Antonio. Juan Quintero , Antonio Márquez , Antonio Canales and Joaquín Cortés joined the company - four men who would later make a name for themselves as flamenco dancers.

José Antonio directed the Ballet Nacional until 1992. During those years he created a number of remarkable choreographies:

Other well-known choreographers created other pieces for the ballet:

  • Felipe Sánchez brought Los Tarantos to music by Paco de Lucía and Homenaje to music by José Nieto on stage.
  • José Granero created a choreography for the Boléro by Maurice Ravel.
  • Victoria Eugenia choreographed Chacona to music by José Nieto.

In 1988, the Ballet Nacional in New York was awarded the prize for the best performance of the year by the Asociación de Cronistas de Espectáculos de Nueva York .

The three-women directorate

From 1993 to 1998 three women took over the direction of the ballet: Aurora Pons , Victoria Eugenia and Nana Lorca . Aurora Pons stood for the classical direction, Victoria Eugenia for contemporary Spanish dance, and Nana Lorca stood for the continuation of the work that José Antonio had begun. All three shared a passion for flamenco. One of the first joint decisions was to take Antonio Márquez and Joaquín Cortés back into the ensemble; both now highly regarded flamenco dancers.

Another decision was to have two members of the company perform their own choreographies:

  • This is how choreographies from Adoración Carpio to Alegrías and from Currillo to Bulerías, to a Taranto and a Bambera were created .
  • Mila de Vargas also choreographed some alegrías. Together with Currillo she developed A ritmo de compás to music by José María Bandera and José Carlos Gómez.
  • Lola Greco choreographed and danced Antar to music by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow .

Victoria Eugenia herself contributed the choreographies La oración del Torero by Joaquín Turina , A mi aire by Enrique Granados and Ernesto Halffter , and Goyescas . José Antonio also remained connected to the ballet with several choreographies. José Granero , Ciro and Manolo Marín worked as other choreographers with the Ballet Nacional. With Romance, Pedro Azorín and Juanjo Linares created an overall view of regional dances from Catalonia , Valencia , Castile-La Mancha , Avila , Burgos , Salamanca , Galicia , Asturias , Cantabria , Aragón and the Basque Country . The trio of Pons-Eugenia-Lorca concluded his work with the choreography Grito by Antonio Canales, to music by José María Bandera, José Carlos Gómez and José Jiménez el Viejín .

New ideas - and new conflicts

The successor to the " Triumfeminat " was a dancer from the company, Aída Gómez . She was the youngest person to ever head the Ballet Nacional. She set herself the goal of bringing new forms and visions of dance to the stage for a new audience with young choreographers. In February 1998, Luz de Alma by Javier Latorre and Soleá por bulerías and Mensaje by Eva Yerbabuena were performed in the New York City Center .

Until 2000:

José Antonio delivered outstanding modern interpretations of classical themes with his interpretation of Georges Bizet's Carmen and José Graneros Estamos solos to music by Maurice Ravel .

Aída Gómez felt deeply committed to the serious tradition of flamenco:

“Yo me muevo siempre en el mundo del flamenco. Para mí el flamenco it un mundo magico, it una forma de vida diferente. ... Me fascina la guitarra, ir a los locales de ambiente flamenco ... todo el mundo del flamenco. "

“I always move in the world of flamenco. For me, flamenco is a magical world, a different way of life. I am fascinated by the guitar, the places with the ambience of flamenco ... the whole world of flamenco. "

- Aída Gómez

She strengthened her ensemble with Lola Greco as a guest dancer.

Despite these promising approaches, resistance arose against their leadership in Ensemble, which gradually grew into loud protests. Eventually she could not be held at her post and was released in February 2001.

Younger development

Elvira Andres

Aída Gómez 'successor was Elvira Andrés , who had been a dancer at the Ballet Nacional under the direction of Antonio Gades. She began her tenure with two showpieces: the first performance of Fuenteovejuna by Antonio Gades to music by Antonio Solera , Antón García Abril and Modest Mussorgsky and the new production of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo in the choreographic version by Pilar López .

On the one hand, she relied on big names:

On the other hand, Elvira Andrés, like her predecessor, also gave young choreographers room to develop:

She herself choreographed:

She concluded her directorship in September 2004 with the production of Félix el Loco by Javier Latorre at the Teatro Real de Madrid . Her successor was José Antonio, who had been associated with ballet for a long time due to his work.

José Antonio

José Antonio staged his own choreographies again; some of them he had created for the Ballet Nacional, such as Aires de la Corte ; others came from his work at the Compañía Andaluza de Danza , for example Golpes de la vida , Elegía-Homenaje a Antonio Soler , La leyenda and Café de Chinitas . Other choreographers staged on his behalf:

The latter appointed José Antonio as ballet master and assistant director at the Ballet Nacional. He appointed Ana Mova, Elena Algado and Miguel Ángel Corbacho as master dancers.

In October 2007 there was another crisis between the ballet and its director. Members of the company accused José Antonio of despotic behavior, including bullying . In addition, they were coerced into a surprising nude test; this was only supposedly voluntary. With every other reputable company, such rehearsals would be announced in advance so that the dancers could consider beforehand whether they wanted to take part. During the rehearsal he touched a dancer, who was standing in front of him with a bare torso, between the legs and on the chest and said to her: “Feel the lust”. The trade union organizations CC OO and UGT demanded his dismissal. An investigation by the higher authority INAEM came to the conclusion that José Antonio had behaved professionally and was not guilty of any attacks.

Antonio Najarro

In September 2011 Antonio Najarro took over the direction of the Ballet Nacional. He began his tenure with two productions in the classic bolero style at the Teatro de la Zarzuela :

In autumn 2012, the Ballet Nacional performed a double staging at the Flamenco Biennale in Seville: it again showed the Suite Sevila and the work Medea by choreographer José Granero, who died in 2006, to music by Manolo Sanlúcar.

The 2013 performance of Sorolla was celebrated and controversial . She devoted herself to traditional Spanish folklore. Directed by Franco Dragone , choreographies by Arantxa Carmona , Miguel Fuentes , Manuel Liñán and Antonio Najarro to music by Juan José Colomer were shown. The critic Julio Bravo from ABC.es called the production an "example of what the Ballet Nacional should be: balance between tradition and modernity, artistic ambition even in times of crisis, openness to new choreographers and seriousness and commitment in the work." Roger Salas from El País judged the piece less positively : The piece was an "irresponsible disaster", a failed production, wanted and not able, which could not be compared with the choirs and dances of the past. Nonetheless, the piece was a success, and two years later Carmen del Val, also for El País, judged the homage to the Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla much more favorably .

In 2014 there was a labor dispute between the superior authority INAEM on the one hand and the ensembles of the Ballet Nacional and Ballet Clásico on the other. The INAEM refused to pay the participants more than 60 hours of overtime per year, and demanded that instead compensatory time off must be taken. Both companies then canceled part of their tour appearances.

The double staging of Alento and Zaguán was shared in 2015. While Julia Martín from El Mundo was enthusiastic about a “gift of emotion, elegance and substance that enriches the night”, Roger Salas again condemned the performance as “erratic, confused and self-centered”. Nevertheless, there was a new production in 2017 - to the renewed displeasure of the critic Roger Salas. With the large production Homenaje a Antonio Ruiz Soler , the ballet honored its former director, who died the year before, in 2017.

In the recent past, the Ballet Nacional has dedicated itself to working with the disabled. In November 2016, young people with Down's syndrome were invited to dance together with the company's dancers. For International Parkinson's Disease Day in April 2017, there was a dance class with Parkinson's patients.

The Ballet Nacional celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018 with a tour to North and South America. Part of the program focuses on avant-garde dance forms. Antonio Najarro tries to introduce young audiences to ballet with performances in schools. According to him, with great success:

“Tenemos un programa pedagógico, con visitas de colegios, que está dando grandísimos resultsados. It increíble ver las caras de los chavales cuando ven un ensayo en directo. ”

“We have an educational program of visits to schools that is producing great results. It's incredible to see the children's faces when they watch a rehearsal live. "

- Antonio Najarro

At the end of the anniversary year 2008, Queen Letizia paid an honorary visit to the ballet with her daughters.

The Najarro era ended in September 2019. Rubén Olmo was signed as the new director of the Ballet Nacional .

Ruben Olmo

Rubén Olmo's tenure began with a scandal in September 2019: The dancer María Fernández had been employed on a temporary basis for seven years. When she was pregnant, she was not given a new contract due to a decision by the INAEM superior authority . In a similar case, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled in February 2020 that the dismissal had been unlawful and the dancer was entitled to a permanent employment contract. This case, however, originated in 2012. In 2018, the Council of Ministers had issued a decree that repealed the legal situation at the time and allowed INAEM to conclude fixed-term contracts with dancers, even for a term of more than three years.

Under Ruben Olmo's directorate, the Ballet Nacional increased its educational activities. This included more frequent visits by school classes and groups to the company, workshops in schools as well as the production of media and didactic books adapted to the needs of children and young people.

As the first major choreography of his own, he developed La Bella Otero , a homage to Carmen Otero Iglesias, dancer, actress and courtesan , and the legendary erotic projection figure of the late 19th century.

Awards (selection)

  • 1991 Japanese Critic Award
  • 1994 Mexican Critic Award for Best Performance
  • 1998 Critique Award for Best Foreign Performance at the Metropolitan Opera of New York
  • 1999 El País newspaper award for the performance of Poeta
  • 2002 Audience Award and Critique Award for the choreography Fuenteovejuna by Antonio Gades at the Jerez Festival
  • 2008, 2010 and 2012 Audience Award Premio Teatro de Rojas de Toledo for the best dance performance
  • 2010 Premio Extraordinario a las Artes Escénicas of the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas for the performance of the best flamenco

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV.Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-73-8 , pp. 223 .
  2. ↑ a b Elenco. (No longer available online.) In: website of the ballet. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016 ; Retrieved May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  3. ^ Antonio Najarro. (No longer available online.) In: website of the ballet. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016 ; Retrieved May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ a b Ballet Nacional de España: Primera semana. Rubén Olmo director of the Ballet Nacional de España. (Video) September 8, 2019, accessed September 8, 2019 (Spanish).
  5. ^ Equipo. (No longer available online.) In: website of the ballet. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016 ; accessed on May 24, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Centros de producción, exhibición, documentación y formación artística - Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. In: Website of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. Retrieved May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  7. ↑ General Directorate for Theater and Drama
  8. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 224 .
  9. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 224-225 .
  10. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 225 .
  11. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 225-226 .
  12. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 226-227 .
  13. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 227 .
  14. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 227-228 .
  15. ^ Compañía Nacional de Danza. Retrieved January 31, 2017 (European Spanish, today's name of the company, 2017).
  16. ↑ a b c d José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 228 .
  17. ^ Latin ACE Awards. Asociación de Cronistas de Espectáculos de Nueva York. In: Association website. Retrieved May 24, 2016 .
  18. ^ Roger Salas: El Ballet Nacional de España cierra su crisis con tres mujeres al frente de la compañía. In: El País . December 16, 1992, Retrieved May 30, 2016 (Spanish).
  19. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 229 .
  20. ↑ a b c José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 230 .
  21. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 230-231 .
  22. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 231 .
  23. ↑ a b c d José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 232 .
  24. ↑ sic; not identical to Antonio Soler
  25. ↑ a b c José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 232-233 .
  26. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 233 .
  27. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 233-234 .
  28. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 234 .
  29. ↑ "Siente la lujuria"
  30. ↑ Beatriz Portinari: El Ballet Nacional, acusado de acoso a los bailarines. CC OO y UGT solicitan la dimisión del director, José Antonio Ruiz de la Cruz, por su actitud "despótica". In: El País. October 31, 2007, accessed May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  31. ↑ Óscar Gutiérrez: El INAEM concluye que no hubo abuso del director del Ballet Nacional en el 'casting de desnudos'. In: El País. November 6, 2007, accessed May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  32. ↑ a b c d Trayectoria. (No longer available online.) In: Ballet Nacional website. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016 ; Retrieved May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  33. ^ Roger Salas: Nuevos propósitos en el Ballet Nacional. In: El País. March 22, 2012, Retrieved May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  34. ^ Fermín Lobatón: La exacta magnitud de la danza. Una gran Lola Greco trasladó el espíritu de la Medea del maestro Granero. In: El País. September 30, 2012, Retrieved May 30, 2016 (Spanish).
  35. ^ Julio Bravo: "Sorolla", from the Ballet Nacional de España: un espectáculo copy. In: ABC.es. June 14, 2013, Retrieved May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  36. ↑ Roger Salas: Un desastre irresponsable. 'Sorolla' es un quiero y no puedo que no resiste ser comparado ni con los coros y danzas de antaño. In: El País. June 13, 2013, accessed May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  37. ↑ Carmen del Val: Bailar a la luz de Sorolla. Las 40 figuras del Ballet Nacional de España asombran al Liceo con su sólida y colorida traslación al escenario de los cuadros del pintor valenciano. In: El País. July 27, 2015, accessed May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  38. ↑ EFE: El INAEM no pagará horas extras por encima de 60 al año y dará días libres. In: El País. May 20, 2014, accessed May 30, 2016 (Spanish).
  39. ^ Clara Morales: La Compañía de Teatro Clásico y el Ballet Nacional cancelan parte de sus giras. In: El País. May 28, 2014, Retrieved May 30, 2016 (Spanish).
  40. ↑ Julia Martín: Un regalo de emoción, elegancia y enjundia para reforzar la noche. In: El Mundo . June 17, 2015, accessed May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  41. ↑ Roger Salas: Vía muerta. The new programa del Ballet Nacional Español es errático, confuso y personalista como se muestra en 'Alento y Zaguán'. In: El País. June 18, 2015, Retrieved May 24, 2016 (Spanish).
  42. ↑ Alejandro Mendoza: El Ballet Nacional de España lleva 'Sorolla' al Teatro Real . In: El País . October 25, 2017, ISSN  1134-6582 ( elpais.com [accessed March 12, 2019]).
  43. ^ Roger Salas: Crítica | Buenos bailarines en paso confuso . In: El País . November 13, 2017, ISSN  1134-6582 ( elpais.com [accessed March 12, 2019]).
  44. ^ Ballet Nacional de España y homenaje a Antonio Ruiz Soler. In: Danzaballet.com. June 30, 2017, Retrieved March 12, 2019 (Spanish).
  45. ↑ Rut de las Heras Bretín: La danza como un arma más para la integración . In: El País . November 7, 2016, ISSN  1134-6582 ( elpais.com [accessed March 12, 2019]).
  46. ↑ EFE: La danza somete al párkinson . In: El País . April 11, 2017, ISSN  1134-6582 ( elpais.com [accessed March 12, 2019]).
  47. ↑ Ballet Nacional de España gran Gira 2018, coincidiendo con su 40 aniversario. In: zocoflamenco.com. March 13, 2018, accessed March 12, 2019 (Spanish).
  48. ^ A b Raquel Vidales, Albert Sanchis: De Gades a Najarro: cuarenta años del Ballet Nacional de España . In: El País . April 28, 2018, ISSN  1134-6582 ( elpais.com [accessed March 12, 2019]).
  49. ↑ EFE: El homenaje sorpresa de la reina Letizia y sus hijas al Ballet Nacional . In: El País . December 24, 2018, ISSN  1134-6582 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed May 20, 2019]).
  50. ^ Raquel Vidales: Rubén Olmo, new director of the Ballet Nacional de España . In: El País . April 1, 2019, ISSN  1134-6582 ( elpais.com [accessed May 17, 2019]).
  51. ↑ Cecilia Jan: El Ballet Nacional de España excluye a una bailarina embarazada tras siete años con contratos temporales . In: El País . September 21, 2019, ISSN  1134-6582 (Spanish, elpais.com [accessed November 20, 2019]).
  52. ^ El Supremo confirma como trabajadora indefinida a una bailarina temporal del Ballet Nacional . In: El País . February 17, 2020, ISSN  1134-6582 ( elpais.com [accessed March 4, 2020]).
  53. ↑ El Ballet Nacional de España potenciará las actividades pedagógicas. In: Danzaballet.com. February 26, 2020, accessed March 4, 2020 (Spanish).
  54. ↑ Marta Carrasco: "La Bella Otero", una producción muy sevillana del Ballet Nacional de España. In: ABC. March 2, 2020, accessed March 4, 2020 (Spanish).
  55. ↑ a b c d José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV, p. 234 .