There are no boundaries for art, and no one is surprised that the name of the Frenchman Marius Petipa is inextricably linked with Russian ballet. The second foreign choreographer after him to come to Russia to work on a permanent basis was the Spaniard Nacho Duato.
Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia, now known as Nacho Duato, was born in Valencia, where his father was governor. Since childhood, he felt a craving for music and dancing - the boy liked to dance to his favorite tunes. The art of dancing was valued in the family, but only to a certain extent: out of eight children, seven were engaged in it, but the question of choosing a profession as a dancer was not even raised by any of them. The father wanted his son to choose a more prestigious and profitable occupation - law or medicine; finally, he could become a government official and make a political career, but Nacho was not inclined to listen to his father. From the age of sixteen, living separately from his parents, he demonstrates his talent as a dancer in various shows and musicals. But the young man understood that if he wanted to reach heights, he needed to seriously study classical and modern dance, and in Spain at that time this was impossible, and at the age of eighteen he went to London, where he studied at the Marie Rambert School.
Life in the English capital was not easy: in his free time, Nacho earned his living by working part-time in a fast food restaurant, and spent his nights in poorhouses - there was not enough money for more comfortable housing, but the desire to achieve his goal helped him to endure all the hardships. He studied at the Marie Rambert School for two years, the next step was to study at the Mudra School in Brussels, founded by Maurice Béjart, and later he studied in the United States at a school at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The lack of a resident card prevented the dancer from working in America, and he returned to Europe, where in 1980 he became a member of the Stockholm troupe Kullberg Ballet. After a year, the talented dancer drew attention, and Duato was invited to the Netherlands Dance Theater, which he headed. Kilian staged “The Story of a Soldier” especially for him, but he saw perfectly well that in front of him was not just a gifted dancer, but a person with the potential of a choreographer, and Kilian helped Duato realize this.
And in 1983, Nacho Duato created his first production - “The Walled Garden”, using as the musical basis of the song the compositions of the then popular singer Maria del Mar Bonet with poems by poets from Catalonia. At first glance, the choreography was not particularly original - the choreographer followed traditions and, however, he managed to organically combine these elements with Spanish flavor. The “melody” of dance movements, the ideal emotional harmony of music, words and dance - these features, which have become characteristic features of Nacho Duato’s style, appeared already in his first work. “The Walled Garden” was presented in Cologne at the International Choreographic Competition, where it won first prize.
The choreographer created twelve ballets for the Netherlands Dance Theater, and in 1990 Duato returned to his homeland, receiving an invitation to head the National Dance Theater, and his first step in this post was to abandon the classical repertoire. This decision caused a wave of criticism, but Nacho Duato was convinced that it was necessary to create his own direction - modern and of a national nature. On the stage of the National Theater he stages performances that he has created before, creates new ones, attracts collaboration, etc.
At the same time, Duato collaborates with other troupes - for example, in 1998 he created the play “Without Words” with music for the American Ballet Theater. This is not the only creation of Duato to the music of the great composer of the past - for the anniversary, he staged a ballet in Weimar based on his music “Multifacetedness. Forms of silence and emptiness”, and in 2000 he created the ballet “Arcangelo” to the music of Corelli. But modernity with its acute problems interests the choreographer no less than history - this is evidenced by the ballet “White Darkness”, the creation of which was prompted by the death of his sister from a drug overdose.
A new stage in Nacho Duato’s creative activity is associated with the Mikhailovsky Theater, where he headed the ballet troupe in 2011-2014. The theater's repertoire at this time was replenished with ballets it had created earlier, but new productions also appeared. At the Mikhailovsky Theater, Duato for the first time in his practice turned to the classical repertoire, but gave a new sound to The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet.
In 2015, Nacho Duato headed the Berlin Ballet, but contacts with the Mikhailovsky Theater were not interrupted - the choreographer continues to collaborate with him as a permanent guest choreographer.
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Last week, the artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet, Nacho Duato, submitted an early resignation to the city's ruling mayor. One of the world's best choreographers is leaving his post as director of Germany's largest classical dance company, which he has led since 2014. For several years now, the conflict in the capital's ballet has given newspapermen reasons to add sensational articles to their list, depriving artists of the opportunity to work normally.
Chronicle of events and characters
2004 - a single dance group is created from the ballet troupes of three opera houses in Berlin, and its head is appointed Vladimir Malakhov, dancer and director of the State Opera Ballet. Despite all the difficulties associated with the unification, the Berlin State Ballet, under the leadership of Malakhov, becomes one of the leading European classical ballet companies.
2014 - the Berlin Ministry of Culture refuses to renew the contract with Malakhov and appoints a Spanish choreographer and theater artist as director of the troupe Nacho Duato(Nacho Duato), who was working at the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg at that time. Nacho Duato is a representative of the school of modern classics, who has worked for a long time in the best ensemble on the planet in this direction - the Netherlands Dance Theater (NDT). Apparently, the management decided that it was not appropriate for avant-garde Berlin to have a purely classical ballet ensemble, and tried to “modernize” the style of the theater with the help of Duato. The Spanish choreographer was invited to work at the Berlin State Ballet more than once. In the end he agreed.
2015 - It’s not easy for Duato to get used to a new team that is not very friendly towards him. But soon he manages to captivate the dancers with his concept. He performs with them three of his old ballets, which he brought from other theaters. The composition of the State Ballet's audience is also beginning to change. Adherents of traditional classics are leaving the halls, and a younger and more informal viewer is coming in to replace them. At the initial stage, the number of visitors decreases. For this, the press furiously attacks the choreographer, strangely choosing the statistics of visits to the most successful years of the theater and comparing them with the number of visits in the first months of the new choreographer’s work.
Nacho Duato at rehearsal. Photo: Fernando Marcos
Fourth Estate
The official press does not make allowances for the fact that the start of Duato’s work coincided with a wave of strikes by theater artists for increased fees. The artists boycotted the performances. Duato took the side of his charges in the dispute over raising rates. The authorities and the press also considered this fact to be a mistake by the theater director.
Nacho Duato's work is subject to widespread and unfounded criticism. Some newspaper excerpts from those days:
“It’s as if he doesn’t exist: neither mentally nor physically. He has no vision, no idea. As soon as he started working at the State Ballet, the question was already heard from all sides: “How much longer can Berlin tolerate him?”
(Welt, 09.09.2015)
“The face of a violinist playing Bach - if he didn’t want to fool around for a laugh - would turn purple with anger if he saw that bows can be used for fencing. And Duato, you won’t believe it, actually came up with this crazy idea!”
(Der Freitag, 03/15/2015)
“His musical approach remains unclear. The choreography, although it fits exactly to the beat, does not carry any power.”
(Tagesspiegel, 02/14/2015)
Ballet “Diversity. Forms of silence and emptiness"(Vielfältigkeit. Formen von Stille und Leere) directed by Nacho Duato. Photo: Fernando Marcos
Let's compare this assessment of Nacho Duato's musicality with the opinion of other experts:
“For me, Nacho is a magician. He plays the score with the bodies of the dancers. You can hear the music with your eyes.”
Wei Wang, dancer of the Berlin State Ballet · video
“Duato doesn’t just set the movement to music, but he hears how the note sounds, and puts his body just as sonorously to that note. And the body begins to sound.”
Andrey Kuligin, director of the Mikhailovsky Theater ballet troupe
(in an interview for TC “Culture”, 2011) · video
The German press did not miss the opportunity to mock Duato’s work in Russia:
“Humbly submitting to fate, Duato accepts the offer of one Russian “banana” oligarch to head the ballet troupe of the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg. In 2011, he made his debut there with Sleeping Beauty. He, an insomniac stranger, films himself on his mobile phone at night, at rehearsals, like Yves Saint Laurent, flashing a stern gaze from under his glasses, standing next to the rosy-cheeked oligarch.”
(Tagesspiegel, 02/14/2015)
The Welt newspaper, publishing his photograph in an article about Duato, does not simply sign his name under it, but formulates it as follows: “This is what he looks like, Berlin director of the State Ballet Nacho Duato.”
Nacho Duato. Photo: Costas
Duato is criticized for what others are praised for. Such, for example, as the future director of the State Ballet of Berlin. Her name is already known, she is a popular German choreographer Sasha Waltz(Sasha Waltz).
Duato is accused of being too “modern” and innovative; bold experiments are expected from Sasha Waltz. Duato is condemned for the fact that he did not devote himself entirely to work in Berlin, but remained in St. Petersburg as a guest choreographer. Sasha Waltz is credited with the fact that, when she heads the State Ballet, she will continue to simultaneously direct her own dance troupe, Sasha Waltz & Guests.
Such criticism of Nacho Duato's work has little in common with professional journalism. It's more like bullying.
A Sound of Thunder
2016 - in September the head of the city Michael Müller(Michael Müller) reported in the press that in 2019 two people will be appointed to the post of director of the Berlin State Ballet: the aforementioned Sasha Waltz and the current director of the ballet company of the Royal Opera in Stockholm Johannes Eman(Johannes Ohman). Three years before the expiration of the contract of the current director of the troupe, the powers that be decided to express their “fi” to him and inform him of their confidence: no matter what he does in the next three years, they are already convinced that they will no longer need his work.
Sasha Waltz. Photo: Sebastian Bolesch
Democracy and perestroika
The decision was made without any negotiations with the artists and management of the ballet troupe. The dancers protested against the decision of the ruling burgomaster and initiated an online petition “Save the Berlin State Ballet!” (which we are already talking about). The fact is that they consider Waltz and Eman to be persons who do not meet the requirements for the head of a theater of this magnitude.
Johannes Eman is a kind of “dark horse”, a little-known theater figure and dancer who has not proven himself to be anything special at the international level, Sasha Waltz is an interesting choreographer, but, speaking in pedagogical language, she is an excellent school director. And heading the State Ballet of Berlin means leading a university.
During the reign of the previous burgomaster, Klaus Wowereit(Klaus Wowereit), she and her troupe were not treated kindly by the authorities. Several years ago, city officials even refused her additional funding, which jeopardized the very existence of her theater.
Ballet "Sleeping Beauty" (Dornröschen) staged by Nacho Duato. Photo: Yan Revazov
Sasha Waltz was proposed for the Berlin Ballet three years ago, to replace Vladimir Malakhov. Wowereit rejected this offer in favor of Duato. Under the new leadership of the city, Sasha Waltz seems to be able to achieve her desired goal and lead the country's main ballet company.
The team is still opposed to her also because she is a representative of the so-called “Dance Theater” (Tanztheater), who did not go through classical school. “Dance theatre” is intended, by definition, to reject the traditions of classical ballet. To reject what the State Ballet of Berlin is a symbol of, what its strength and potential are. Classical ballet and “Dance Theater” are two different directions, with different principles, different training of dancers, different experiences.
But whatever the Berlin State Ballet's perspective, the artists would like to be informed about the nature of the impending changes. Unfortunately, neither Sasha Waltz nor the city authorities respond to the protests, requests and appeals of the artists with a single line.
The Berlin government has already implemented a similar policy in the drama theater. This year, ignoring the unanimous protests of the team, they appointed a new artistic director.
But the creative process is impossible within the framework of arbitrariness on the part of officials! The first victim who could not withstand the violence was the choreographer Nacho Duato, the other, and main, may be the entire team of the Berlin ballet, and with it the city of Berlin.
Fragment from the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” (Dornröschen) staged by Nacho Duato
Farewell tour of the artist
A month ago, the farewell performance of the Berlin Ballet soloist Michael Banzhaf, who danced there for 19 years, took place. At the evening, among others, the head of the cultural department of the city administration congratulated and honored the artist awkwardly and with some (understandable, however) awkwardness in his voice Torsten Wehlert(Torsten Wöhlert). For example, he managed to say the following:
“You, Michael, as a child wanted to become an athlete. Athletics and ballet - they have something in common. But thank you for deciding to devote yourself to ballet.”
It is not surprising that a person who does not see much difference between ballet and athletics does not notice it between classical ballet and Dance Theatre. The only question is: does such a person have the right to lead culture in Berlin?
Michael Banzhaf himself spoke beautifully, sincerely and heartfeltly. At the conclusion of his farewell speech he said:
“Dear audience, I have one request for you. When dancers want to take the floor and express their opinions (and they don’t do this very often), please listen to them!”
The audience understood what he meant, and Mr. Wehlert understood it too. And, I would like to hope that at that moment he wanted to collapse on the spot out of shame and embarrassment. But he did not fail, and bravely applauded the evening in honor of the honored artist along with the dancers standing next to him on stage.
One-act ballet Castrati from the production DUATO | KYLIÁN | NAHARIN. Photo: Yan Revazo
Choreographer Nacho Duato, leaving the Berlin stage a year later, with all his ambiguity inherent in any creative personality, could leave a noticeable mark on the culture of Berlin, show the German audience something different, something they had never seen, something they were not used to. But due to intrigue and lack of communication between the authorities and the theater, it became impossible to work and create with soul in the created atmosphere.
The last performances staged by Duato are still being performed at the Berlin State Ballet. In April 2017, the premiere of his new ballet “Earth” (Erde), created especially for this dance ensemble and for the Berlin public, is due to take place. The play is dedicated to the problems of the finite resources of our planet and the thoughtless, profit-oriented attitude of man towards them. So Berliners and guests of the German capital still have a short opportunity to get acquainted with the work of Nacho Duato with their own eyes.
Berlin State Ballet dancer Alexander Abdukarimov in the ballet “Earth” (Erde). Photo: Yan Revazov
The main guests of the V Ballet Festival in Jõhvi will be soloists of the Mikhailovsky Theater from St. Petersburg. The artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, Spanish dancer and choreographer Nacho Duato, will also come to Estonia with them.
Dancers of the Mikhailovsky Theater demonstrate costumes created by Serbian artist Angelina Atlagic for the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” staged by Nacho Duato.
As part of the festival, on May 19, Mikhailovsky soloists will show in Jõhvi one-act ballets by Nacho Duato “Without Words”, “Duende” and Nunc Dimittis to the music of Arvo Pärt, and a day later on the stage of the Jõhvi Philharmonic there will be an evening of classical ballet staged by the Spanish choreographer: “The Rest of the Cavalry” " and "The Moor's Pavane" will be followed by a gala concert.
On the eve of the festival, Nacho Duato told DD about his teachers, modern ballet and how he lives and works in Russia.
Don't judge us by Don Quixote
– You were born in Spain, studied in London, Brussels and New York, danced in Sweden and the Netherlands, you know the whole choreographic world. What in this international space influenced you the most?
– Of course, in first place for me is Jiri Kylian. I worked with him for nine years at the Dutch Dance Theater, was the leading soloist in his ballets, he composed several performances for me... It was thanks to Kilian that I staged my first ballet, “The Walled Garden.” Then we worked side by side as choreographers at the Netherlands Dance Theater with him and Hans van Manen. Besides Kilian, my top three choreographers include William Forsyth and Mats Ek. These are the most important names in my choreographic vocabulary. All three have been working at the highest level for forty years. Everyone created their own school, their own theater, their own dance language. This is what I consider real skill.
– You are distinguished by a penchant for modern ballet, which is often contrasted with classical...
– It’s a big mistake to contrast modern ballet and classics. Often modern dance turns out to be weak and helpless if it does not rely on the classical school. There is no boundary that clearly separates modern ballet from classical ballet. Ballet at its core is an art that cannot remain unchanged, that cannot be preserved; Every new day gives ballet new life and new breath. It is an unforgivable simplification to consider that dancing on pointe shoes is not modern, but barefoot dancing is relevant. In my Spanish troupe, I could not stage ballets in the classical technique only because I did not have dancers at my disposal who would fully master the finger dancing technique. And the Mikhailovsky Theater troupe masters it brilliantly, so I was able to stage “The Sleeping Beauty”, observing the classical canons. And what should we call her now, my “Sleeping”? What should we call the “Prelude”, which I also composed in St. Petersburg? Isn't this modern ballet? Isn't this classical ballet?
– Many people consider Spaniards to be very temperamental people with hot blood and hot heads. Are these national traits reflected in your choreographic works?
“You must judge the Spaniards by the ballet Don Quixote.” By the way, I myself didn’t recognize my native country in this performance... However, it doesn’t matter. I don't think I can be called a typical Spaniard. I have long considered myself a citizen of the world. I have worked in different countries, from Sweden to Australia, and have been living in St. Petersburg for almost two years. In my opinion, choreographic art is generally beyond – and above – any nationality.
Russia is not a bathhouse or vodka
– For twenty years you headed the National Dance Theater of Spain, but left this post for the Mikhailovsky Theater...
– I consider the choice in favor of the Mikhailovsky Theater to be one of the most important decisions of my life. Today I have at my disposal a ballet troupe that one can only dream of: wonderful dancers, superbly built, brilliantly trained, educated, musical and, most importantly, with an amazingly strong desire to work. And one more thing: the kind of respect for the choreographer that I feel in Russia cannot be found in any other theater in the world. I feel their complete trust and willingness to work selflessly.
– How does a Spaniard feel in the Russian environment? Are there things that amuse you or seem strange?
– If you mean that living in Russia means going to the bathhouse and drinking vodka, then you are mistaken. At least nothing obliges me to do this. St. Petersburg is a magnificent European city that has everything that European capitals should have, and even more. I don’t only mean monuments and landmarks, such as the Hermitage or the Kazan Cathedral. I have visited so many churches and museums in my life that what I value most is the opportunity to take a pleasant walk around the city, and in St. Petersburg you can fully enjoy such walks. As for the Russian character, as far as I have noticed, Russians are reserved, keep their distance, avoid familiarity in communication, and I like it.
– Have you learned Russian – at least a little?
– I was going to take it, but I don’t have any time left to study Russian. On the other hand, almost everyone here speaks English. But I know a few important Russian words that I sometimes use at rehearsals: “higher”, “line”...
– One of your first compositions at the Mikhailovsky Theater is Nunc Dimittis to the music of Arvo Pärt. Why did you choose this piece? Have you met Pärt? He is known for leading a very secluded, reclusive life...
– When creating a ballet, I am always inspired by music. The works of Arvo Pärt deeply moved me; the idea for my first “Russian” ballet was born entirely from music. But we did not meet the composer. Nunc Dimittis also contains fragments of bell ringing - they were specially composed by David Azagra.
– A year ago, you said in an interview that although Russia has enormous potential in the field of ballet, it does not have global influence, so your task is to discover new Russian choreographers who will shock the world. Did you succeed?
“Unfortunately, I have not yet had time to put this plan into practice. But I hope that in the future I will be able to find young talented choreographers - and they will really shock the world.
Help "DD":
Nacho Duato (Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia) born January 8, 1957 in Valencia. He studied ballet at the Rambert Dance Company in London, with Maurice Bejart in Brussels and at the Alvin Ailey American Ballet Theater in New York. He began his career as a dancer with the Swedish ballet Birgit Kullberg, and later joined the Netherlands Dance Theater under the direction of Jiri Kylian.
Since the early 1980s he has been acting as a choreographer, since 1988 - choreographer of the Netherlands Dance Theater (together with Kilian and Hans van Manen), since 1990 - artistic director of the National Dance Theater of Spain. In 2010, he terminated his contract with the National Dance Theater ahead of schedule; on January 1, 2011, he became the artistic director of ballet at the Mikhailovsky Opera and Ballet Theater (St. Petersburg).
He staged ballets to the music of Bach, Schubert, Beethoven, Wagner, Respighi, Ravel, Satie, Prokofiev, Villa-Lobos, Xenakis, Glass, and Spanish composers. Among Nacho Duato's awards are the Golden Dance Prize (1987), the Order of Arts and Letters (1995), the Benois de la Dance Award (2000), the National Dance Award of Spain (2003), the award of the Union of Art Critics of Chile (2010).
The Mikhailovsky Theater hosted the loudest ballet premiere of the season, long promised and long awaited. “The Sleeping Beauty,” our national treasure, our classic “everything,” appeared in a new production, and staged by a choreographer of a different, non-classical formation. Namely Nacho Duato, with whom all the hopes of the Mikhailovsky Theater are now connected. But, unfortunately, the hopes for an extraordinary, unparalleled performance, as it seemed from interviews and annotations, were not justified: everything that was a priori stated was not realized.
The main interest was that Nacho promised to make a completely new, completely original version without any regard to the original source or any modifications of it (there are many of them). Knowing Nacho as a master of modern plotless ballet and ornamental dance compositions, one could assume that he would stage something that did not in the least resemble the well-known example. (The mocker Mats Ek, for example, turned the same “Sleeping” into a shocking story about a beauty addicted to a needle). At the same time, Duato warned that he was not abandoning the old libretto with all its characters, clear plot, unfolding action and even divertissement. So we could only guess how he would manage to apply his dance language to this libretto and what chemical reaction this combination of different types of artistic thinking would produce.
The deviations from the canon are indeed striking, but they are not of such a nature as to constitute a radically new work. Only the “vocabulary” has been changed, although the language has remained the same, and, most importantly, the classical structure has been used. And although there are plenty of newly invented movements that Duato promised, they are all inscribed within the same boundaries of Petipa’s masterpiece and into the ancient framework of “ballet in tutus.” And, I must say, they stick out from him in all directions, because they don’t fit him. And not according to measure. All these unusual silhouettes, breaks in the design, interspersed in the dance, do not look like novelty, but rather aimless distortions of the text. And those places where the original shines through look the best. So what turned out to be not a new ballet, but just another version of the old one, moreover, more than controversial: with unclear choreography, ineptly constructed dramaturgy, empty staging and surprises like the inclusion of gentlemen in the initially female ensemble of fairies.
It is obvious that the classics for Duato are still a foreign language, in which, although he can already express himself (“the immersion method” worked), he does not feel the subtleties. It even seems that it seems to him to be a single undivided layer, otherwise how could it happen that he has mixed up the plastic codes of all the 19th century ballets in a row: the motifs of “Swan Lake” are fused into the Nereid scene, and a variation of Myrta (the leader of the Willis in “Giselle”), and Desiree (Petipa’s exquisite French prince, who solemnly serves as a kiss to awaken the beauty), Duato copies either the reflective Siegfried (“Swan Lake”), or Albert, who, tormented, goes to the grave of the girl he destroyed (“ Giselle"). Admittedly, there is no new depth in this, there is only eclecticism - and almost parodic.
To be fair, I will say that such an unconvincing whole is interspersed with some convincing nuances. For example, the image of the fairy Carabosse, traditionally given to a male performer, but solved in an original way: performed by Rishat Yulbarisov, this is not an old woman, but some kind of fantastic woman, beautiful and huge, silently flying across the stage, leaving behind a flowing black tail - a giant silk blanket. Or such a moment as the strengthening of a number of dramatic motives that are potentially present in the original, but usually not manifested. On the periphery of Duato's performance, several dramas are played out: for example, the real grief of the Queen Mother at the imaginary death of the princess, or the suffering of a lady, one of the prince's close associates: the scenes of this character, in the original only slightly separated from the corps de ballet, here turn into a story of unrequited love. Lively moments are scattered throughout the performance. However, they do not make the weather.
The ballet was not helped either by the design of Angelina Atlagich (light scenery with motifs of bisque china and elegant costumes), nor by the corps de ballet, which worked much better than in the performances of the current classical repertoire, nor by the excellent artists Irina Perren and Leonid Sarafanov, who danced the premiere. (Let’s keep silent about the orchestra conducted by Valery Ovsyannikov, which didn’t even thunder - it thundered, negating all the magic of the score). Other cast members include Svetlana Zakharova and Natalya Osipova with Ivan Vasiliev, but it is difficult to say whether they will give the performance a different dimension.
What happened?
Nacho Duato, who joined the academic ballet theater a year ago, continues to build his relationship with the classics, and builds them as the plot of his own creative life. Why not? The same conflict underlay his previous works - the controversial Nunc Dimittis and the undoubtedly successful Prelude. Only there it was resolved differently - inside a plotless ballet, at the level of a collision of two artistic systems; in the first case it was a look at “Russian” from the outside, in the second it was an experience of interaction. Now - an attempt to go inside. Nacho simply took a different path, deciding that he had already mastered a foreign language and now he could at least write poetry in it. Did not work out. He will probably continue to search for other, new angles on the aesthetic problem that worries him.
The only difficulty is that the theater in which he now works is a repertory theater, that is, any performance here is staged seriously and for a long time (not like in the Western box office, where, after being performed so many times in a row, the performance leaves the stage painlessly, giving way to new ones). And this premiere has the status of not only another work by Nacho Duato, but also the status of “The Sleeping Beauty” of the Mikhailovsky Theater.
You leave the performance and think: is this argument with Petipa, obviously doomed, even necessary? To be honest, after it I really want to re-watch Vikharev’s “Sleeping”, a subtle reconstruction of the ancient original, in which the choreographer, starting from the “letter”, comes to recreate the “spirit”. But for Nacho Duato, this debate is obviously part of an individual creative process, so we can only wait to see what happens next. The interest continues unabated.
What goals have you set for the troupe? What will it be like in three years or five years?
There is no need to set or formulate specific goals, you need to be able to listen to the troupe, understand what its inner mood is, and move slowly and gradually. We do a lot of work every day, we give it our all - all of us. I am not a commander who goes ahead, telling where others should go. I don’t drag the troupe along with me, but slowly push it from behind, directing its movement. The point is not at all what I would like - I have to feel what the troupe, the audience wants, what St. Petersburg wants. Changes may seem very gradual, but in five or six years, when we look back at the path we have traveled, we will be convinced that everything has changed.
Are you primarily an artist or the head of a ballet company who is responsible for its reputation?
At heart I am first and foremost a dancer, then a choreographer, then a director. But in life it turns out the other way around: first of all, I am a director, then a choreographer, then a dancer. For twenty years I was the director of a ballet company in Spain, here it is even more difficult: the troupe is larger, and it must combine classical and modern dance in its repertoire. It's not easy being a choreographer and director. Fortunately, we are all united by a love of art, even those who do not go on stage. Administration, production staff or costume designers - we are all devoted to ballet.
“The changes may seem very gradual, but in five or six years everything will change in the troupe.”
Does the troupe look like a large family or an efficient production facility?
Theater workers often say to themselves: “We are one family,” and this is not far from the truth. In business corporations, employees may never see the director or see him only once a year, but we are very close to the dancers, spending much more time together than the employees of any factory. I actually belong to the troupe.
The St. Petersburg ballet public is considered to be overly refined and cold. What do you think of her?
The audience here doesn't seem that difficult to me. Ballet is loved in St. Petersburg, and all my works have been received very well, starting with Nunc Dimittis, Without Words, Duende and Prelude, continuing with Sleeping Beauty and the most recent production of Versatility to the music of Bach. Those who are committed only to traditional classics, it seems to me, make up a very small part of the ballet audience. I do not exclude that there will be changes in the classical baggage of the Mikhailovsky Theater, but they should be made carefully and delicately.
Where can we meet you in St. Petersburg besides the theater?
I only have one free day a week, and I came here not for private life, but to work. I take walks, sometimes pop into cafes, and like to buy something for the house. What I value most in life is the opportunity to see, feel and try new things. And St. Petersburg gives me such an opportunity.
