Company

When Esther Jurado, leading guest dancer of the Ballet Nacional de España, asked the Argentinian choreographer and dancer Carlos Vilán to create a classical Spanish choreography for her, he pictured her in bata de cola dress, dancing to the score of Asturias de Albéniz – without even knowing that her mother was Asturian. He named this choreography Leyenda and first unveiled it at the gala of the Bucharest Opera in 1998.

As Director of the Ballet Nacional de España, Rubén Olmo wanted to include it in this programme because Albéniz’s composition was a staple in the repertoire of Antonio’s Ballet, although in those days it was performed by a male dancer. For Olmo, Carlos Vilán’s creation was a good fit for the programme because the choreographer had a deep understanding of the style of the maestro. Carlos Vilán worked closely with Antonio as répétiteur for El Rocío, a work that María Rosa originally commissioned from Antonio for her company.