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Repetiteur mistress and former first artist of the Ballet Nacional de España, a company she joined under the directorship of Antonio Ruiz Soler, Maribel Gallardo has been ‘Medea’ and ‘’La Celestina’. In La Bella Otero she has the role of Madame Otero, the mature Carolina Otero who has to face failure and loneliness.
This is not the first time that Yaiza Pinillos designs costumes for Ballet Nacional de España productions but there is no doubt that La Bella Otero has been the best chance to show her studies in History of Art in the fabrics she manipulates so artistically. Specialised in costumes for the performing arts, having also worked for the Centro Dramático Nacional or the Festival de Mérida, her search for references in works of art from each of the periods rather than opting for historical faithfulness, allows a greater freedom and visual support to her designs. This way, she has re-elaborated the iconic image of la Belle Otero as a Byzantine empress to enrichen the scene rather than just making a mere reproduction.
The Ballet Nacional de España will perform La Bella Otero from 7 to 18 July at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. This narrative ballet, created and directed by Rubén Olmo, is about the intense life of one of the most famous and influential dancers of the late 19th century, Carolina Otero. A world-famous Spanish artist, her name is known worldwide but her story remains unknown to many. A woman from a small village in Galicia, who invented herself after a tragic event in her childhood. Taking Merimée’s Carmen as a guide, she used men to rise in her artistic career, was admired by European kings, although the only love she fell for was gambling. La Bella Otero is a reflection on abuse, ambition, success, the inability to love and loneliness.
In the original score of La Bella Otero a great diversity of aesthetics co-exists, from Galician folklore to flamenco, a re-reading of the Belle Époque styles and others with avant-garde aspirations. The person in charge of stringing together this music to make a symphonic fabric that includes guitar and flamenco percussion in addition to freestyle folk, is the composer and conductor Manuel Busto. The result of the collaboration between him, Agustín Diassera, Alejandro Cruz Benavides, Rarefolk, Diego Losada, Enrique Bermúdez, Víctor Márquez and Pau Vallet is “unprejudiced music in its conception that does not renounce anything”.
The young Granada dancer Patricia Guerrero is the artist that the Ballet Nacional de España has invited to dance the title role, together with Maribel Gallardo in La Bella Otero. She started dancing when she was 15 years old in Mario Maya’s company and was first artist at the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía under the directorship of Rubén Olmo. She has been touring the world with her own company for more than 10 years.
The actor, stage director and dance dramatist Gregor Acuña-Pohl, has written the plot of La Bella Otero. He regularly works with choreographer Johan Inger, having penned Carmen, by the Compañía Nacional de Danza. In his first work for the Ballet Nacional de España, he researched the life of la Belle Otero to tell the audience her story through movement.
The show Invocación, to be performed by the Ballet Nacional de España on 7 and 16 May in Zaragoza and Pamplona, includes one of the few escuela bolera choreographies created in the past few years. In Invocación bolera, the public company’s director, Rubén Olmo, updates the essence of the traditional escuela bolero style, in addition to paying tribute to the great masters who established the direction to be followed in this style: Mariemma, Ángel Pericet, and Antonio el Bailarín.
The celebration of International Dance Day in 2020 coincided with the lockdown decreed by the Government against the Covid-19 pandemic, so Ballet Nacional de España artists had to dance in their homes and share their dance with fans through the social media. That period was really hard, both physically and mentally for our dancers and director Rubén Olmo, as they were away from the audience, their raison d’être. That is why, this year our wish is to give everybody the chance of watching us dance live to share our joy for having returned to the stage.
Bailando un tesoro is an illustrated book to tell children about Spanish dance, its styles, and its values. Through Mercedes Palacios’s illustrations and Azucena Huidobro’s text we follow the four protagonists -the children Antonio, María, Alberto and Cristina- in their dream of becoming dancers.
Both the public and the critics enthusiastically welcomed the premiere of Centenario Antonio Ruiz Soler at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville. The Andalusian city honoured one of the dancers and choreographers that have most influenced the evolution of Spanish dance in the 20th century, but who has not had the acknowledgement he deserves since his death in 2006. To distinguish the work done by the Ballet Nacional de España to highlight the figure of Antonio el Bailarín on his centenary, the City Council awarded us the Giraldillo Ciudad de Sevilla de la Bienal de Flamenco, the city’s top prize.
The figure of dancer Antonio Ruiz Soler is still relevant to the current generation of artists as he is a symbol of creativity, thoroughness, and charisma. As part of the activities prepared to celebrate the centenary of his birth, the Ballet Nacional de España has devoted the second title of its didactic interactive collection ‘#BNEnoscuenta’ to its former director (1980 to 1983).
Antonio Ruiz Soler (1921-1996) is one of the dancers and choreographers who has most influenced the evolution of Spanish dance in the 20th century. On the occasion of 100th anniversary of the birth of the former director of Ballet Nacional de España (1980 to 1983), the public company has designed a programme that includes productions that are loyal to the key original pieces of his career in addition to creations inspired by his style.
Since 2005, every 11 March, Europe remembers all the victims of terrorist attacks in an act of acknowledgment and memory of those who died, the survivors and their families. The director of the Ballet Nacional de España took part in the institutional event held on 11 March 2021 on the grounds of Madrid’s Palacio Real, which was presided by the King and Queen of Spain. Rubén Olmo danced his choreography Danza del ave fénix in a majestic white mantón de Manila [embroidered shawl]. The Orquesta Nacional de España, conducted by David Afkham, played Amorosa (Ala baita) by Basque composer Jesús Guridi, the sixth number out of ten Basque melodies. The melancholy music accompanied the movements and gestures of pain of the dancer in this metaphor about arising from the ashes.
Just as it is our duty to declare the lack of equality wherever we notice it, it is also fair to acknowledge equality whenever we find it. Since its foundation in 1978, the number of male and female members of the creative team and cast of the Ballet Nacional de España has been nearly equal.
The Ballet Nacional de España is giving four performances at the Centre Cultural Terrassa on 12, 13 and 14 February. These performances had to be postponed twice due to the temporary closure of cultural venues in March and November last year. Seating capacity is reduced by 50% and some performances are on earlier in order to comply with the night curfew set at 10:00 pm.
Storm Filomena did not prevent Ballet Nacional de España from putting on Invocación on 23 and 24 January 2021 at the Teatro Mira in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid. The theatre’s seating capacity has been adapted to the 75% currently in force in Comunidad de Madrid as a safety measure against Covid-19. Also, all the dancers and the creative team will take an antibody test the day before the first performance.
We begin 2021 with the excitement of keeping at work and the hope of performing again in theatres worldwide. We are focused on the production and rehearsal of two new shows we are premiering in Seville y Madrid. The first one will be in April on the occasion of Antonio Ruiz Soler’s centenary, one of the most versatile dancers in the history of Spanish dance. In July, we will present La Bella Otero, a Rubén Olmo choreography about the famous Spanish artist of the Belle Époque. We are also touring Invocación in different Spanish cities. This show includes escuela bolera, stylised dance, and flamenco.
The BNE accompanied with flamenco and folklore dances two carols by Fernando Fernández Pantoja ‘Terremoto’ and Canalejas de Puerto Real
Miguel Ángel Corbacho’s stylised Spanish dance and flamenco choreography for Rimsky-Korsakov’s music will be included in the BNE repertoire.
After a seven-month shutdown, the Ballet Nacional de España (BNE) will bring to Teatro Circo de Albacete the programme Invocación on 29 and 30 October. After Albacete, it will tour Terrassa (Barcelona), Zaragoza, St Petersburg (Russia), Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Águilas (Murcia) and Pamplona, plus other cities to be confirmed. Also, this season the Spanish Dance public company will premiere La Bella Otero, by Rubén Olmo; a new choreography for Capricho español, with music by Rimski-Korsakov; and a programme about Antonio Ruiz Soler on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of his birth.