Tag Archives: Elna Matamoros

An Evening with Forsythe

Leave a reply

Spain’s Compañía Nacional de Danza has just presented “An Evening with Forsythe” –a new programme dedicated to this renowned American choreographer– at Cantabria’s Palacio de Festivales and Madrid’s Teatro Real. The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Artifact Suite and Enemy in the Figure are the three pieces that the CND’s Director, José Carlos Martínez, chose to showcase the company’s eclecticism.

Coinciding with this premiere, and thanks to the support that the LOEWE Foundation provides, a new edition of the CND’s Educational Booklets is in the hands of those readers interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of Forsythe’s work and his ties to the CND; the company has, throughout the years, presented eight of the choreographer’s works, thus covering an incredibly wide range of pieces and styles. Forsythe uses an academic and classical technique to create very contemporary pieces with George Balanchine and Rudolf von Laban as the most important sources of inspiration. The three ballets that make up “An Evening with Forsythe” are incredibly demanding in terms of execution and staging and have meant a new challenge for the CND.

The William Forsythe Educational Booklet, which is available in two versions –one for younger readers and one for adults- focuses primarily on those Forsythe choreographies most recently performed by the Company and includes statements from the artistic directors in charge of their staging explaining how Forsythe works, how a dancer might handle the performance of these choreographies, and what it means to be responsible for transmitting this heritage to the newer generations. Elna Matamoros –Advisor to the LOEWE FOUNDATION and Ballet Master at the CND– is the author of the texts and the person in charge of choosing the accompanying images. The CND’s Educational Booklets are distributed free of charge during the company’s open rehearsals and can also be downloaded from the CND’s website or by clicking on the following links.

William Forsythe. CND Educational Booklets.

William Forsythe for younger readers. CND Educational Booklets.

Until 30th April 2017. More information at www.teatro-real.com and the theatre’s ticket office.

Photo Captions: Kayoko Everhart and Jean Philippe Dury inArtifact II © Jesús Vallinas for the CND, 2013. Cover design by William Forsythe. CND Educational Booklets. © Anabel Poveda for the CND, 2017. Helena Balla inThe Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude © Jesús Vallinas for the CND, 2016.

Don Quixote Dances On Paper

Leave a reply

DonQCNDJovenesPortadaCoinciding with the 400th Anniversary of the Death of Cervantes, the Compañía Nacional de Danza that José Carlos Martínez directs has published a new Educational Booklet, a tool used to help disseminate the Company’s work.

The most recent title of this extraordinary series that distils the essence of the CND’s educational project, carried out with the support of the LOEWE FOUNDATION, features the José Carlos Martínez version of Don Quixote’s ballet, which premiered at Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela in December of 2015. In this Booklet’s versions – one for younger readers and one for adults– we learn about the secrets behind the staging of this ballet and its link to the Cervantes novel.

DonQCNDFandangoGranel

Elna Matamoros –Ballet Master of the CND and Advisor to the LOEWE FOUNDATION– is, once again, the author of the texts and the person in charge of choosing the accompanying images, which in this case includes photos of the ballet performance as well as prints taken from the Don Quixote of la Mancha edition illustrated by Gustavo Doré and Carmen Granel costume designs.

The CND’s Educational Booklets, which are distributed during the Company’s open rehearsals, are the perfect tool to familiarise oneself with Don Quixote prior to enjoying the performance, as they open the doors to the chivalrous, burlesque and romantic world portrayed in the ballet, on tour throughout Spain for the next few months. These publications can also be downloaded at no charge through the CND’s website or by clicking on the following links.

don-quixote-adults

don-quixote-younger readers

Photo Captions: front cover of the Don Quixote Booklet for younger readers. CND Educational Booklets. Illustration: “… the invention and fancy he read…”. Don Quixote of la Mancha. Illustration 1, Ch.1. by Gustavo Doré (1863). Layout by Anabel Poveda. El fandango. Costume by Carmen Granel for the CND, 2015.

 

Dancing on pointe

Leave a reply

LaDanzaEnPuntasCNDPortadaNiñosThe support of the LOEWE FOUNDATION to the educational project of the Compañía Nacional de Danza (Spain´s National Dance Company), has just crystallised in the publication of a new Educational Book, La danza en puntas (dancing on pointe). The previous books were dedicated to the choreographer George Balanchine and to the ballet Carmen, choreographed by Johan Inger last season for the CND.

Dancing on pointe is one of the most curious chapters in the History of Dance: How, when and why dancers began to rise on their toes? What is hiding inside these shoes? Is it difficult to dance on pointe?

BodegónCosturaCND

Elna Matamoros, Ballet Master of the CND and Advisor to the LOEWE FOUNDATION, is the author of these texts that, as in the previous editions, are published in two different versions: one for adult readers and one for children and youngsters. She has also been commissioned to gather a collection of images to illustrate and explain not only the origin of dancing on pointe, but also the manufacturing process of these shoes and the little secrets that every dancer keeps for herself.

MaríaMuñozCNDThe dancers of the CND are seen in this book as another link in the evolution of dance. Pointe shoes were born centuries ago and today this magical instrument makes them capable of defeating gravity and enjoying the advantages of using this tool that creates fantasy. Among other curiosities, in the book, the Spanish dancer Lucía Lacarra tells us her tips for caring her pointe shoes and how she gets them ready before each performance.

La danza en puntas was first introduced to the public at the LOEWE Talk Choreography of a dream, held at the Gran Vía LOEWE store last November between José Carlos Martinez, Director of CND, and Elna Matamoros, and later distributed during Aprendanza (an educational and performing arts festival organised by CND). These Educational Books are given to all the guests visiting the CND during rehearsals. They can also be downloaded in pdf format from the website of the Company or by clicking on the following links [only in Spanish].

LaDanzaEnPuntasCuadernoEducativoCNDAdultos

LaDanzaEnPuntasCNDNiños

InTheNightCND

Photographs: La danza en puntas, cover: design by Anabel Poveda. Natalia Muñoz in In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated © Jesús Vallinas for CND, 2015. María Muñoz’s sewing box and herself on pointe © Ángel Martínez Sánchez for CND, 2015. Kayoko Everhart and Moisés Martín Cintas in In The Night © Jesús Vallinas for CND, 2015.

Aprendanza 2015

Leave a reply

After the success of Aprendanza in 2014, the Compañía Nacional de Danza (CND, Spain´s National Dance Company), directed by José Carlos Martinez, has conducted a second edition of this education and performing arts festival: music, movement, communication and all the aspects that dance involves, come together to participate in the process of training young people.

Aprendanza2015.1
Last November, with the support of the LOEWE FOUNDATION, more than two hundred teachers from all over Spain met and exchanged ideas, knowledge, their motivation and difficulties. With the leadership of a team of specialists in education, they found their creative path.

Aprendnaza2015.2The weekend started with an open rehearsal of the CND performing the ballet Don Quixote, which will premiere next week in Madrid. Later the workshops coordinated by Pedro Sarmiento -director of LÓVA and driving force of Aprendanza- included activities to generate movement by using creative tools, body percussion, experiences through observation and plastic art workshops. This year there was a special guest, Monica Milocco, responsible of the educational programme of the Gottemburgh Opera. Some members from the CND also led some of the workshops: José Carlos Martínez himself taught Koreographía, a brainstorming of ideas in order to invent our own choreographic language, Elna Matamoros revealed links between dance and almost all the academic subjects, and Agnès López Río with Elizabeth Biosca led a large movement class that brough all the participants together.

Aprendanza2015.3

The showing of the film Five Days to Dance by Wilfried von Popel and Amaya Lubeigt, some free time for meetings and the welcoming facilities of Matadero Madrid, Ballet Nacional de España and the CND itself, were the perfect blend to enjoy a memorable weekend for this group of teachers, who were all eager to integrate dance into their classrooms.

Photographs: Aprendanza 2015 © Sara Navarro, 2015

José Carlos Martínez, choreography of a dream

Leave a reply

Proximity and a cheerful disposition characterised the LOEWE Talk Choreography of a dream, a conversation between José Carlos Martínez, Director of the Compañía Nacional de Danza and Elna Matamoros, Ballet Master of the CND and Advisor of the LOEWE Foundation, which was presented by Sheila Loewe, Director of the Foundation.

EncuentroJCElna3

Martínez has developed a long and dazzling career as a dancer, culminating with an important position as choreographer before his arrival to the CND. He was Étoile at the Paris Opera Ballet and danced a large and diverse repertoire. As choreographer, Martínez was awarded with the Benois Prize for his ballet Les Enfants du Paradis. He won the Spanish National Award for Dance and the French Government named him Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. “I am Spanish, but I carry the French culture and everything I learned from France with me,” said the dancer.

EncuentroJCElna2Many anecdotes and memories appeared during the conversation, which led the audience to his native town, Cartagena. “When I was young”, said Martínez laughing, “I didn’t mind dancing at my parents’ kitchen or on the stage of the Paris Opera”. Elna Matamoros remarked the importance of early teachers for dancers and José Carlos Martinez said he had “learned how to dance before getting into the Paris Opera Ballet School”, where he studied only for one year. After his early years at his hometown, where he studied dance with Pilar Molina, he moved to Cannes (France) under the tutelage of Rosella Hightower and José Ferrán. There he received a personalised and wide dance training. “I learned to dance before I could speak French”, said the dancer.

For Martínez, his professional years at the Paris Opera went by without feeling “a prisoner of that great temple of dance. I never felt the need to leave the company to develop myself artistically.” Precisely for this reason, Martínez has tried to approach that same model of company when he arrived to the CND as Director. He wished to spread the repertoire of the company to a wide variety of choreographic styles. Martínez made the audience laugh when he explained that he believed that probably the main reason to have been chosen by the INAEM-Ministry of Culture as Director of the CND was that he was “the only fool who said he could do everything with so little budget”. Now he ackowledges both astonished and pleased, that “in three years we have met the goals I set for a minimum of five”. Next December 16th, the company will premiere the ballet Don Quixote, the first full-length classical ballet danced by the company in over twenty years.

EncuentroJCELna1

During the LOEWE Talk, which took place at the flagship LOEWE store in Gran Vía, Madrid, José Carlos Martínez appreciated “the support of the LOEWE Foundation -Official Sponsor of the CND. We have been able to open the doors of dance and the company to a large audience, to people that neither dance nor will ever do, but we’ve piqued their curiosity”. The Educational Project of the CND, which includes visits from both adults and grade schoolers to see the company work, the publication of Educational Books and Aprendanza – which took place for the second year this past weekend in Madrid- have developed a strong commitment to the future. “One of the most exciting moments of these years at the CND happened when a group of three year-old children visited the company. Their feet did not even touch the ground from the bench they were sitting on, and at the end of our rehearsal, they all wanted to dance with us.”

In 2009, José Carlos Martínez participated, together with composer José Nieto, in the LOEWE Talk Dance-Music held at the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid. A summary of the Talk, moderated by Elna Matamoros, can be downloaded from the link at the end of this article [only in Spanish].

EncuentrosLOEWEconLaDanza-DanzaMusica

Photographs: José Carlos Martínez, choreography of a dream. LOEWE Talk between José Carlos Martínez and Elna Matamoros © Luis Sánchez de Pedro for LOEWE Foundation, 2015.

The Gran Teatre del Liceu welcomes the swans of the English National Ballet

Leave a reply

The English National Ballet (ENB), directed by the Spanish dancer Tamara Rojo, will be dancing Swan Lake, perhaps the most popular title of the entire repertoire of classical ballet. With these performances, starting September 16, the Gran Teatre del Liceu opens a new dance season sponsored by the LOEWE FOUNDATION.

English National Ballet, Swan Lake in the round technical rehearsal

The version that ENB will be performing in Barcelona was staged by Derek Deane -former Director of the company- using the original score by Tchaikovsky. As Tamara Rojo explains, “it continues the British tradition based on Nicholas Sergeyev’s revival, from the notation written by Petipa and Ivanov for the original ballet; it was made for the Ninette de Valois’s Vic-Wells Ballet in 1934”. This production, she says, “emphasizes the virtuosity of both the corps de ballet and the soloists, holding until the end of the ballet all the dramatic tension.”

English National Ballet, Swan Lake in the round technical rehearsal

The company that Tamara Rojo leads has become very popular among the English people since its foundation in 1950. Rojo says it has been “honouring the great classical ballet without sacrificing modern works, and promoting the creativity of contemporary choreography”. ENB, during the past decades, has developed as a “travelling company, both in England and in the rest of the world” and for that reason, explains its Director, it has extended “the love for dance on the basis of artistic excellence and creativity.” Tamara Rojo says that being able to direct ENB is “the culmination of my artistic aspirations because it allows me to address important aspects about the practice of our art that would be impossible for me as a dancer.” She also admits to be interested in the “artistic challenges associated to the strategies that make possible to integrate the artistic, commercial and creative goals for our company and to achieve the purposes of artistic excellence, sustainability and commitment to social responsibility”.

TamaraRojoEncuentroLOEWEDanzaLiteraturaThe last time Rojo was on this same stage back in 2010, she was still Principal Dancer with London’s Royal Ballet. “I danced Sleeping Beauty about the time the Spanish football team won the World Cup,” she jokes. She returns to the Liceu to meet an audience that has always treated her “with love” and that she defines as “very enthusiastic”.
In 2008 Tamara Rojo participated, together with poet Luis Antonio de Villena in the LOEWE TALK Dance-Literature held at the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid. It was moderated by Elna Matamoros, adviser of the LOEWE FOUNDATION. Rojo remembers that event, on dance and literature, as “very satisfactory”. She emphasizes the importance of “linking dance with other arts such as poetry or painting, which are complementary”. A summary of the talk can be downloaded from the link at the end of this article [only in Spanish].

EncuentrosLOEWEconladanzaDanza-Literatura

More information at 90253 33 53 (www.liceubarcelona.cat).

Photographs: Swan Lake performed by the English National Ballet with Tamara Rojo and Matthew Golding © Arnaud Stephenson for ENB, 2013. Tamara Rojo at the LOEWE TALK Dance-Literature © Residencia de Estudiantes, 2008.

 

Sol León & NDT in Madrid

Leave a reply

SCHMETTERLING © Rahi Rezvani_online_6 @The last dance show of the 2014-15 Season at the Teatro Real in Madrid -sponsored by the LOEWE FOUNDATION- will be performed by the Nederlands Dans Theater. The company will present two ballets by Paul Lightfoot -Director of NDT- and Sol León, both house choreographers of the company since 2002.

Sol León has been working with Paul Lightfoot since 1989 and the couple is one of the leading names in European creation. The Spanish choreographer explains that Sehnsucht (2009) and Schmetterling (2010), the two pieces performed in Madrid, “complement each other.” With them, she says, “we created a continuous feeling between space and time; past, present and future build a continuous spiral”. These pieces were created a year apart but they have been performed together because, says León, “we really like to have this little trip: we create a bridge between these two parts”. Two works with music as different as Beethoven, in the first part, and Max Richter and The Magnetic Fields songs in the second part. But she warns: “The intermission also becomes part of the show.”

SolLeónEncuentrosLOEWEConLaDanzaLeón feels “very lucky to create.” After 25 years choreographing, she knows that “time is powerful. If you are not insecure and you feel free to express whatever you feel, it becomes a magical act that makes me feel inspired and creative. Dance can express through motion, as poetry does with words”. She looks at the present time and is excited with the fact of “showing this work in Spain because these ballets have been already touring around the world.” Shortly before coming to the Teatro Real, they will be shown at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Following the departure of choreographer Jiří Kylián from NDT “the company was needing the spirit of the artist”, says León. “Since the last visit of the company to Madrid, creativity is again palpable in the house with the arrival of Paul (Lightfoot) three years ago.”

In 2008, Sol León participated with the film-maker Carlos Saura in the LOEWE Dance Talks, integrating this discipline with cinema as two complementary and parallel activities. The choreographer remembers “with a smile, with real affection” the talk held at the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid and moderated by Elna Matamoros, adviser of the LOEWE FOUNDATION. The reflections of Carlos Saura and Sol León, their own work and the stimulous given by the LOEWE Foundation to dance are compiled in the summary of that talk, which can be downloaded from the link at the end of this article [only in Spanish].

EncuentrosLOEWEconLaDanza-DanzaCine

NEDERLANDS_DANS_TEATHER

More information at + 34 915 060 660 (www.teatro-real.com)

Photographs: Schmetterling and Sehnsucht by Nederlands Dans Theater © Rezvani. Sol León in the LOEWE Talk Dance-Cinema  © Residencia de Estudiantes, 2008.

Carmen, the making of

Leave a reply

CarmenJóvenesPortadaCNDCarmen, by Swedish choreographer Johan Inger, is the title chosen by the Compañía Nacional de Danza -José Carlos Martínez, Artistic Director- to publish a new Educational Book. This little publication explains in depth all the details regarding not only this version of the ballet but also those previously choreographed by other artists.

This book, easy to read, will allow audiences to enjoy and appreciate the many details that made this story one of the main works in the repertoire of most ballet companies worldwide.
Like the previous Educational Book published by CND, dedicated to the Russian-American choreographer George Balanchine, this publication is available in two versions; one for adults and another one for youngsters. Elna Matamoros, Ballet Master of the CND and advisor of the LOEWE FOUNDATION, is the author of both the text and the selection of images, which Anabel Poveda later designed.

This book delves into the origins of Carmen as a Spanish myth, starting from the novel written by Prosper Mérimée, through the opera composed by Georges Bizet and then through the multiple versions that have been choreographed. CND had two different versions in its repertoire in the previous decades, and they are also explained in the book.

IngerEnsayoCuadernoCarmenCND

The Educational Books of the CND are possible thanks to the support of the LOEWE FOUNDATION and are distributed for free to the people who attend the open rehearsals of the company; moreover, this Carmen book is also available to download in PDF through the website of the CND, and includes an explanatory text about this collection. You can also download Carmen, Educational Book, by clicking on the following links. [Only in Spanish]

CarmenCuadernoEducativoCND

CarmenJóvenesCuadernoEducativoCND

Photographs: Carmen para los más jóvenes, cover. Rehearsals of Carmen with Johan Inger at Compañía Nacional de Danza © Domingo Fernández for CND, 2015.

35th Anniversary of the Compañía Nacional de Danza

Leave a reply

The Compañía Nacional de Danza has been celebrating its 35th anniversary since last October, when the special commemorative Galas were performed at the Teatros del Canal, in Madrid. Eclectic, diverse and touching performances brought on stage the most relevant pieces of its repertoire, remembering some of the brightest moments of these last decades.

ViolinVallinas

During the weekend of the great celebration, CND was not alone: ​​Company Director José Carlos Martínez, linking both memories and collaboration, invited two dance companies that were bonded to the CND in the past: Ballet Nacional de España -pair company when María de Ávila led both ensembles together- and Víctor Ullate Ballet – Comunidad de Madrid, in recognition to Ullate himself as the first director of the CND when it was founded, back in 1979. Moreover, a full set of costumes from the archives of the company was exhibited in the halls of the theatre.

FFinGenzanoCNDRaymonda Divertimento, Le Corsaire, Flower Festival in Genzano, Violon… all the repertoire performed portrayed the history, past and future of the CND; as a statement to the wonders of dancing, Minus 16 closed the evening. These performances paid tribute to María de Ávila and Tony Fabre -former directors of the CND and CND2 respectively- who passed away recently. It was an intense weekend, full of emotions that have been distilling festive atmosphere over the next months. Tours and new stagings have filled the agenda of the CND. Last January, the latest addition to the repertoire of the CND appeared: Don Quijote Suite.

After the original ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorski, and a later version staged by Rudolf Nureyev for the Paris Opera Ballet, José Carlos Martínez has built a truly Spanish version of the ballet Don Quixote. Toreros, gypsies, and a couple of main characters -performed by Yae Gee Park and Alessandro Riga- filled the stage of the Auditorium Víctor Villegas in Murcia (Spain). Gonzalo Berná conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica Región de Murcia. It meant a big challenge for the CND as the company faced a demanding work for all the members of the company. From the corps de ballet to soloists and principals, they were all involved in the moving story included by Cervantes in one of the chapters of his very famous novel. Another Spanish-scented ballet, Carmen, will be premiered by the CND next April in Madrid.

DonQYaeGeeCND

Past and future are still gathered at the CND, as seen during the open dialogue between Víctor Ullate and José Carlos Martínez at the big stage of the Teatros del Canal last October. Moderated by Elna Matamoros, Ballet Master at the CND and adviser of the Loewe Foundation, the meeting brought more than an hour of cheers and memories, hopes and difficulties. It was the perfect metaphor of the project that José Carlos Martínez has brought back to the Spanish company, to which the Loewe Foundation recognizes as a soulmate and supports as its official sponsor in its artistic activity.

DonQPantomimaCND

 

Photographs: Kayoko Everhart, Lucio Vidal and Sara Fernández in Violon; Noëllie Conjeaud and Moisés Martín Cintas en Flower Festival in Genzano © Jesús Vallinas, 2014 for CND. Yae Gee Park in Don Quijote Suite © Patricio Valverde for CND, 2015. Corps de ballet in Don Quijote Suite © Jesús Vallinas for CND, 2015.