Tag Archives: Cuadernos Educativos de la CND

An Evening with Forsythe

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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.

Aprendanza 2016: Dance & Education

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This past October, and for the third year in a row, Aprendanza has brought teachers, artists and social workers together: agile minds who believe in education and yearn to increasingly add more dance into their lives. The event was held at the facilities of Spain’s Compañía Nacional de Danza (CND), Matadero Madrid and the Ballet Nacional de España. José Carlos Martínez, Artistic Director of the CND, continues to be fully committed to the educational part of his artistic management responsibilities and thanks to the support of the LOEWE FOUNDATION, projects such as this one can become a reality.

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The CND’s artistic team welcomed more than 180 participants hailing from all over the country; among them, 65% were educators at primary schools, high schools or universities.

For three consecutive days, they took part in the many activities that had been organised including a number of workshops. They also got to enjoy a rehearsal of the Don Quijote ballet, which is repeating the successful run it enjoyed after last year’s premier at Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela (performances until 18th December).

The CND dancers, Elisabet Biosca, Agnès López Río, Antonio de Rosa and Mattia Russo, together with the company’s Ballet Master, Anael Martín, also lead some of the #Aprendanza activities.

Thanks to everyone who made this happen –the organisers and hosting companies, the professionals leading the activities and all the participants of this latest #Aprendanza edition– the interest in this activity continues to grow, by incorporating dance into the lives of the younger generations and thus making their education much richer.

Photographs: #Aprendanza 2016 workshops at the CND © Paco Gómez, 2016.

Dancing on pointe

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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?

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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].

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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.

Carmen, the making of

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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.

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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]

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