The National Ballet of Spain returns starting this Friday, February 27, to Hong Kong with five performances of ‘La Bella Otero’ and ‘Invocation’, which will be staged at the Grand Theater of the HK Cultural Center.
The first program to be presented will be ‘The Beautiful Otero’ which, choreographed by Rubén Olmo and released in 2021, proposes a journey through the main stages of his biography. After touring several national and international cities, ‘La Bella Otero’ is presented in Hong Kong with Noelia Ruizdancer of the National Ballet of Spain, playing the young Otero, while Maribel Gallardospecial collaborator, will play the protagonist in her maturity.
‘La Bella Otero’ is a large-format show that transports the viewer back in time to learn about the vital adventures of the most desired dancer of the Belle Époque. Ruben Olmochoreographer and current director of the company, has put dance at the service of history to narrate the life of Carolina Otero, a woman who invented herself from a tragic event in her childhood, triumphed as an artist and courtesan, and ended up alone and ruined by gambling.
In ‘Invocation‘, the second of the programs presented in Hong Kong, according to the director of the National Ballet of Spain, “you can enjoy flamenco full of life and strength on stagea ballet of the purest stylized dance and one of the few recent bowling school choreographies.”
The show starts with ‘Bowling invocation’an update of the style presented by Rubén Olmo, with musical creation by Manuel Busto and casting of castanets by Maribel Gallardo. It follows ‘Cage‘, a solo by Rubén Olmo inspired by Granada in which granaína and zapateado take center stage.
The first part of the show closes with ‘Dualia’a choreography by Rojas and Rodríguez that addresses Spanish dance, breathing the youth and freshness of the dancers of this generation rich in knowledge, seeking the complicity of dancing as a couple and interpreting the sensuality of the gestures.
After the break, the flamenco group of singers and musicians from the National Ballet of Spain joins the dancers on stage to pay tribute to one of the dancers and choreographers who renewed flamenco dance in Andalusia, Mario Mayo. ‘Of flamenco. Tribute to Mario Maya’ It is a flamenco suite that reflects one’s own style, composed of seven movements. The BNE production has added two new choreographies signed by Rafela Casarrasco and Isabel Bayón, ‘Romande of the site’ y ‘Taranto‘, respectively.
The ‘Bella Otero’ will be staged this Friday, February 27, Saturday the 28th and Sunday, March 1st. The ‘Invocation’ functions are scheduled for Tuesday, March 3 and Wednesday, March 4.