After its tour of the US and Germany, the company sells out tickets with its triple program (which includes two premieres) on its return to Madrid
The latest proposal by Joaquín de Luz at the head of the National Dance Company (CND) was presented this Thursday, April 18, at the Teatros del Canal in Madrid, an unparalleled triple program (which contained two premieres) that has been received among the applause and cheers of the attendees, who thus received the cast after their tour of the United States and Germany.
The luckiest have been able to enjoy this show in the capital – which can be enjoyed until April 21 in only four events with all tickets sold out for more than two weeks – led by its still director, Joaquín De Luz, who will leave the position when her contract ends this August, with a performance on August 8 at the Cantabria Festival Palace with ‘La Sylphide’.
On this occasion, the program chosen in Madrid was made up of ‘Heatscape’, by the acclaimed Justin Peck, and two premieres: ‘Le jeune homme et la mort’, by Roland Petit, and ‘Cantata’, by Mauro Bigonzetti.
Thus, the excitement was felt in the moments before the start of the performance in the Red Room of the Theaters, which kicked off with the already well-known ‘Heatscape’, an exponent of musicality and quality by choreographer Justin Peck, who shared the ranks at the New York City Ballet with Joaquín De Luz.
With this piece – premiered by the CND last July at the Teatro de la Zarzuela – Peck (a Tony Award winner) and visual artist Shepard Fairey fuse ballet and guerrilla street art in this collaboration in which Martinu’s music plays a fundamental role.
Next, a couple of dancers starred in ‘Le jeune homme et la mort’ (‘Man and Death’), the iconic ballet created by Roland Petit, performed since its premiere in 1946 in Paris by figures such as Rudolf Nureyev. , Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jean Babile and Nicolas LeRiche, among others.
Created for the Ballets des Champs Élysées, it constructs two scenes danced by a couple of dancers to the music of Bach’s Passacaglia in C minor orchestrated by Respighi, a ballet that has marked the history of dance for its modernity and intensity and that, in This time, it has been traced back for the CND by the maestro Luigi Bonino, who has worked with the company’s dancers.
Indeed, Bonino was part of the Marseille National Ballet, directed by Roland Petit. There, he learned the technique developed by Petit and once he passed away, he became responsible for keeping his work alive.
The program ended with ‘Cantata’, a piece that, like all the works of the great Mauro Bigonzetti, has a powerful language. Originally created in 2001 for the Gulbenkian Ballet (Lisbon, Portugal), it was performed for the first time this Thursday by the CND at the Teatros del Canal.
This choreography, which reflects the typical and vibrant colors of southern Italy, is articulated around passionate and visceral gestures that evoke the Mediterranean style through an instinctive and vital dance.
NEW PREMIERE FOR INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY
This April, the National Dance Company will celebrate International Dance Day on the 29th with a new mixed program at the Auditorium of the Carlos III University of Leganés (Madrid), in which three pieces will be performed: ‘Remanso ‘, by Nacho Duato; ‘Swoosh’ by Joaquín De Luz, the absolute premiere of this season, in which the dancers dance with sneakers, leaving aside the pointes; and ‘Napoli Divertissement’, with which the CND returns to the classic steps of the great August Bournonville.
In addition, the CND will offer other activities on this pedagogical day from UC3M, such as a class open to conservatory students and the reading of a message for this International Day, which has been celebrated every April 29 since it was established by UNESCO in 1982. at the initiative of the International Dance Committee. This date commemorates the birth (in 1727) of Jean-Georges Noverre, dancer and teacher considered the creator of modern ballet.