Where does Nacho Duato work now? Nacho Duato: Russians avoid familiarity, and that's good

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The Mikhailovsky Theater hosted the loudest ballet premiere of the season, long promised and long awaited. “The Sleeping Beauty,” our national treasure, our classic “everything,” appeared in a new production, and staged by a choreographer of a different, non-classical formation. Namely Nacho Duato, with whom all the hopes of the Mikhailovsky Theater are now connected. But, unfortunately, hopes for an extraordinary, unparalleled performance, as it seemed from interviews and annotations, were not justified: everything that was a priori stated was not realized.

The main interest was that Nacho promised to make a completely new, completely original version without any regard to the original source or any modifications of it (there are many of them). Knowing Nacho as a master of modern plotless ballet and ornamental dance compositions, one could assume that he would stage something that did not in the least resemble the well-known example. (The mocker Mats Ek, for example, turned the same “Sleeping” into a shocking story about a beauty addicted to a needle). At the same time, Duato warned that he was not abandoning the old libretto with all its characters, clear plot, unfolding action and even divertissement. So we could only guess how he would manage to apply his dance language to this libretto and what chemical reaction this combination of different types of artistic thinking would produce.

The deviations from the canon are indeed striking, but they are not of such a nature as to constitute a radically new work. Only the “vocabulary” has been changed, although the language has remained the same, and, most importantly, the classical structure has been used. And although there are plenty of newly invented movements that Duato promised, they are all inscribed within the same boundaries of Petipa’s masterpiece and into the ancient framework of “ballet in tutus.” And, I must say, they stick out from him in all directions, because they don’t fit him. And not according to measure. All these unusual silhouettes, breaks in the design, interspersed in the dance, do not look like novelty, but rather aimless distortions of the text. And those places where the original shines through look the best. So the result was not a new ballet, but simply another version of the old one, moreover, more than controversial: with unclear choreography, ineptly constructed dramaturgy, empty staging and surprises like the inclusion of gentlemen in the initially female ensemble of fairies.

It is obvious that the classics for Duato are still a foreign language, in which, although he can already express himself (“the immersion method” worked), he does not feel the subtleties. It even seems that it seems to him to be a single undivided layer, otherwise how could it happen that he has mixed up the plastic codes of all the 19th century ballets in a row: the motifs of “Swan Lake” are fused into the Nereid scene, and a variation of Myrta (the leader of the Willis in “Giselle”), and Desiree (Petipa’s exquisite French prince, who solemnly serves as a kiss to awaken the beauty), Duato copies either the reflective Siegfried (“Swan Lake”), or Albert, who, tormented, goes to the grave of the girl he destroyed (“ Giselle"). Admittedly, there is no new depth in this, there is only eclecticism - and almost parodic.

To be fair, I will say that such an unconvincing whole is interspersed with some convincing nuances. For example, the image of the fairy Carabosse, traditionally given to a male performer, but solved in an original way: performed by Rishat Yulbarisov, this is not an old woman, but some kind of fantastic woman, beautiful and huge, silently flying across the stage, leaving behind a flowing black tail - a giant silk blanket. Or such a moment as the strengthening of a number of dramatic motives that are potentially present in the original, but usually not manifested. On the periphery of Duato's performance, several dramas are played out: for example, the real grief of the Queen Mother at the imaginary death of the princess, or the suffering of a lady, one of the prince's close associates: the scenes of this character, in the original only slightly separated from the corps de ballet, turn here into a story of unrequited love. Lively moments are scattered throughout the performance. However, they do not make the weather.

The ballet was not helped either by the design of Angelina Atlagich (light scenery with motifs of bisque china and elegant costumes), nor by the corps de ballet, which worked an order of magnitude better than in the performances of the current classical repertoire, nor by the excellent artists Irina Perren and Leonid Sarafanov, who danced the premiere. (Let’s keep silent about the orchestra conducted by Valery Ovsyannikov, which didn’t even thunder - it thundered, negating all the magic of the score). Other cast members include Svetlana Zakharova and Natalya Osipova with Ivan Vasiliev, but it is difficult to say whether they will give the performance a different dimension.

What happened?

Nacho Duato, who joined the academic ballet theater a year ago, continues to build his relationship with the classics, and builds them as the plot of his own creative life. Why not? The same conflict underlay his previous works - the controversial Nunc Dimittis and the undoubtedly successful Prelude. Only there it was resolved differently - inside a plotless ballet, at the level of a collision of two artistic systems; in the first case it was a look at “Russian” from the outside, in the second it was an experience of interaction. Now - an attempt to go inside. Nacho simply took a different path, deciding that he had already mastered a foreign language and now he could at least write poetry in it. Did not work out. He will probably continue to search for other, new angles on the aesthetic problem that worries him.

The only difficulty is that the theater in which he now works is a repertory theater, that is, any performance here is staged seriously and for a long time (not like in the Western box office, where, after being performed so many times in a row, the performance leaves the stage painlessly, giving way to new ones). And this premiere has the status of not only another work by Nacho Duato, but also the status of “The Sleeping Beauty” of the Mikhailovsky Theater.

You leave the performance and think: is this argument with Petipa, obviously doomed, even necessary? To be honest, after it I really want to re-watch Vikharev’s “Sleeping”, a subtle reconstruction of the ancient original, in which the choreographer, starting from the “letter”, comes to recreate the “spirit”. But for Nacho Duato, this debate is obviously part of an individual creative process, so we can only wait to see what happens next. The interest continues unabated.

The main guests of the V Ballet Festival in Jõhvi will be soloists of the Mikhailovsky Theater from St. Petersburg. The artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, Spanish dancer and choreographer Nacho Duato, will also come to Estonia with them.

Dancers of the Mikhailovsky Theater demonstrate costumes created by Serbian artist Angelina Atlagic for the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” staged by Nacho Duato.

As part of the festival, on May 19, Mikhailovsky soloists will show in Jõhvi one-act ballets by Nacho Duato “Without Words”, “Duende” and Nunc Dimittis to the music of Arvo Pärt, and a day later on the stage of the Jõhvi Philharmonic there will be an evening of classical ballet staged by the Spanish choreographer: “Cavalry Rest” " and "The Moor's Pavane" will be followed by a gala concert.

On the eve of the festival, Nacho Duato told DD about his teachers, modern ballet and how he lives and works in Russia.

Don't judge us by Don Quixote

– You were born in Spain, studied in London, Brussels and New York, danced in Sweden and the Netherlands, you know the whole choreographic world. What in this international space influenced you the most?

– Of course, in first place for me is Jiri Kylian. I worked with him for nine years at the Dutch Dance Theater, was the leading soloist in his ballets, he composed several performances for me... It was thanks to Kilian that I staged my first ballet, “The Walled Garden.” Then we worked side by side as choreographers at the Netherlands Dance Theater with him and Hans van Manen. Besides Kilian, my top three choreographers include William Forsyth and Mats Ek. These are the most important names in my choreographic vocabulary. All three have been working at the highest level for forty years. Everyone created their own school, their own theater, their own dance language. This is what I consider real skill.

– You are distinguished by a penchant for modern ballet, which is often contrasted with classical...

– It’s a big mistake to contrast modern ballet and classics. Often modern dance turns out to be weak and helpless if it does not rely on the classical school. There is no boundary that would clearly separate modern ballet from classical ballet. Ballet at its core is an art that cannot remain unchanged, that cannot be preserved; Every new day gives ballet new life and new breath. It is an unforgivable simplification to consider that dancing on pointe shoes is not modern, but barefoot dancing is relevant. In my Spanish troupe, I could not stage ballets in the classical technique only because I did not have dancers at my disposal who would fully master the finger dancing technique. And the Mikhailovsky Theater troupe masters it brilliantly, so I was able to stage “The Sleeping Beauty”, observing the classical canons. And what should we call her now, my “Sleeping”? What should we call the “Prelude”, which I also composed in St. Petersburg? Isn't this modern ballet? Isn't this classical ballet?

– Many people consider Spaniards to be very temperamental people with hot blood and hot heads. Are these national traits reflected in your choreographic works?

“You must judge the Spaniards by the ballet Don Quixote.” By the way, I myself didn’t recognize my native country in this performance... However, it doesn’t matter. I don't think I can be called a typical Spaniard. I have long considered myself a citizen of the world. I have worked in different countries, from Sweden to Australia, and have been living in St. Petersburg for almost two years. In my opinion, choreographic art is generally beyond – and above – any nationality.

Russia is not a bathhouse or vodka

– For twenty years you headed the National Dance Theater of Spain, but left this post for the Mikhailovsky Theater...

– I consider the choice in favor of the Mikhailovsky Theater to be one of the most important decisions of my life. Today I have at my disposal a ballet troupe that one can only dream of: wonderful dancers, superbly built, brilliantly trained, educated, musical and, most importantly, with an amazingly strong desire to work. And one more thing: the kind of respect for the choreographer that I feel in Russia cannot be found in any other theater in the world. I feel their complete trust and willingness to work selflessly.

– How does a Spaniard feel in the Russian environment? Are there things that amuse you or seem strange?

– If you mean that living in Russia means going to the bathhouse and drinking vodka, then you are mistaken. At least nothing obliges me to do this. St. Petersburg is a magnificent European city that has everything that European capitals should have, and even more. I don’t only mean monuments and landmarks, such as the Hermitage or the Kazan Cathedral. I have visited so many churches and museums in my life that what I value most is the opportunity to take a pleasant walk around the city, and in St. Petersburg you can fully enjoy such walks. As for the Russian character, as far as I have noticed, Russians are reserved, keep their distance, avoid familiarity in communication, and I like it.

– Have you learned Russian – at least a little?

– I was going to take it, but I don’t have any time left to study Russian. On the other hand, almost everyone here speaks English. But I know a few important Russian words that I sometimes use at rehearsals: “higher”, “line”...

– One of your first compositions at the Mikhailovsky Theater is Nunc Dimittis to the music of Arvo Pärt. Why did you choose this piece? Have you met Pärt? He is known for leading a very secluded, reclusive life...

– When creating a ballet, I am always inspired by music. The works of Arvo Pärt deeply moved me; the idea for my first “Russian” ballet was born entirely from music. But we did not meet the composer. Nunc Dimittis also contains fragments of bell ringing - they were specially composed by David Azagra.

– A year ago, you said in an interview that although Russia has enormous potential in the field of ballet, it does not have global influence, so your task is to discover new Russian choreographers who will shock the world. Did you succeed?

“Unfortunately, I have not yet had time to put this plan into practice. But I hope that in the future I will be able to find young talented choreographers - and they will really shock the world.

Help "DD":

Nacho Duato (Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia) born January 8, 1957 in Valencia. He studied ballet with Rambert Dance Company in London, with Maurice Bejart in Brussels and with the Alvin Ailey American Ballet Theater in New York. He began his career as a dancer with the Swedish ballet Birgit Kullberg, and later joined the Netherlands Dance Theater under the direction of Jiri Kylian.

Since the early 1980s he has been acting as a choreographer, since 1988 - choreographer of the Netherlands Dance Theater (together with Kilian and Hans van Manen), since 1990 - artistic director of the National Dance Theater of Spain. In 2010, he terminated his contract with the National Dance Theater ahead of schedule; on January 1, 2011, he became the artistic director of ballet at the Mikhailovsky Opera and Ballet Theater (St. Petersburg).

He staged ballets to the music of Bach, Schubert, Beethoven, Wagner, Respighi, Ravel, Satie, Prokofiev, Villa-Lobos, Xenakis, Glass, and Spanish composers. Among Nacho Duato's awards are the Golden Dance Prize (1987), the Order of Arts and Letters (1995), the Benois de la Dance Award (2000), the National Dance Award of Spain (2003), the award of the Union of Art Critics of Chile (2010).

The legendary Nacho Duato presented his creation on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater, where he has been directing the ballet troupe for a year. And, as promised, the master replenishes the theater’s repertoire with his own works, transferring his ballets to the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater, or presenting world premieres staged specifically for the Mikhailovsky troupe. As a student of Jiri Killian, Nacho Duato is by no means an incompetent follower of his teacher, but, as we know, the greats also have failures.

One Saturday evening in July, on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater, one-act ballets by Nacho Duato were presented: “Duende”, “Nunc Dimittis” and the world premiere of the ballet staged directly by the troupe - “Prelude”.

The half-hour ballet "Duende" to the music of Debussy was a kind of paraphrase of Diaghilev's "The Rite of Spring": symbolic gestures of a ritual nature that have some deep meaning for the director, figure posing accompanying the dance, a peculiar development of relationships between couples through "fresco painting". The ballet is built on two or three movements, which are diluted with stylistic duets and acrobatic lifts, which are not always performed with ease.

The one-act ballet "Nunc Dimittis" in the musical design of Arvo Pärt and David Azagra, became the choreographer's reflection on the themes of spiritual appeal to the audience: iconic forgiveness, all-suffering, with the hateful theme of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. Some mise-en-scène openly brought us back to the visual memory of an icon-like crucifixion. Music of a monastery-church nature, accompanied by the singing of almost a chorale from the orchestra pit, with a ringing, soothing soprano, complemented the chosen theme of the ballet. The cross was replaced by young men, and in the finale - a huge burgundy canvas - hanging from the grate, where the heroine of the action, Prima of the Mikhailovsky troupe, Ekaterina Borchenko, was crucified, who, according to Nacho Duato himself, became the inspiration for the director's work. To my surprise, Nacho Duato placed the former soloist of Boris Eifman's troupe and the current soloist of the Mikhailovsky troupe, Vera Arbuzova, in the corps de ballet in this ballet. The head of the ballet troupe was not delighted with the ballerina, while in Eifman, Vera Arbuzova is known for her brilliant performance of the leading roles. Nacho Duato’s peculiar vision does not find the outstanding talents of Arbuzova, who thrilled with her performances in such Eifman ballets as “Russian Hamlet”, “Red Giselle”, “Who is Who”, and putting such a ballerina in a corda is the same as putting Ulyana Lopatkina in the inserted "Pas de deux" in "Giselle".

The one-act ballet - the world premiere of "Prelude" - turned out to be exactly what everyone who came to the hall that evening was expecting from the evening, which was overcrowded - Leonid Sarafanov appeared on the stage. The ballet, staged especially for the premiere, turned out to be just another creation by Nacho Duato, but not at all “staged especially FOR”. Apparently Sarafanchik can be counted among Vera Arbuzova, who also did not “excite” the choreography of the choreographer with his creativity, reading and execution, because of whom he left the Mariinsky Theater, and almost threw himself at the feet of the great Nacho. Leonid Sarafanov’s work in the ballet is minimal: only small solo pieces, which are a one-minute choreographic monologue, a two-minute “rolling on the floor,” and a two-minute adagio with soloist Irina Perren - that’s all! After the curtain came down, the first thing I asked in rhetorical form was my friend, with whom I saw Nacho Duato’s ballets: “Why did Sarafanov leave the Mariinsky Theater? To lie on stage and dance a two-minute adagio?”

A modern choreographer arriving from Europe is not always greeted with open arms, even if it is Nacho Duato. At first, that's exactly what happened. The leadership of the ballet troupe of the Mikhailovsky Theater by Nacho Duato created a sensation and an incredible positive reaction, which was what the general director of the theater Vladimir Kekhman had intended. The "shot" was more than successful. Leonid Sarfanov himself left the Mariinsky Theater to join the great Nacho Duato, which excited the ballet community. In mid-July, when the second series of premieres of the choreographer’s one-act ballets took place, I came to St. Petersburg to see the creation of a master and a talented dancer, who rightfully occupies the first and main niche in our country, who followed Nacho Duato in search of creative growth and revealing new facets his talent, perhaps even still unknown to Sarafanov himself, the Great Nacho will “find and pull out.”

The anticipation of something grandiose, in anticipation of which I was waiting all the way to the Northern capital, was destroyed during the three hours that I spent in the second row of the stalls. Neither the “great one” excited anyone with his creativity, nor Sarafanchik showed his developed growth and talent, which everyone came to see that evening. He was as beautiful and amazing in his movements, jumps and steps as he was. Participation in this ballet did not in the least diminish the dancer’s merits, and the audience did not see any unprecedented growth.

All that remains from the impressions of what he saw is the unanswered question: “Why did Sarafanov leave the great imperial stage”?! Not only is he not growing with Nacho - from what he saw, this was obvious - there is a fear that the dancer, in the absence of those in the Mikhailovsky Theater troupe with whom Leonid Sarafanov could compete, will involuntarily “stay in place.” Nobody will set the highest bar for Sarafanov in this theater. And, as my acquaintance correctly noted: “Even when Sarafanov performs certain movements “half-legged”, he remains beautiful, compared to those who surround him. He doesn’t need to strain himself.”

As the evening showed, even with the presence of Nacho Duato himself, the average level of the troupe in the theater has not risen, because he has to work with whoever is there. Even after casting for their ballets, the troupe cannot fully realize the choreographer’s ideas. The troupe dances as best it can. One-act ballets by a world-famous director are only a domestic interpretation, since this is just the Mikhailovsky Theater, and not the troupe of Nacho himself. And no matter how “great and terrible” Kekhman wanted to surpass the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, whose task is No. 1, the theater is still far from the pipe dream of the “Main One,” as what he saw that evening showed.

We must pay tribute to the ballet dancers of the troupe - they, forced to rush into the embrasure under the name "Nacho Duato", do their job as best they can. Of course, the master’s work is visible, because during productions and rehearsals, it is not Duato’s assistants who work with the troupe, but Duato himself. But, no matter how great the director is, no matter how great the tutor who works directly with the artists, he CAN teach the bear to spin 32 fouettés, and the bear will twist this fouetté, only HOW he will do it. The Mikhailovsky Theater Ballet, of course, masters the technique of classical dance, and now the troupe dances ballets by Nacho Duato. But I can’t say that they OWN Nacho Duato’s technique.

There are no boundaries for art, and no one is surprised that the name of the Frenchman Marius Petipa is inextricably linked with Russian ballet. The second foreign choreographer after him to come to Russia to work on a permanent basis was the Spaniard Nacho Duato.

Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia, now known as Nacho Duato, was born in Valencia, where his father was governor. Since childhood, he felt a craving for music and dancing - the boy liked to dance to his favorite tunes. The art of dancing was appreciated in the family, but only to a certain extent: out of eight children, seven were engaged in it, but the question of choosing a profession as a dancer was not even raised by any of them. The father wanted his son to choose a more prestigious and profitable occupation - law or medicine; finally, he could become a government official and make a political career, but Nacho was not inclined to listen to his father. From the age of sixteen, living separately from his parents, he demonstrates his talent as a dancer in various shows and musicals. But the young man understood that if he wanted to reach heights, he needed to seriously study classical and modern dance, and in Spain at that time this was impossible, and at the age of eighteen he went to London, where he studied at the Marie Rambert School.

Life in the English capital was not easy: in his free time, Nacho earned his livelihood by working part-time in a fast food restaurant, and spent his nights in poorhouses for the poor - there was not enough money for more comfortable housing, but the desire to achieve his goal helped him to endure all the hardships. He studied at the Marie Rambert School for two years, the next step was to study at the Mudra School in Brussels, founded by Maurice Béjart, and later he studied in the United States at a school at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The lack of a resident card prevented the dancer from working in America, and he returned to Europe, where in 1980 he became a member of the Stockholm troupe Kullberg Ballet. After a year, the talented dancer drew attention, and Duato was invited to the Netherlands Dance Theater, which he headed. Kilian staged “The Story of a Soldier” especially for him, but he saw perfectly well that in front of him was not just a gifted dancer, but a person with the potential of a choreographer, and Kilian helped Duato realize this.

And in 1983, Nacho Duato created his first production, “The Fenced Garden,” using compositions by the then popular singer Maria del Mar Bonet with poems by poets from Catalonia as the musical basis of the song. At first glance, the choreography was not particularly original - the choreographer followed traditions and, however, he managed to organically combine these elements with Spanish flavor. The “melody” of dance movements, the ideal emotional harmony of music, words and dance - these features, which have become characteristic features of Nacho Duato’s style, appeared already in his first work. “The Walled Garden” was presented in Cologne at the International Choreographic Competition, where it won first prize.

The choreographer created twelve ballets for the Netherlands Dance Theater, and in 1990 Duato returned to his homeland, receiving an invitation to head the National Dance Theater, and his first step in this post was to abandon the classical repertoire. This decision caused a wave of criticism, but Nacho Duato was convinced that it was necessary to create his own direction - modern and of a national nature. On the stage of the National Theater he stages performances that he has created before, creates new ones, attracts collaboration, etc.

At the same time, Duato collaborates with other troupes - for example, in 1998 he created the play “Without Words” with music for the American Ballet Theater. This is not the only creation of Duato to the music of the great composer of the past - for the anniversary, he staged a ballet in Weimar based on his music “Multifacetedness. Forms of silence and emptiness”, and in 2000 he created the ballet “Arcangelo” to the music of Corelli. But modernity with its acute problems interests the choreographer no less than history - this is evidenced by the ballet “White Darkness”, the creation of which was prompted by the death of his sister from a drug overdose.

A new stage in Nacho Duato’s creative activity is associated with the Mikhailovsky Theater, where he headed the ballet troupe in 2011-2014. The theater's repertoire at this time was replenished with ballets it had created earlier, but new productions also appeared. At the Mikhailovsky Theater, Duato for the first time in his practice turned to the classical repertoire, but gave a new sound to The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet.

In 2015, Nacho Duato headed the Berlin Ballet, but contacts with the Mikhailovsky Theater were not interrupted - the choreographer continues to collaborate with him as a permanent guest choreographer.