Carmen Maquia by Ballet Hispanico

Carmen has been in my life ever since I can remember. I was a kid when I heard Maria Callas singing that famous Habanera for the first time and I felt very intrigued by this enigmatic opera. George Bizet's music is so moving because it embraces a story full of passion, love and death. His score has been my inspiration for choreographing, even for solo dances based on personal experiences. 

I have seen many ballet versions of this opera by Ballet Nacional de Cuba (live performance), Roland Petit's Carmen, and many others. Last year, I finally could see the complete opera at Lincoln Center and catch many parts of it thanks to my intermediate French. Every single time, Carmen leaves me the sensation that something could have been done to avoid the terrible tragedy. Also, I always feel that great impulse to choreograph this powerful music again, to recreate by my own the passion and tragedy of love that Carmen's life represents.  

Last Saturday,I was very excited to see for the first time the company that I work for performing at the Apollo Theater. Lovely and cold night in Harlem which made me be closer to my contemporary ballet artistic preferences. Ballet Hispanico presented a minimalist choreography charged of a dance language full of plasticity and movement exploration that clearly fits in the contemporary dance field. The sets and costumes, in black and white, completed the search of pure movement, done by the choreographer who did not forget the emotive and deep emotional story that has to be told. 

I liked very much this choreography because it presents another way to re-stage the dance creations of Carmen that have been done in the past. By recreating the classical music of Bizet, the choreographer Gustavo Sansano played with the contemporary aesthetic and semiotic message that challenged the audience's connection with this dance. 

To know more about this choreography, please visit Ballet Hispanico 's webpage. To follow, an excerpt from the Apollo's site:  

In what has become an eagerly-awaited annual tradition, the nation’s leading Latino dance company returns to the Apollo stage to premiere its first evening-length work. Hailed as a “masterpiece” by the Chicago Sun-Times, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s CARMEN.maquia is like Georges Bizet’s iconic opera about a passionate gypsy, riveting from start to finish. The energetic and sensual choreography fuses ballet and modern dance with nods to the Spanish paso doble and flamenco. A stunning set design by Luis Crespo and minimalist black-and-white costumes by fashion designer David Delfin evoke the paintings of Pablo Picasso. Highly original and full of elaborate partnering, CARMEN.maquia is a smoldering reimagining of this tragic tale.

Excerpt taken from Apollo Theater 's web page