Dance Madrid: Corella Ballet

Uncategorized — By admin on November 22, 2008 1:00 am

When Angel Corella held his first audition for his new company last February, more than 1,500 dancers showed up to vie for a spot in a company run by Madrid’s own ballet mega-star. Seventy were chosen, and came from 14 countries: Spain, Cuba, United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Russia, Portugal, Argentina, the Republic of Georgia and Kazajstán. Corella is not only head of the company, he is dancing as well, along with other known ballet stars—and family members—such as fellow American Ballet Theatre principal and brother-in-law Herman Cornejo, and former ABT soloist and sister, Carmen Corella.

The company along with the core initiative of the Fundación Angel Corella is to promote classical dance in Spain. Corella hopes to provide a professional career for classical dancers in Spain and prevent dancers from having to leave the country to further their careers. Corella has been in the process of building the company for the past seven years; Spain has not had a classical company in nearly 20. His desire to form a company came from his own frustrations over the choices in his homeland. When he was a teenager, Corella studied at the Victor Ullate school of Dance in Madrid. His choices upon graduation were two companies in Spain, both modern. Corella wanted to perform more classical roles and repertories—at 19 he competed in the Concours International de Danse de Paris, won the gold medal and the attention of Natalia Makarova. She helped him get his foot in the door and become a soloist at the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. A year later he was promoted to principal, and now is one of the most recognizable names in the current ballet world.

The company is located in Castilla y Leon, on the outskirts of Madrid. The royal family, which funds 70 percent of the company’s annual budget, donated a palace called La Granja to the Corella Foundation. They plan to build a theatre in front for future performances.
Corella Ballet had their official debut in September with La Bayadère, at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Corella had invited ABT principals’ Paloma Herrera and Gillian Murphy to perform Nikiya and Gamzatti, as requested by the illustrious Natalia Makarova, who choreographed this version based on Petipa’s original. Corella himself danced the role of Solor, which Dance Europe said in a review: “The dazzling turns of Angel Corella, as Solor, were very impressive, like an eternal spinning top.” In an interview with Dance Magazine, he said he plans to dance with the company especially during their first year since so many will be seeing the company because of his name. But he’s confident in the skills of the strong company he has built. “The company is very strong. And the best thing is the energy of the dancers…They’re working so hard that at the end of the class the mirrors are so foggy you can’t really see.” He also says he hopes his dancers, no matter where they come from, pick up on the country’s work ethic. “Spanish dancers are very passionate and they take things to the extreme. I want my dancers to have that.”

In addition to the classical works that will be included in the company’s repertoire, Corella plans to include works by neoclassical and contemporary choreographers such as Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Jirí Kylián and William Forsythe.
The company has several performances lined up for Spanish audiences over the next several months, including at Colmenar Viejo in Madrid November 22, in Salamanca Nov. 30, in Valladolid Dec. 27–28, and Barcalona, Jan. 21–25. See www.angelcorella.com for more dates and details on programming.

To go back to main Flamenco page, click here.