DANCE SALAD FEATURES DELICIOUS ‘CARMEN’
THE ROYAL DANISH BALLET WILL PERFORM A CURATED VERSION OF “CARMEN.”
Does the world need another “Carmen”?
Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau apparently didn’t think so when he created a spectacular, controversial, contemporary, evening-length dance for the Royal Danish Ballet last year. Only the George Bizet’s popular score was familiar.
Morau made his ballet about Spanish identity and culture, even ditching Carmen, Jose and the bullfighter as primary characters. His setting depicted a 1930s-era film stage, complete with booms and camera tracks between the audience and the dancers. The action played out both on the stage, with a few scenes in open “dressing rooms,” and on a huge screen.
After the September premiere in Copenhagen, critics and some audience members recoiled at the surreal narrative. “People either loved it, seeing it as a creative masterpiece, or hated it,” said Dance Salad Festival founder and curator Nancy Henderek.
She loved it, perhaps because she had watched rehearsals and seen the otherworldly costumes coming together in the Royal Danish’s wardrobe shop. Even before Morau was finished, Henderek asked him if he might craft a shorter version for her now 24-year-old Easter weekend festival at the Wortham Theater Center.
She often collaborates with choreographers to make “curations” of their work, partly for practical reasons. She crams a lot of wonderful dance into three nights, with overlaps, so no one piece can be too long. This year’s festival features eight groups of performers, including several international superstars, as is Henderek’s custom. Curations also give her something unique, capturing the essence of a longer piece that might never be seen the same way anywhere else.
Surprisingly, many choreographers relish the chance to tinker and re-think aspects of their work. Morau, who brought his own company to Dance Salad several years ago with another curation, was on board.
The movie décor was out of the question, but Henderek started with a wish list based on costumes. She and Morau could only request a few of the Royal Danish’s dancers in the midst of the company’s spring season, so he linked several pas de deus, pas de trois and solos — small but meaty parts — to capture the essence of the full ballet.
“Then he decided he wanted to have this big, beautiful black dress with a hat as the opening scene,” Henderek said.
The dress arrived last week, the only costume the company dared to ship overseas. “So I know I have at least one costume,” Henderek
said. The rest of the “Carmen” outfits, for safekeeping, will travel with the dancers. The Royal Danish dancers also will perform Kristian Lever’s “Unravel” during the festival.
Henderek is equally excited to host: Cambodian-born phenom Sokvannara Sar of Carolina Ballet; New York City Ballet’s Ashley Bouder and the recently retired Joaquin De Luz; Russian ballerina Maria Kochetkova; Danish choreographer/ dancer Sebastian Kloborg; Rome’s Spellbound Contemporary Ballet; Helsinki’s Susanna Leinonen Company and Berlin’s Donlon Dance.
Works by Benjamin Millepied, William Forsythe, Alexander Ekman, Victor Ullate, Mauro Astolfi, Susanna Leinonen and Marguerite Donlon are in the mix.
She sounded calm in spite of her customary last-minute scramble to organize everything from visas, daily classes and accommodations for the dancers and musicians to stage preparations and several free public talks that include films.
By now, Henderek has got this down.