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Perhaps, the “BAAND Together Dance Festival” was one of the best events that Lincoln Center offered us this summer in New York. It was a dance celebration in which the most iconic companies in the city let us see their best skills. Among them, Ballet Hispánico, led by the choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, gave us “Línea Recta,” an alternation between contemporary dance and flamenco, with music by the guitarist Eric Vaarzon Morel, in which the artist fights the absence of a physical partner in this art. Maintaining the integrity and distinctive passion of flamenco, she created a perfect match between flamenco and ballet in a sensitively feminine piece.
R: All the works of the Ballet Hispánico have a sense of equity, cultural identity and empowerment of women and the Latino and Hispanic community. How did you feel working with them?
A: Throughout my career I lived away from my Latino origin, but when I arrived in New York and met Eduardo, he told me: “You can create whatever you want but just as long as it’s about your roots.” My father is Colombian and my mother Belgian. I grew up in Europe and never learned Spanish in my childhood. I even remember feeling ashamed that my father would speak Spanish, so I didn’t know where to start. But I looked for meaning in my roots and decided to create “Nube Blanco,” choreographed about the cultural differences between my parents with music by María Dolores Pradera. The premiere was a success; people laughed and enjoyed my experiences on stage; it was at that moment that I began to identify myself as a Latin woman.
R: What was your inspiration for “Línea Recta”?
A: In French, the expression “Línea Recta” means to go straight to your goals. Using this title in Spanish I wanted to play with these two meanings. My intention was to do something with flamenco touches. Then I remembered the pieces I had with Eric and everything started to fit together.
R: What is it like to create a flamenco piece for international audiences without falling into stereotypes?
A: I had just worked with the New York City Ballet and I thought, “I want to make something beautiful and visual.” Although I studied flamenco during my training, I am not a professional, so I wanted to highlight and praise this art form but also do something that would identify myself. In a way, it is a celebration closer to classical flamenco, which we often see in the National Ballet of Spain. Also, one day when watching a show in New York with a friend, I reflected that flamenco lacked contact between dancers, and I decided to add it. In ballet, the apotheosis of a piece is when the dancers bond, and it’s something I missed.
R: What is it like to create a piece in which two styles are combined without making one stand out above the other?
A: The idea is to create a hybrid, just like I am: half Colombian, half Belgian.
R: In this production, you use a long red tail as the main element on stage. What is the importance of the costumes?
A: I thought about the costumes before thinking about the choreography. I wanted something very cinematic … something that would give a sense of length on stage, something aesthetically similar to a scorpion’s tail. Also, I realized that it wouldn’t be a duo but a trio. It was a challenge to make the tail not just an aesthetic element but rather another character. It’s something incongruous, which should not be there, but it is something you have to deal with. Finally, it is a source of strength and empowerment for the dancer, which allows her to maintain control of herself despite the men approaching and accompanying her.
R: Are you currently working on a new project?
A: I am currently working on “Doña Perón” with Ballet Hispánico. She was a woman loved by some and hated by others in which I seek to tell her story from seven different points of view.
Rebeca Blanco Prim is a critic of opera and dance in addition to her roles in production and marketing for various dance companies, musical festivals, and other cultural organizations across the world. She is the current Director and Founder of @operaypunto and has written for Ópera Actual and Opera World.
Photograph: El Colombiano/Julio Cesar Herrera
