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Arts & Entertainment

Dance Fest Skopje Comes to an End

The International Contemporary dance festival, Dance Fest Skopje, comes to an end. The last night of the event the audience was enjoying in Hip Hop...

by Mite Kuzevski in Macedonia on 19/04/2010

<b>The Reflection of the Spanish Transition </b>
<i>(by Beatriz Sanjuan) </i>

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its foundation, Victor Ullate’s ballet company presents “2You Maestro”, a performance composed of fragments of all its previous shows. This tribute to the choreographer pretends to summarize the whole artist’s career, which is a reflection of ballet evolution in Spain during the last decades. 

Víctor Ullate has been a notorious figure in the ballet history in Spain thanks to his contribution in different fields, as he says: “When I first started, there was absolutely nothing and today we can see the public interest in ballet as well as a political will to support it”.

Ullate started his career with Antonio Ruiz and moved to Paris to join the XX Century Ballet of Maurice Bèjart. In 1978, Spanish Government entrusted him with the direction of Ballet Clásico Nacional, the first classic ballet company in the country. 

After he left his position, due to a change in government, Ullate created The Victor Ullate’s Dancing Academy. “I could not feel just like a dancer after being director and choreographer. I was missing something and decided to found my own dancing school”.  An important step was his participating in the TV program “El Kiosko”, in which he taught ballet lessons to children and observed with emotion their evolution in three years. 

Lately, in 1988, he started the Víctor Ullate’s company with the students from the Academy. Internationally well known ballet dancers such as Ruth Miró, Tamara Rojo or Ángel Corella started in this company. They all developed their careers abroad because “everyone has to do what he feels and wants, but if they had stayed, we could have had a fabulous and renowened National Company”, admits Ullate.

In spite of the progress of ballet in Spain, Víctor concludes: “there’s still a lot of room for improvement, in countries such as United States or France, private organizations or ballet lover’s patronage as well as public institutions support is a fact”.

For Ullate “2you maestro” is a “really emotional initiative, it is my story” with clear references to his experiences and favorite music –i.e. Antonio Molina’s songs- aside from the participation of his son Josué.

Nevertheless, he is not planning to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary: “I do never think in long-term projects, I learned 9 years ago when suffered two heart attacks to enjoy every single day, every instant and I really do”.

<b>El reflejo de transición española</b>
<i>Por Beatriz Sanjuan</i>

Con motivo del 20 aniversario de su creación, la compañía de Víctor Ullate estrena estos días “2You Maestro”,  una obra que recoge fragmentos de todos sus trabajos anteriores. Este homenaje resume la trayectoria del artista, a través de la cual se puede descubrir el desarrollo del ballet en España en las últimas décadas.

Víctor Ullate ha sido una figura destacada en la historia del ballet en nuestro país gracias a su contribución en distintos aspectos. Como él mismo resume: “cuando yo comencé no había nada de nada y hoy existe un interés en la gente y se percibe también una voluntad política de apoyo”.

Ullate comenzó su carrera con Antonio Ruíz y más tarde se trasladó a París para incorporarse al Ballet del siglo XX, de Maurice Bèjart. En 1978, el gobierno español le encomienda la dirección del  Ballet Clásico Nacional, la primera compañía de ballet clásico del país.

Tras su cese en el Ballet Clásico debido al cambio de gobierno, Ullate fundó la Escuela de Danza con su mismo nombre. “Después de haber sido director y coreógrafo, no me sentía sólo bailarín. Sentía que algo me faltaba y creé mi propia escuela”. Un empuje fundamental para ello fue su participación en el espacio televisivo “El Kiosko”, donde impartía clases de ballet a niños y vio con emoción la evolución de los chicos a lo largo de tres años.

Posteriormente, en 1988, con los mismos alumnos de la escuela, crea la compañía de Víctor Ullate. De aquí han salido figuras internacionalmente reconocidas como Ruth Miró, Tamara Rojo o Ángel Corella, quienes han desarrollado sus carreras fuera de España porque “cada uno debe hacer lo que siente y quiere, aunque si se hubieran quedado, hoy podríamos tener una Compañía Nacional fabulosa y reconocida”.

A pesar del avance del ballet en España, Víctor reconoce: “aún queda mucho por hacer, en otros países como Estados Unidos o Francia el mecenazgo de entidades privadas o amantes del ballet y el apoyo de las instituciones están a la orden del día”.

Para Ullate “2you maestro” es una iniciativa “muy emocionante, es mi historia” con guiños claros a sus vivencias como la inclusión de temas de Antonio Molina, además de la participación como bailarín de su hijo Josué.

Sin embargo, no piensa en la celebración de los 30 años de la compañía. “no pienso en proyectos a largo plazo, aprendí hace 9 años cuando sufrí dos infartos a disfrutar del hoy, del instante y lo disfruto muchísimo”.

Arts & Entertainment

Interview with Victor Ullate

[EN] On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its foundation, Victor Ullate's ballet company presents "2 You Maestro" a tribute by...

by Ervin Sarkisov in Spain on 19/10/2009

Istanbul State Opera and Ballet performance on Dance Fest Skopje 2009.

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Outstanding performance by Istanbul Sate Opera and Ballet on Dance Fest in Skopje. Artistic Director and Manager Suat Arikan, Director of Ballet:...

by Mite Kuzevski in Macedonia on 14/04/2009

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