Leaving a Legacy: Julio Bocca and the Ascension of Ballet Nacional Sodre
The Ballet Nacional Sodre (National Ballet of Uruguay) celebrates its 80th anniversary this month, on November 23rd and 24th, with a special performance of Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet . Since assuming the role of BNS Artistic Director in 2010, ballet legend Julio Bocca has taken the company to new levels of excellence and created exciting opportunities for dancers in Latin America. TWD spoke with Bocca backstage before a gala performance in Bangkok (sometimes life is really cool!) about the rewards and challenges of transitioning from performing to directing, his vision for the future of BNS, and more.
How has it been for you to transition from a phenomenal performing career to running a company?
It's been a great experience for me, and something new. First, working for a government is different. I have the freedom to work as a semi-private organization, though. The government pays for the maintenance of the theater and the salaries, but we have to raise money through ticket sales and sponsorships for productions, touring, and all that, so it's a mixed model. That's good because we're safe with the salaries, and we're also really motivated to fight for the rest of what we want--good for the company and for me. We have to work and be driven. It's also been a big change to learn and continue learning to work with young dancers. They've had different preparation and bring a different mindset to ballet than previous generations. We actually hired spiritual coaching to help create strong relations. Dancers these days prefer to have more time to rest, which is totally different than the mindset I had when I was a young dancer. We had an argument at the end of 2013 because I wanted to add 30 minutes to our workday. I came up just doing what I was told, but these dancers ask "why?" They'll say, "I feel better this other way." It's really exciting and different for me. Before, directors would tell us what to do and we would have to just find a way to make it. Now you have to listen to the dancers, really understand their perspectives, and find the way together.
To read about Bocca's plans for BNS, how he chooses his dancers and more, click here.
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Mariinsky Magic
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Conductor Garviel Heine, Prima Ballerina Oxana Skorik, Acting Ballet Director Yuri Fateev
by Gaiane Danilian
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A bit of ballet magic right out of many young dancers' dreams recently occurred on the stage of Segerstrom Center for the Arts. During the final curtain call of a performance of Raymonda by the Mariinsky Ballet and Orchestra, Mariinsky Acting Ballet Director Yury Fateev called Oxana Skorik, who had just danced the title role, to join him at the front of the stage. Mr. Fateev announced to her, the audience, and the company that she was being promoted to the designation of prima ballerina with the company. This was on the occasion of Ms. Skorik's first performance in the Mariinsky's season, which also opened Segerstrom Center's 2015-2016 International Dance Series. Prima ballerina is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a ballerina by a ballet company. It was a thrilling and rare moment for audiences and, certainly, Ms. Skorik.
Oxana Skorik is also the recipient of the Léonide Massine International Prize For the Art of Dance (2014), the Spirit of Dance prize in the category "Rising Star" (2012) and second prize winner at the XXII International Ballet Dancers' and Choreographers' Competition in Moscow (2013). The Ukranian ballerina graduated from the Perm School of Dance in 2007 and joined the Mariinsky Ballet the same year. Her repertoire also includes La Sylphide (Sylph), the title role in Giselle, La Bayadère (Nikia), The Sleeping Beauty (Lila Fairy, Princess Florine), Swan Lake (Odette-Odile), Le Corsaire (Medora), Don Quixote (Kitri, Queen of the Dryads), The Nutcracker (Masha),
Michel Fokine's Chopiniana, George Balanchine's Serenade,Symphony in C, Jewels, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Piano Concerto No 2 and Ballet Imperial, Alexei Ratmansky's Anna Karenina, Yuri Grigorovich's The Legend of Love and Wayne McGregor's Ifra.
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Pacific Northwest Ballet Presents 'EMERGENCE' November 6 - 15 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. A program of four contemporary works with a vast range and music from the 12th and 21st centuries. The choreographers are young with all four born after 1970.
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Inma Heredia, the world's first Flamenco, stand-up comedian.
Photo credit: Julie Lemberger
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Balam Dance Theatre Premieres 'Myths and Stars' November 15th at the Leonia Public Library in Leonia, New Jersey, a Free event open to the public. The program features the world's first Flamenco stand-up comedian, Inma Heredia; Balinese fusion style dance of the Hindu myth Rama and Sita; a Baroque contemporary dance movement of the Greek myth Icarus; and the Spanish escuela bolero solo, El Vito.
November 15th NYC featuring 30 companies, studios, and choreographers! 4pm & 7pm performances at the beautiful Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College.
SHAPING SOUND-dance reimagined is on tour this month through November 18th. Audiences of all ages will experience the exhilarating collaboration of these visual musicians whose explosive choreography, dynamic rhythm, speed and physical strength give shape and form to sound.
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November 4, 2015
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Rio Anderson, Kalysta Gregory, Ashley Taravella, and Abigail Mosier were awarded $250 scholarships from Harlequin Floors last month. Watch their winning videos and learn more about these dancers and their teachers in this newsletter. Then submit your video today for the November Harlequin Floors Video Contest. Harlequin Floors is proud to support dancers by awarding $1000 in scholarships every month. It's simple to enter the Harlequin Floors Scholarship contest on TheWorldDance.com plus you can check out the 100+ previous Harlequin Floors Scholarship winners' videos and bios, look for great daily dance deals near you, read inspiring interviews with leaders in the dance world, discover great tips for dancers, find the perfect job in the arts for you, as well as watch over 1800 dance videos for inspiration and fun! We look forward to you sharing your dance skills with us!
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Judges' Choice
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Rio Anderson
YAGP 2015 Silver Medalist "Azure"
NYC Finals
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Judges' Choice
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Kalysta Gregory
"Bad Blood" Tap Solo
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Viewers' Choice
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Jobs in the Arts
Are you considering a new career in the world of dance? Are you a dance major in college wondering about opportunities in the future? Are you a dancer embarking on a career transition? We are happy to include dozens of current job openings in the arts on TheWorldDances.com. Dance companies such as Mark DeGarmo Dance, Hubbard Street, Gibney Dance, Charlotte Ballet, Ballet Arizona and many more are looking to fill open positions right now. ArtsKC is looking for a President and CEO. The Dance Enthusiast seeks an Ad Sales Representative. Washington Ballet needs a DanceDC Instructor. Ballet Austin is searching for the right Resident Instructor of Dance. Yomenco in Miami is looking for a Movement Instructor. Check out these and many additional current job listings now!
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