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Fresh blood for classical dance

Terrassa is to become home to a new classical dance company, Ballet Catalunya Terrassa, with an associated academy for training professional dancers

Terrassa is soon to become home to a new top-quality cultural facility: the Ballet Catalunya Terrassa company will be officially unveiled in November, although it already gave its first performance on June 26. For those interested in becoming professional dancers, on August 3 and 4 there will be international auditions for 30 dancers at the Centre Cultural de Terrassa (CCT) – pictured below.

Behind this ambitious project are several professionals in charge of the IBStage de Dansa, a summer course at the Institut de Teatre. It is attended every summer by students from around the world and concluded with a gala performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu opera house, with popular dance stars also taking part.

The new company will be headed by Leo Sorribes, while the artistic direction will be under the supervision of Elías García, a dancer at the Montecarlo Ballet. The associate artistic director will be Larissa Lehznina, principal dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre & Het National Ballet, and as associate artistic director and main choreographer, the Cuban dancer Xiomara Reyes, the head of the Washington School of Ballet and principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre. The Senior Master will be Rinat Imaey, a master at the American Ballet Theatre for 15 years. The staff will also include Piotr Nardelli, soloist dancer and collaborator of Maurice Béjart and the teachers, Ángeles Lacalle and Glòria Gella, with an extensive pedagogical career in the world of dance.

According to the company’s official website, the Ballet de Catalunya aims to fill a gap which has been there for decades, which is the absence of a local dance company.”

Indeed, after the dissolution of the David Campos company –which used to be hosted at the Teatre Sagarra in Santa Coloma– and the Àngel Corella company –Barcelona Ballet– the panorama has been quite bleak. None of the two former companies managed to get institutional support, but neither has the most recent project, the Ballet Catalunya Terrassa, which has only been possible thanks to patronage. ”We have given all possible support from the Centre Cultural Terrassa; we need a professional dance company based in the country and able to become popular internationally,” says Adrià Fornés, director of local cultural centre. “We’ve been programming dance for 34 years and the most important thing now is to build an audience, something that a Catalan company should be able to achieve”.

Associated academy

Alongside the company will be a professional training centre for classical dance, the Acadèmia del ballet de Catalunya. “It will be like Barcelona FC’s Masia, but specialised in classical dance, teaching various disciplines of dance from early ages and with schedules that will be compatible with school hours,” explains Adrià Fornés.

The school, which will open its doors in October, will be managed by the Fundació Ballet de Catalunya and will be located at the 4,500-square metre Nau Albiñana Ribas, just a few metres away from the Centre Cultural Terrassa.

The staff of the school includes teachers Samira Saidi, director of the English National Ballet School, and dancer at the Sadler’s Wells Birmingham Royal Ballet; Ana Maria Prina, choreographer and former director of the school of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Ballet Catalunya Terrassa has three shows programmed for the next season of the CCT: the BNC Opening Gala (26/11); The Nutcracker (22/12) and the Triple Bill, with choreography by J.Arques and J. Elo (13/1/2018).

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