Few people who hold a baby in their arms can imagine that a future awaits that creature in the best settings in the world. The De Sola family was not aware that that chubby baby, with blonde hair and big eyes that they waved before saying goodbye to him, could become a big white swan. That little girl who was born in Winter Park, Florida, and who met and said goodbye to her family in Spain at the same time when she was days old, dreamed of being a dancer. It is not very predictable to determine the future of young dance students. There are many factors at play and no evidence, but Sasha had it. «I always knew I would be a dancer even when I didn’t have any certainty to believe it. I didn’t have facts to back it up, but I had that feeling,” San Francisco Ballet prima ballerina Sasha De Sola told ABC, who lives with the dancer and the company on this international tour at the Teatro Real. Although he was not aware of the experiences it would provide him like this. The company is in Madrid for a week with ‘Swan Lake’, one of the great classical ballets and a fundamental piece in the group, directed for two years by the visionary Tamara Rojo. Sasha de Sola’s day begins soon, at the Hotel Emperador, and travels to the Teatro Real through the alleys of the city to the Teatro Real with an umbrella protecting herself from the rain. She arrives alone, already concentrated for the night’s performance. Although the dancers work together, a strange loneliness can be seen in them, perhaps because there are more than eighty dancers in the company, from all over the world, with different cultures and a backpack of personal stories. “It is a great challenge to change theaters, deal with the jet lag, adjust to the change of schedule in such a short time,” says the dancer as she enters the staff and artists door on Felipe V Street. She goes straight to her room. dressing room and prepares for the first class of the morning, the ritual of any dancer that begins when he first enters the classroom as a child. From that day on, they have never been separated from a barre. The San Francisco Ballet dancers begin each day with a barre and center class. Tania SieiraThe young woman enters the elevator and as the floors of the theater go up, more dancers join. There they enter in silence, tired from yesterday’s performance and with a long day ahead of them. Antonio Castilla, associate artistic director, is leading the class. In the first exercise, several dancers frown. The body, resentful of last night’s performance, has to get going again and it is not easy. Sasha is completely focused. As the exercises progress, the dancer ties up her long blonde hair. And after an hour and a half of barre and center, the dancers leave the classroom. But Sasha remains. It’s time to rehearse the pas de deux of the third act with the first dancer Aaron Robinson. Wearing her rehearsal tutu, Sasha dances to Tchaikovsky and in a matter of seconds becomes Odile. The dancer’s body is strong, but his mind is even stronger. From the first day a young person enters a ballet classroom until the last time they will be on stage, they know that corrections will be part of their life. «You can always be better and that can drive you crazy. But I accept it and I think I can handle it well. The key is to give everything in the rehearsal room and trust that that work will shine on stage. And accept being mortal. «We are human. Sometimes being perfect is not so interesting. Mistakes help you improve and that is what allows you to shine because people connect with the true essence of a person’s authenticity,” she acknowledges while taking off her pointe shoes. Although she immediately puts on other shoes, because she goes directly to the technical rehearsal. Related News standard Yes Tamara Rojo: “We must put distance between politics and culture” Julio Bravo The artist returns to the Teatro Real, this time at the head of the San Francisco Ballet, the American company she currently directs Every morning, hours before the performance , the company carries out a technical rehearsal, not so much to practice the ballet, but to check that the scenery, lights, changes and crossings come out perfectly. Now there is no orchestra, there is a pianist. And in the stalls there is the watchful eye of Tamara Rojo and Antonio Castilla who watch over the result of the entire production. It is a four-act ballet, with a heavy set that has to be moved, sometimes, in a few seconds. Technicians have to be quick if they don’t want time to get caught up in them. There are dancers who prefer to save their strength for the performance and simply mark the exercises, but Sasha is not like that. Every possibility she has in front of her, be it a technical rehearsal or simply a costume rehearsal, she decides to give her heart. There are those who are dancers and there are those who are artists. Sasha is one of the latter. The Real cantina begins to fill with workers and dancers, among them Sasha, who must eat well to have strength. Food has always been a complex topic in the world of dance. You need a slim body, but at the same time muscular and strong. “It is encouraging to see that the ballet’s new leaders are truly prioritizing physical and mental health. The better we feel physically and mentally, the more we can perform,” he says as he finishes eating with a piece of fruit. Food is as important in the life of dancers as rest. There are those who do it in the theater dressing room, but the dancer prefers to go to the hotel. The performance begins in a few hours, but the two hours of rest for the body and disconnecting are sacred. Tonight she will play the most complex role for a classical dancer. Although it is a version by the former director of the San Francisco Ballet, Helgi Tomasson, it is based on the original by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and the most technically complex ballet. When she moves towards the theater again there is a different aura around the dancer. He enters quietly, discreetly, and heads to the dressing room to change. There are dancers whose first class in the morning is enough to keep them warm until the performance, but in this case. Given the complexity of the role, the duration of the ballet and the week ahead, the class is essential. And there Sasha goes, with her legwarmers and her leotard, to take the last class before becoming Odette. There is an indescribable peace in it, but also a silence that predicts a long night. Related News standard Yes An impeccable ‘Swan Lake’ Julio Bravo The San Francisco Ballet, under the direction of Tamara Roja, presents the favorite title of the classical repertoireIn her dressing room, the artist begins the preparation process. They have a great team of makeup artists, but she prefers to do her own makeup because it helps her introduce herself to the delicacy and fragility of her role, the great white swan. Meanwhile, they are preparing the bun that will be hidden under a beautiful white feather tiara with a crown full of diamonds. «Right now I am very committed to integrating my work with that of my colleagues. There are so many people who make the show work, that without all that collective energy it would be impossible to create something magical. A sense of community with the people around me is essential. Art is always collective.” Odette’s tutu, pointe shoes and crown that Sasha De Sola Tania Sieira will wear tonight Her white complexion and blonde hair are hidden under Odette. Now that she has become a swan, all that remains is to slip into the sober white tutu. Some workers who come from San Francisco help him get into the suit. They tighten the seams on the back so that it is well corseted and adjust the tutu. Sasha waves her arms up and down, front and back. His serious and concentrated face is directed towards the scenes. Playing a big role like this is a challenge and transforms over the years. At first, the young dancers concentrate on technique, but once the technique is established, the interpretation overflows. «Now I try to experiment slightly and see what types of Odette can be inside a dancer. They are simple things, like the way they move their arms resembling wings. As you progress, you experience the character in a different way. What is on stage is real because there is a part of you in the character, and there is some vulnerability. They are his last words before entering his dressing room to meditate before leaving. After the first act, it is Sasha’s turn, who bursts onto the stage with two subtle steps and a grand jette that ends with arms that rise and fall like two alas Sasha de Sola fills a large and sober stage with just her presence, which hides from Aaron Robinson, turned into a handsome Prince Siegfried. When she finishes her pas de deux with him, Sasha enters the scenes suffocated, and trying to control her breathing. He wipes the sweat and sits on the floor stretching his legs. Silently look, bow your head. And he comes out again for his variation. The applause is great and expressions of astonishment are heard among the audience after the hypnotic turns. Sasha has 20 minutes to transform into Odile, an opposite, mischievous role. She comes on stage with a superb black tutu, grown by the need for the role, and with impeccable command. After his pas de deux again, he enters the stage, barely controlling his breathing, quickly wipes away the sweat and comes out again as if he were coming from a break. His control on the stage makes an impression among those present. After a wave of applause, the dancer faces the last act. There she re-enters as Odette, even older, more delicate and more fragile. Sasha de Sola with Aaron Robinson in ‘Swan Lake’ Javier del Real The audience, excited, shouts and cheers for the artists. And when the curtain closes, Sasha returns to her dressing room and looks in the mirror exhausted. She stares at herself, in silence, alone. After the applause, only she remains. «My life is full of dichotomies. It has been an emotional, exciting night, but tomorrow is like starting from scratch. Every morning I look in the mirror to continue working more than I did today, for example. I am grateful for this life I have. I celebrate successes, but at the same time discipline. It takes honesty and humility to not lose your mind,” he confesses as he removes his makeup and is helped out of his suit. He is Sasha De Sola again, Sasha. That little girl who, without being certain about her surroundings, a small voice confirmed to her that her life will shine on the best stages in the world. When she leaves the theater, behind the girls and young people who ask her for autographs, there is a group of people who look at her and wait for her, looking at her in surprise, without even being aware that their little girl is now the star of the San Francisco Ballet, her family, the one who said goodbye in diapers and who now sees her transformed into a great swan.
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