“This work, above all, champions dance”

When a choreographer is told that one of their works is going to be restaged, what is the first thing they think of?

It depends on the work and the context. In the case of El Loco, when Rubén proposed the revival to me, the first thing I thought was that this is a work that can only be brought to life by this company. It is one of the most complete and complex works I have created, both narratively and stylistically.

Besides telling the story of Félix Fernández, what does this work aim to convey to the audience?

This is a love story, pure and simple. A love story from the perspective of a man who sees and feels differently, who has his own vision of reality, and whose way of showing that love for his dance and giving himself completely to it, to his master, to his principles, is the most sacred thing for him: in a church, naked and before God.

In this ballet, we find very different scenes or moments from Félix Fernández’s life. Can you tell us more about how you created each of those scenes in El Loco?

There are three clearly defined spheres, in terms of story, music and dance style.

There is his youth, defined by the music of Juan Manuel Cañizares: the period of his encounter with his master, the café cantante, the most flamenco part of the work.

Then there is his journey to London with the Ballets Russes for the staging of El Sombrero de Tres Picos. This entire section is told with Manuel de Falla’s own music and with classical Spanish dance as the choreographic language.

And finally, we have the moments of madness, where Mauricio Sotelo’s music guides the action and where the choreographic language is much more eclectic and outside any defined style.

In which part of the work were you able to develop the greatest creativity?

I have tried to develop all the creativity I have in each and every one of the steps and movements that make up the work.

In this ballet, music carries decisive weight, and not only because of Falla’s El Sombrero de tres picos. What was the musical creation by Mauricio Sotelo and Juan Manuel Cañizares like for this ballet?

What one would expect from two geniuses like them. Mauricio creates that parallel world in which Félix lives: flamenco, but distorted, with the saxophone as a desperate cantaor. Mauricio has a deep knowledge of flamenco, but his language is from another world, which is exactly what we were looking for.

And Cañizares manages to make the flamenco of 1914 sound like 2050. He is a genius of harmonies, of unlikely tonal transitions, which also help us understand Félix’s vision: completely pure and clean, yet distorted.

As for Falla, what can I say? I have danced his music hundreds of times; I know every note, every instrument. With El Sombrero de tres picos, I feel at home.

Does this new revival of the work serve to recover the figure of bailaor Félix Fernández?

This work, above all, champions dance, culture, passion, love for art, and madness itself — not as a physical illness, but as an essential dreamlike element so that artists may continue to exist in this world.

What is new in this Loco that we will see at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, compared with the version premiered in 2004?

Many things, starting with everything the creators have lived through — and fortunately, we are still the same team. All the experience gained over these 18 years has given both Paco López and me a much clearer and richer vision than we had before. In addition, we are working with an entirely new cast of dancers, which in itself changes everything.

There is some new music, new choreography, and a profound update of the dance and choreographic language.

I believe this is a much more complete 2.0 version than the first.