Eighteen years later, Ballet Nacional de España presents El loco again at the Festival de Jerez

Rubén Olmo, director of the Ballet Nacional de España, said that he was very clear about wanting to revive a work from the Ballet’s historic repertoire such as El loco: “It is of great importance in the history of Spanish dance. The plot of this ballet tells a true story: the staging of El sombrero de tres picos for the Ballets Russes. Manuel de Falla, Pablo Picasso and Félix Fernández were involved in it, the latter a bailaor who would play a fundamental role in this new creation: bringing the style and character of Spanish dance and flamenco to that ballet.”

The creation of El loco involved a creative team that shaped a first-rate ensemble work, making its revival a milestone on the Spanish dance scene. The original idea, libretto and stage direction were by Paco López; the choreography by Javier Latorre; the musical creation by Mauricio Sotelo and Juan Manuel Cañizares; the set and costume design by Jesús Ruiz; and the lighting design by Nicolás Fischtel. All of them have come together once again to bring this work from the Ballet Nacional de España’s repertoire back to life.

For Paco López, “El loco tells the drama of the artist’s disillusionment, the heartrending conflict of a man who lives his own reality transformed into a world he does not understand and feels to be radically hostile. My ‘Loco’ has much of the Quixotic character about him.”

For its choreographer, Javier Latorre, the work has changed in certain respects: “The experience gained over these years has given both Paco López and me a much clearer and richer vision than we had before. 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.”

Rubén Olmo also wanted to highlight the importance of reviving a narrative ballet with a leading role for a male principal dancer. “The Ballet Nacional de España has many narrative ballets, but almost all of them have a female lead. With El loco, the figure of a male character is brought to the forefront.”

With the revival of El loco, Rubén Olmo has acknowledged that this is also a tribute to a choreographer such as Javier Latorre, who has given great works to the Ballet Nacional de España.

Musically, in addition to featuring the BNE’s flamenco musicians live, the production includes a new musical recording, made recently this past January, with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, under the musical direction of Manuel Coves.

After its appearance in Jerez, El loco will tour this season to the Gran Teatro de Córdoba on March 3, 2023.

El loco for young people

In addition, taking advantage of the opportunity offered by the Festival de Jerez, with students attending the dress rehearsal, the Ballet Nacional de España will present the new interactive booklet El loco for Young People. It is the fifth issue in the series of educational publications #BNEnoscuenta, launched by the Ballet Nacional de España in 2020. This publication aims to introduce younger generations to the life and artistic career of Félix “El loco”. In this booklet, young people will find QR links to interviews and videos of the work.

Program:
27^th Festival de Jerez

El loco
Ballet Nacional de España

Teatro Villamarta, Jerez de la Frontera

February 24^th, 8:30 p.m.