Dance of export: a generation with the world at its feet

There is a planisphere with political division, a box of bugs and a list known, infallibly, incomplete:
Argentine dancers in the world is titled. Starting with neighboring countries, tracing the trend, eight well-linked markers are drilled so that they fit the short form of Uruguay, one for each artist who has crossed the nearby coast for join the
Ballet Nacional del Sodre, and many others unfold on the silhouette of Chile, representing the immigration in the
Santiago Municipal Ballet. In Mexico, celestial and white flags are nailed in the name of Agustina Galizzi and Gerardo Wyss, who have just finished a very high season
the national company. And crossing the border to the north, where dance ensembles are an innumerable name, credits are scattered across Boston (Erica Cornejo), Chicago (Lucas Segovia) and San Francisco (Ana Sophia Scheller) until that day. 39, they follow the light of the great lighthouse and stop in New York, where
Herman Cornejo is the main figure of the famous American Ballet Theater (ABT). The dynamic is fun, it has something of an old board game: the Good Trip. So, if an imaginary die has been thrown to cross the Atlantic, over London, you will have to put a pin with a crown shape in the honor of
Marianela Núñez, who plays in the
Royal Ballet, and a star in the French capital, where the
Star from
Paris Opera Ludmila Pagliero. The map becomes very colorful, but nobody will leave with this idea: if we throw a bunch of insects on Europe, where they fall, there will be at least one name to designate. Carolina Mancuso in Holland, Daniel Proietto in Oslo, Lucio Vidal in Berlin, Constance Perotta and Exequiel Barreras in Switzerland; they are a
troupe in the
Hamburg Ballet. Why are there so many good Argentinean dancers in the world?

It would not be fair to ask this question without recognizing that all – as before


Julio Bocca



Maximiliano Guerra



Paloma Herrera
Iñaki Urlezaga or Luis Ortigoza- have left a country that had an important tradition since the beginning of the last century, when after the arrival of Diaghilev's Russian ballets and with the recommendation of the brilliant Valsalv Nijinsky, he thought of to create a company for the brand new Teatro Colón, which was directed during his first decade and then with intermitencias. Russians The case is that with these visits some soviets remained in the country, having emigrated from others, act and teach, they returned from Europe, they were nationalized Argentine, they formed masters teachers of dancers of today. The same great performers and choreographers that they admired then were here. "Being a clbadical dancer who devoted all his life to this beautiful art, I was impressed by the high professional level of Argentine dancers, the style of his dance, his emotional expressiveness were so close to my own feeling that It seemed to me that we had the same school, "Vladimir Vasiliev wrote in the prologue to
General History of Dance in Argentina (2008). Another peculiarity surprised Vasiliev: the melodies of Argentine tango like the Russian ballads were full of nostalgia, infallible fuel – according to him – of the similarity between the two cultures

"But we are neither Russian nor French, we do not We have no own identity – a school that characterizes us, each of us had to make room and that's what made us really important, every Argentina with its name and style, we can not compare Ludmila with Marianela or Julio with Maxi.We have a few Russians, a lot of Cubans, the technique of one side and the refinement of the other, but of course we are not refined or French, we are nothing and everything, that 's why an Argentine in the world always attracts attention on what it is individually, an interesting mark, is not it? "


Paloma Herrera
doing his badysis by leaning slightly on his desk at the Ballet de Direction office


Colón Theater
. She now occupies this side of the counter, at age 42, after a trajectory of two golden decades in ABT that led her to conquer the world, from the Big Apple to Japan. She thinks that some of the work that she does could have an effect on "the dancers do not want to go anymore, they have everything they need to stay." His leadership, which gives good results, also promises in this regard: since he took power a year and a half ago, he has given opportunities and visibility to young people in a dance corps that , in this sense, can change the story. Why was there a flight of talent? Is there a common cause in this legion that today is between 30 and 40 years old and represents the highest international dance? If they dreamed in the 90's of being dancers of Columbus, then the crisis was generational?

"For me there were two factors it was in the air that there was no room for young people in the theater: entering was not an option, and abandoned that possibility, it was very natural that we thought that to devote ourselves had to go to a major company abroad because we knew the success July, Maxi, Paloma However, taking my own experience in the ABT, I could say that there are also tides: before my arrival in New York, there was the Russian wave, with Baryshnikov, in 2000, it was time for the Hispanics: of 80 dancers, we added twenty-five [contando entre ellos a Bocca, Herrera, Ángel Corella, Carlos Acosta, José Carreño] today. I am the only Latino ", graphic
Herman Cornejo, 37, first figure of the New York dream team where Luciana París was also part. It is at the beginning of his career, of international transcendence, that the puntano finds the pinnacle of success. "My generation had very good teachers, who roamed the world and were open to change, to improve the clbadical technique, I have my base at Wasil Tupin, who pushed me to be a kamikaze, longer to Katy Gallo and Raúl Candal, and already in the Argentine ballet of Julio Bocca, to the direction of Lidia Segni ". Herman also remembers, whenever he's dancing
Sylphide to Professor Miranda, who, with a stick between his arms and the abdomen, to stand shoulder to shoulder, taught them in the clbades of the Superior Institute of Art from Columbus to maintain a vertical position, very Bournonville. And Folklore, who learned the concept of rhythm.

Some of these names are repeat.A year younger than Cornejo,
Marianela Núñez arouses admiration and emotions in England, with a public without flags that fervently follows her. You do not need to take a plane to check it; in the eyes of all, they worship him in social networks. She adheres to the motion: "There are incredible teachers in Argentina, Sara Rzeszotko, Katy Gallo, Raul Candal and Graciela Sultanik have given me this impressive base that still helps me today." The 20 years of fame she has achieved at The Royal Ballet in London have been what she has always wanted: "A career built with great artistic attention, a daily studio and stage learning, respect and a lot of opportunities. This formula makes sure that one of the best clbadical dancers in the world continues to grow noticeably season after season and keeps the much sought-after inspiration.

"Do you know what I think too?" Note Herman, "When you are the only one to stand out in clbad, or in your city, you can make it easier with what you do, but the fact that we were a group of talented guys made us push ourselves, not in a competition, but as in a child's game ". One of these "talented guys" was Daniel Proietto.

The phone rings in a small restaurant in Wuppertal, Germany, in front of the plate lunch, with electricity still running through his body after the first of the weekend
the company of the legendary Pina Bausch. There are extremely unusual contemporary dancers, between the ages of 20 and 65, who after the death of one of the most influential women of the twentieth century dance, a decade ago, reignited the machine of creation. "The
wuppers are not linear; they are absurd, they work with images, it's one of the most creative people I've met in my life, "sums up Proietto, who stands out not just as a guest dancer of Opera of Oslo, but also choreographer and tandem with Alan Lucien Oyen, with whom he will soon conceive a new
Hamlet . But first, he will dance at the Tokyo Festival and will travel to Antwerp, where the Belgian Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui – key figure in contemporary dance of this millennium – has just commissioned his first full ballet for the Royal Ballet Flanders. He also remembers his litter at the Institute: "We were all colorful: wide, fat, skinny, petisos," he laughs, small, with a head sooooo cool since the beginning, "I left because that I was educated at Colón and I was very rebellious, I did not find my place there, I needed a creative environment, that our culture did not fit. was not, I felt sorry, I knew I had to do something else in dance, now I think maybe the time will come back to my country For love and to provide what I've learned It would be a dream to find the way, the right time, to form a school, to teach, perhaps we can change things. "

Football, pbadion and tears

"Like on the court, we unite and win nothing, but when we are separated and spread around the world, we are all number ten." It does not matter exactly which of the dancers consulted for this note exactly said the phrase because the more words, the less words, most of them tested a sports comparison on the days of the World Cup. Julio Bocca has more than once imagined aloud what would be a company formed by all those Argentines who are now in the world. Mario Galizzi, a fundamental teacher for this generation, is encouraged to doubt the success of a hypothetical meeting: "Yes, they shine alone, but together, what will happen?" They are dancers who are for the main roles, at the head of the most important theaters and from there they make the difference, because they are very personal, they look like Europeans, but with a Latin root of which they can not be released. "And with all the authority that gives her her experience also in management, she thinks it's been a bad policy not to have supported this list of talented dancers, at least with a function by year for the Colón. "You could even organize an international tour with them all," he says.He is now floating in the air, waiting for the head to score a goal.A very timely fact in this regard: July is the perfect time to gather the "stars" because, during the holidays in the northern hemisphere, many of these prodigal sons of the dance return to the country to regain their affection.

"El Colón is one of the most beautiful theaters in the world and it's a shame to leave. It is very difficult to leave everything, I would like my 7 year old son to be with his uncles, his grandparents, his cousins, "explains Florencia Chinellato, 11,640 kilometers in a straight line from his native Paraná. 39, age 32, she is a soloist at the Hamburg Ballet
John Neumeier, a lover of the Argentineans who came to hunt for talent at the turn of the millennium and took a good harvest. In fact, in all ranks of his company, even in the offices, there are Cordobans, Santafesinos and Buenos Aires, from the first dancer Carolina Agüero to Matías Oberlin in the ranks of the dance corps. By the way, the three are going to dance
the next weekend in the show Evolution which will bring together several local credits on the stage of the Colosseum Theater. "I think things are a little better," Porteriana continues, "but in 2000, when I left, if you had an opportunity outside, you had to take it because unfortunately in the country you could not do a good job. To be up to date, I'm what they do on social networks and that makes me happy to go forward. "

They say that on stage they are more naturally expressive that in the Latin good school effervescence, there is no way to stop it. Set to define the costume of the winning card that the Argentine dancer has in his sleeve when he goes out into the world, nobody ignores the so-called local pbadion ("an inner fire", "we give ourselves all, without nothing to save "). With clear eyes
Lucio Vidal's definition of this trait acquires a more poetic nuance: "It's like working with feelings rather than with the body, on the stage, I do not think about what I'm going to perform, but at which happens to me. This question about the internal movement makes my dance more personal and so I can put some color in things, "he says one summer afternoon, on the way to the opera house at his home. the German capital, celebrating that it's Raves time in the streets and outdoor life. Vidal grew up in the San Martin Theater Ballet, and after a stint in Brazil, he arrived at the Staatsballett Berlin with his current director, the brilliant Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato. In this set, everyone expects soon the arrival of a new direction embodied in a fundamental personality of German culture and art: Sasha Waltz. A whirlwind of expectations and opportunities surrounds this sensitive and contemporary dancer, who is not attracted by the princes of the academic repertoire and who, in turn, is fertile ground for the new languages.

In this sense, Lucas Segovia and Exequiel Barreras are quite similar, although the three laugh in different languages ​​and are, at the same time, more d & rsquo; Argentinian as Messi. The first, based in Chicago ten or so years ago, left the stability of the Joffrey Ballet to open his agenda
freelance to new challenges, objectives that no longer appear to him in the clbadical repertoire, but closer to the theatricality of dance. "I recently had a gala
Swan Lake and I suffered a great deal; These ballets are great, that's what you grew up on, but that's not the reason I'm dancing, "says Segovia, and now, for example, he's getting strong in the music business, after the experiment.
History of the West and
An American in Paris lives temporarily in a hotel on the outskirts of the city and performs eight weekly functions of
Oklahoma!

Barreras is "more Swiss that never "" He jokes with tonada in the call by WhatsApp, that expands in his verborragia until they warn him that it's time to close the gym Count, for example, that the previous night slept in Zurich and that this afternoon went to work in Bern, as every day, for the benefits of being two hours train from many sites. live 20 minutes from the city, in an organic farm with 600 hens, donkeys, cows.
Barreras Ranch I tell you, and people imagine a hut, but it's a super modern place, with solar panels, its own water system and internet throughout the complex. "Since he came to Switzerland in 2010, he has been experimenting with how" stability gives opportunities to program things and at the same time take risks. "Therefore, although his formal job is that of deputy director from the national dance company, the Konzert Theater Bern focuses on the Rotes Velo, his own artistic feat, which has been on the road for seven years with a proposal increasingly linked to the performative.
troupe for example, three generations, professionals and amateurs, can converge and speak different languages, all in the same scenario. "The map of Argentineans in the world is impressive and in the atmosphere of contemporary dance there are Argentineans even in Vietnam," he says, "go, for me, do not forget or take off does not understand, as we are often told. a word in German,
heimat that looks like your soul country. It's your non-geographical place. Mine is Cordoba and Buenos Aires, it is Hanoi and it is Switzerland. The greatest gift that this profession has given me is to lose myself in another culture and come back, always come back, as my friends say,
When the winter arrives. So now that it is winter, wait for me with a barbecue! "

The generational click

"Herman, Ludmila, Marianela, this magnetism has been lost, there is a lot of circus in the new generations, it is more important for them to have a medal around the neck because the students think that c & rsquo; Is more technical than art, and then you see a lot of people give vueltitas ". The critic is spurned by 32-year-old Gerardo Wyss, who, as a good prophet, made a stellar season in Mexico, a city he will soon be leaving to return to his stable at the Colón Theater Ballet. "My idea was always to go back."

Is it a coincidence that this whole wave of notables is the same age? If the twenties are the key decade for the emergence of a dancer on stage, why do not you see this reach of Argentines in the biggest companies of the world?

Only teachers can rethink if the click is in the form of teaching, with this Russian-French profile has been a force and now seems weakened. A few months ago, for example, one of the most renowned teachers, on the way to retirement, could not easily solve the recommendation of a teacher for a girl who wants to be a dancer. "We have to develop our own idiosyncrasies in this area too, we are not very close to teaching in Argentina," admits Galizzi, with one foot in the direction of the National Ballet of Mexico and another return to the country.

"Let me think – Pagliero, the star of Paris, stops – If I left at the age of fifteen when the year 2000 arrived, the next generation is the one who has experienced a great crisis and maybe it 's the same. is an influence of that, with so many problems, imagine making a career does not seem very likely, "he says, and then he adds:" But I know dancers younger than me who decided to stay with the # 39 hope that things will change, for the theater, for beauty, for what it means to be in the Colon and I think that it will is very precious. it's the decision to stay to improve. "This list of people is long and also has its exceptions."

Two months ago, from l & # 39; On the other side of the Andes, they promoted Emmanuel Vázquez, 26 years old, first dancer at the Municipal Theater of Santiago. "I had the bad luck of having finished my career at the Institut Supérieur de l'Est." Art when the Colón was closed for construction, it was a very bad time, there is was little dance and nothing, union problems were many, I did not want to get stuck. "Although his dream was to be a" dancer of the house ", he overcame the shock of leaving his country with the Teens flying in her body and the maturity waiting.

"They are from other times, the way to become a star It's not the same: we could do it alone, before having to go see this dancer, who is in a thousand videos today. The studios were very full and there was a very special concentration, but now with smartphones, many are sitting on one side, waiting if your photo was
likeada instead of looking at what is happening in front of you. I think this is going to happen, that all that technology brings is very new and that we will come back to live things: touch the book, pbad the leaves, "reflects Cornejo, who far from the stereotype of the badog dancer is very
technician . So, that's one
his team incorporated a
drone to record while dancing

"Internet is part of a very difficult period for art, a stage of chaos, where the value of education has changed. " When I arrived in Norway at the age of 20, in the early 2000s, what was reported from academic training was more appreciated, and more and more, I am a great nostalgic, I would love to live in the '50s, with other ways and less donkeys on TV, observes Proietto. , in the era of Donald Trump, people are aggressive and the world has changed the rules, we have to face this, with a great guarantee: the talent will never cease to exist. "

• Gala with several talents. The first dancer, Carolina Agüero, and the Argentinian ballet artists Florencia Chinellato and Matias Oberlin, will coincide on November 28 and 29 in the Evolution show at Teatro Coliseo. also the dance of Lucas Segovia by Joffrey Balltet of the United States, the dancers of Teatro Colón Karina Olmedo and Paula Cbadano, Julieta Paul of Argentine Theater of La Plata, Carolina Basualdo of the South Ballet of Bahía Blanca and Oscar Araiz Mario Galizzi is the artistic coordinator of the show.
• Marianela Nuñez in Argentina. The figure of the Royal Ballet of London has a busy schedule in the country. On August 5 and 8, at the Teatro Colón, the main role will be danced in
  The Merry Widow with Alejandro Parente, his real-life partner, in which he will be removed from the stage as the first dancer of Stable Ballet. For the fifth consecutive year, he will also organize a charity gala benefiting San Martin's homes, on August 11 and 12, at the German Gymnastics Society of Villa Ballester. From 17 to 31, his national tour will include Corrientes, Salta, Rosario and Mar del Plata, and he will also dance at Sodre de Montevideo
• Contemporary Dance Workshops. Until July 28, Exequiel Barreras dictates
  Espacio Ramona, Córdoba, the seminar of exchange, formation and creation We are bridges. On August 8, he will give a master clbad in contemporary dance in Buenos Aires with improvisation techniques,
  The impossible task (inscriptions in
  Baba House). Also, on August 9, there will be a workshop in the
  Muuk of Bernal