FLASH #4: BOLERO IN DE SCHIJNWERPER

With all the anticipation of the CINDERELLA premiere, let’s not lose sight of what the near future has in store for JBA.

With careers in mind our dancers are not just busy perfecting their classical technique – audition time is on the near horizon! – but are working hard at, and enjoying, all their forays into new choreographic styles. The creative workshops taking place at JBA are mostly a preparation for a new work or for a dance piece which will be programmed soon.

Alain Honorez is on constant look out for choreographers whose style, according to him, can stretch and develop his dancers, and give them more ‘tools’ as artists.

In Dresden he encountered the work of Ihsan Rustem, a British-born choreographer who trained at the Rambert School. Rustem, now resident choreographer of NW Dance Project based in Portland, Oregan (USA), has been making waves with his intellectually and athletically invigorating pieces, commissioned by world companies such Nederlands Dans Theater.

And so it came to be that the JBA troupe is currently hard at work on and soon will present Ihsan Rustem’s version of Ravel’s BOLERO!

It is serendipitous that one of the presented works during the gala performance of JBA’s SEASONS 4.0 in the Antwerp Opera back in 2020 was yes…. BOLERO! Wonderfully arranged by- and for the entire Royal Ballet School of Antwerp, it had a standing ovation.

Coming full circle, Rustem’s BOLERO will be performed by JBA at the end of April, in a brand new, Spanish flavored triple bill: SIGNATURES. There is a subtlety about just why this is and to discover more you will need to attend! Let’s just say, we ourselves are greatly looking forward to presenting it to you, our audience.

With us to set BOLERO is someone ideally suited to the task. Laura Fernandez is Spanish, from Valencia where she teaches and coaches at Valencia Dancing Forward. Full of vitality, enthusiasm and knowledge, Laura danced with Ihsan and has a deep visceral knowledge of his style.Her words to describe it are ‘organic, grounded, physical & musical’. Let’s add ‘humorous and human’ to that list.

Laura was full of praise for our dancers, for their motivation and professional sense. Her praise too, for what JBA stands for and what an important role it has and is playing in today’s culture. She first came into contact with Alain and Altea during their active career years with Ballet Flanders and she feels that the two of them, with their deep artistic experience, have set the bar high for their young prodigees. They are nurturing them, not only in the way of dance but also to become emotionally mature people when they step forth out of the studio. Praise indeed!

For more information on JBA’s SIGNATURES program please visit:
here.