Duende | DUATO

Duende is that quality of charm, of magic exercised and exuded by certain beings; the mischievous and tricksy spirit that inhabits them. It is also that particular state, half-magical, half-sacred, which possesses flamenco dancers and musicians at a certain moment during their performance. It is, in some measure, the soul of flamenco.
Nacho Duato’s works are almost always motivated by his choice of music, which then determines his approach. For Duende, the choice is particularly striking. Highly attentive to Debussy’s music, the choreographer visualises forms, making an almost sculptural piece in which body and movement are in perfect accord with the sound. “One should search for order within freedom,” wrote Debussy in one of those notes destined for composers. But it is what he said of Stravinski that is perhaps most appropriate in describing Nacho Duato’s work in the realms of dance: “he widened the borders of what was permitted in the empire of sounds”.

"Duende" | DUATO
Choreography: Nacho Duato
Re-staged: Jennifer Grissette
Music: Claude Debussy
Sets: Walter Nobbe realised by studio John Campbell-Londres
Costumes: Susan Unger
Lighting: Nicolas Fischtel
Duration: 30 min

Premiere by the Nederlands Dans Theater, on November 21st 1991,  l'AT&T Danstheater La Haye
Premiere by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, on December 21st 1995, Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo