The dress rehearsal for the Greek National Opera’s new production, a ballet inspired by the life of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was just wrapping up. Choreographer Cayetano Soto watched the small team of GNO dancers go through their movements, giving them directions here and there in a low voice. Four of the dancers were wearing a hot pink elastic full-body suit that covers their faces and heads. Are they men or women? It’s impossible to tell.
As the dress rehearsal progressed, the award-winning Spanish choreographer’s instructions became more detailed and analytical – and always delivered in the same friendly tone. He demonstrated the moves he was after, revealing the dancer underneath the baggy jeans, oversized sweatshirt and a woolen beanie.
Soto first made the international dance community sit up and take notice in his debut as a choreographer, with the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, earning the title of Best Young Choreographer to Watch from the German magazine Tanz Aktuell. He has worked with some of the top contemporary dance companies in the world in the 25 years since and regards his work now, with “Tchaikovsky,” as taking his art a step further.
Inspired by the sense of romance in the prolific oeuvre of the celebrated composer and the tragic nature of Tchaikovsky’s personal life, Soto challenges the beauty of the music to expose what’s hiding beneath its surface.
His choreography is delicate, open and direct, demanding exceptional technical precision and imagination from the dancers. His movement vocabulary is expressive and instantly recognizable, characterized by nuanced tonal and chromatic details, as well as grotesque reinterpretations of classical ballet movements – such as expressive hands and fingers – alongside highly intricate, almost acrobatic pas de deux.
Kathimerini caught up with Soto during a break in the dress rehearsal and he confirmed that the only thing the audience could expect of “Tchaikovsky” is the unexpected. There is no “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty” or “Nutcracker;” there isn’t even be a Tchaikovsky, in fact. “There is no such role in the ballet,” he said, adding to my sense of confusion.
So, how would he describe the piece?
“It’s an alternative biographical ballet,” said Soto, who worked on the concept with Dario Susa, who is also responsible for the set, costumes and lighting. “It’s about the life of a man and this life is made up of light and shadows. The more light there is, the darker is the shadow. Beyond what we already know about Tchaikovsky as an artist, this performance is also about the shadow of a sad and lonely man.”
Soto seemed excited by the prospect of shocking the audience by choosing to focus on the darkness of his quintessentially romantic composer.
“I’ll be even happier if people hate it. It is our duty, as artists, to show the public things as they really are, even if it makes some people uncomfortable,” he said.
“We deal with Tchaikovsky the composer and the man with a lot of respect, but we can’t just pretend that everything in his life was bright and happy. ‘Only little by little, at the cost of a whole series of unbearable sufferings, did I come to realize my true worth,’ he wrote in a letter,” said Soto, whose performance is also inspired by a huge collection of letters by the 19th century composer that were only just recently published.
These letters shed light on little-known aspects of the composer’s life, parts of which Soto can identify with, particularly his homosexuality, which Tchaikovsky could never publicly reveal. His fear is alarmingly contemporary, says the choreographer, who was recently verbally attacked and threatened on the streets of seemingly liberal Barcelona just a month ago when out with his partner.
Soto is used to dealing with challenges, but he does not believe that his life has been marked by adversity, he said, explaining that even though he comes from a working-class background and his parents had nothing to do with the arts, they supported his choices – both personal and professional – entirely.
He started out as a dancer, but knew from the beginning that choreography was where he was heading. He earned the trust of his instructors from his very first foray into the craft, “and it all worked out very beautifully and very naturally,” he said.
“I remember what my father taught me. He said: ‘Cayetano, you will have difficulties in life, especially after I’m gone. But you should know that life is not treating you badly, or has something against you. It’s just life challenging you.’”
“Tchaikovsky” is one of those challenges.
“I sent a video of the performance to my mentor, the British choreographer Philip Taylor, and he called me up and said: ‘You’re making me panic, Cayetano. You forge ahead without a safety net; exposing yourself on stage entirely.’ ‘Please keep watching,’ I answered. He agreed. ‘It is very dark indeed, but also very mature. You could call it “Cayetano Soto” instead of “Tchaikovsky” and it would work just fine,’ said Taylor. In life, there is a light that beckons to us. But there is also the devil calling out. And sometimes, the most beautiful part of us comes from our darkest side,” said Soto.
“Tchaikovsky” is playing at the Greek National Opera (nationalopera.gr) at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (snfcc.org), with the last three shows taking place on February 21, 22 and 23.