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A luxurious couple · · · · · by Iratxe de Arantzibia

In the photographs, different moments of the performance of “Swan Lake” at the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao and of the main dancers in their dressing rooms before the show.- NR

The original version of *"Swan Lake"* performed by National Ballet of Lithuania with two guest artists in the leading roles, Alicia Amatriain, principal of Sttutgart Ballet, and Igor Yebra, star of Ballet de l’Opéra de Bordeaux, was staged in Bilbao to commemorate its 130th anniversary. This classic by Petipa-Ivanov performed in Auditorio del Palacio Euskalduna was programmed by the Asociación Bilbao Ballet Elkartea (ABBE), in its commitment of programming a ballet season every year. The adaptation performed by the Lithuanian company was very loyal to the original, only some changes were added by Sergueyev. The best was the couple Amatriain-Yebra, who never danced together before, but whose partnership was very beautiful and fluent. They were at home, and no doubt, the ambience was very comfortable for the dancer of Bilbo and the ballerina of San Sebastián who showed with easiness their quality. The couple received an ovation when they came onstage. And two hours after, when the performance ended, the audience again applauded enthusiastically to reward the well done work of the leading roles and of the Company on the whole.
	The Lake The first performance of Swan Lake on February 20th 1877 at Moscow Bolshoi Theatre was a clamorous fiasco. But today its anniversary is commemorated all over the world. In fact, it wasn’t till the fourth version choreographed by Petipa-Ivanov was onstage ―premiered on February 17th 1894― that it became a paradigm in classical ballet. A performance of a Russian ballet by a Russian company is an assurance of its fidelity to the original choreography. Sergueyev has only cleaned some detailes here and there. Ballet of Lithuania’s work shows the strengthness and the rigour of its school. Because of the story-line the principal ballerina who dances both Odette and Odile roles, has a very special importance in the ballet. Prince Sigfried role is as well important, but merely as a partenaire.
Igor Yebra’s and Alicia Amatriain’s were a very balanced and fitted couple. She danced with special energy when Yebra looked at her eyes; all pas de deux were very beautifully danced. Alicia Amatriain shined in her Odette/White Swan, deep lyricism was shown. It was not the case with Odile/Black Swan, the audience was not enthusiastic but the role was danced correctly. Yebra’s dance was elegant, generous and respectful, he did a very good work as a partenaire looking for Amatriain’s brilliance. It was a very pleasant night. The audience saw the classical ballet per excellence, with a suitable company and a luxurious couple, Igor Yebra and Alicia Amatriain. That is not easy, classical ballet offer is very poor nowadays. To add something, this version ends happily, Rohtbart is defeated. And the performance ended happily as well: five minutes ovation of a devoted audience. by fotoescena ©2007 Iratxe de Arantzibia English translation by Covadonga de Quintana Do you want to say something? Do it by clicking here (Spanish forum)
	Igor Yebra, "My way " The bittersweet price paid for his artistic freedom is a taste he daily savours with the delight of somebody who remains faithful to his principles. Person of character and with a deep vital approach, Igor Yebra (Bilbao, 1974) had very clear his desire of becoming a dancer. His parents, Adolfo and Mila had already made their first steps in the dance world. In fact, his name is due to the megalomania of his parents, who called him Igor because of Borodin’s opera, “Prince Igor”. They were the firsts to notice the two elements that defined their youngest child. Prince and Igor are two words that perfectly suit to this dancer of prince looking manners and whose speciality is lyric roles. In addition to the dance, his primary and main passion, two are the other Igor’s devotions: football, and specifically Athletic of Bilbao, his beloved team that so many troubles have caused this last time to his followers and Russian culture. In fact, he lived one of his very best professional milestones in Russia capital. When in January 14th, 2004, the six thousand people parking the Kremlin Congress Palace applauded up to the delirium his performance as “Iván, the terrible”, Igor caressed one instant of ephemeral happiness, becoming the first non Russian dancer who played this role created by Yuri Grigorovich.

When he was nearly fourteen the young Igor went to Madrid to train at Víctor Ullate’ school. From 1987 to 1996, he followed dance lessons while he participated in the ballet company of this teacher where he got to be “First Dancer”. On that time he made a very outstanding and acclaimed partnership with María Giménez. Belonging to the first generation of the ‘Ullate’s factory’, he shared classes, spectacles and tours with other monsters of the Spanish dance such as Tamara Rojo, Principal Dancer at Royal Ballet, Ángel Corella, Principal Dancer at ABT, Lucia Lacarra, Principal Dancer at Munich Opera Ballet, Joaquín de Luz, Principal Dancer at the New York City Ballet, Carlos Pinillos, Principal Dancer at Companhia Nacional de Bailado in Portugal and so many more. Gradually, Ullate’s pupils, except the faithful Ana Noya, were making their way away from their teacher and mentor. With “Giselle” as sole classic work in his curriculum, Igor felt the need to enlarge his repertoire. It was like this that the word freelance appeared in his vocabulary, what, in real life, turned to be to phases of intense work and many trips all over the world. After a stage in the Australian Ballet (1997-1999), it appeared for him some stable collaborations with Burdeos Opera Ballet and Roma Opera Ballet. In December 31st, 2006, he lived another professional happy day, when he was honoured with the étoile category in the Burdeos Opera, the company managed by Charles Jude. Without doubt an excellent way to receive the New Year

He is not a man of prices and awards, even if he is grateful for them. His assets are, the Grand Prize of Eurovision for young dancers (1991), the Prize Danza&Danza of Italy (1996) and the award of Maya Plisetskaya’s Contest in San Petersbourg. But, Spain, mother and stepmother, has not distinguished with any of its awards the only foreign ballet dancer invited to the 50 anniversary gala for the debut of Rudolf Nureyev. Perhaps the envy, the national sport, has something to do with this negligence. For the main audience –not the balletomane one-, Igor Yebra appeared by the hand of a well known TV hostess to whom he married with. Very discreet with his private life, nobody can deny him the fact of being able to be in a second plan and to not have benefited from that favourable situation derived from his wedding. Probably, his precaution and/or distrust with media come from that time. In his relationship with media, Igor appears covered by an invisible front, very hard to penetrate. Nice, kind, polite, he grants thousands interviews not doubting to give more than a titular to the journalist. Recently he couldn’t help showing off his “bilbainismo”, and he categorically affirmed that God was from Bilbao, as whishing to turn to reality an old joke about the show-off of his countrymen. Aware of his attractive looking, he takes with humour questions such as: Do you think you are handsome? But what can I replay to them, Iratxe? If I say that I am, they will say that I’m a show-off and if I say I’m not, they will say that this is false modesty. So I tell them that this is because the privileged genetic of my parents”. The Bible says your right hand has not to know what your left hand does. ...

In Igor’s case, probably there are many things unknown, but what is clearly evident is his compromise with the dance. For it, he has invested his savings in an illusion that became reality one year ago: his own dance school in his city, which is now starting its second scholar course. With a nomadic life and three homes, –Burdeos, Roma and Bilbao- Igor is living the incredible decade of the thirties, while he dances worldwide, manages his own dance school, organizes galas for the Association Bilbao Ballet Elkartea (ABBE), etc.. With that spirit for work Victor Ullate instilled into them, it is difficult to imagine Igor sitting down doing nothing. The clarity of his ideas has marked the way of a career made inch by inch, but just, “his way”

Alicia Amatriain, "Lulú?, oui, c'est moi"

The interpretive versatility is her best presentation card. Her great technical quality and her incredible physical conditions allow her to tackle a wide range of roles and records: from a classical Odette to a very hard Itzik Galili work. Alicia Amatriain (San Sebastián, 1980), Principal Dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, is an international star exempt of that cocky cloak adorning other big stars. She is, first of all, a 27-year-old girl whose profession is to dance and who by her proper merits has come to the Olympus of the ballet. Although it sounds as a well-worn topic, the proper merits are in this case as true as the Earth is round.

Without any help of institutional scholarships, Alicia only had the unconditional support of her family. But, a good day, the omelette turned round. Years and years later, when she received the 2006 Artistic Trajectory Award of the “Asociación de Profesionales de Danza de Gipuzkoa”, the lounge of plenary meetings of the Town Council was crowded with top political authorities. That day, Alicia was laconic and forceful. She only thanked her family and her first teacher. What right had those politicians to put themselves on a medal for the success of someone whom they had not supported in her formation?

She was four years old when her mother, Mª Jesús, inscribed her at the “Conservatorio Municipal de Danza de San Sebastián”, so that she hadn’t to stay alone at home but mainly because she doesn’t have so much energy. And what was only a hobby turned to be by chance the profession of young Alicia. The discipline of Peter Brown, combined by the teaching of Águeda Sarasua, made germinate the love for dance in the blonde little girl. From 1985 to 1994, the couple Brown-Sarasua established a good ballet base that together with her exceptional physical qualities, determined Alicia's future. It was only a matter of time. To be at the right place at the right moment. And so it was. Although when 12 years old she already had her first proposal from the School of John Cranko in Stuttgart, it was not up to two years later when she decided to do the suitcase towards a different country a different language and a different world. The hardness of John Cranko’ school (1995-1998) nearly deprives the dance of one of their current stars, Alicia Amatriain.

The adolescent Alicia was nearly ready of throwing the towel away in more than one occasion, but especially she remembers that one when she had even made up the baggage. By good luck mother is only one and hers acted as a good cloth of tears and calmed young girl’s desire to return. From there on not everything was a way of roses but when having finished the formation it appeared the opportunity to enter the Ballet of Stuttgart. From this moment Alicia’s professional career begins, an “of the house” ballerina's real example: Apprentice (1998-1999), corps (1999-2000), demi-soloist (2000-2002) and, finally, Principal (since 2002).

“Alicia, the ballerina who never was a soloist” that might well be the title of a novel, but the case is that here it fits to the reality. She tells this with great grace. They needed a Tatiana for “Onegin“, because of the pregnancy of the leading ballerina. The boss asked her to go to his office and he commented her that he had two news: one good and one bad. The bad was that he could not hire her as a soloist the good was that he hired her directly as principal. It was like this that she debuted in the maximum category of the Stuttgart Ballet at the age of 22. That was already five years ago and Alicia has artistically grown up, up to made German audience get crazy about her.

In 2006 she was awarded with the Essen New Future Prize, a kind of official reward to her professional achievements. She defines herself as a lyric ballerina, but maybe it would be more accurate to say versatile. She has a very beautiful extensions and a wonderful “en-dehors”. It would seem that she is going to break each time she exceeds the 180 degrees in her infinite arabesque.

Her actress capabilities and comical vis can be clearly noticed in the very famous “Grand pas de deux” of Christian Spuck, for whom she is demanded in many international galas, because dancing well is a commendable thing, but playing the role of an ugly girl and stumble while dancing has great difficulty and merit. In fact in the 2nd gala “The Basques and the dance”, celebrated last June, Igor Yebra, artistic director of the spectacle and his friends Iker Murillo, Soloist at the Zurich Ballet and Itziar Mendizabal, Soloist at the Leipzig Ballet, were laughing even more than the audience of the Euskalduna when they saw her dancing this piece.

The great ignorance existing towards her career and professional success has been slightly alleviated this year 2007, in part due to the wide tour she made with the Lituania National Ballet and “Swan Lake”, with Igor Yebra as partenaire. However, in ballet world, her name enlarges prestige as a new rising value in a stock-market. Choreographers such as Itzik Galili, Wayne MacGregor, Christian Spuck, Goyo Montero, Dominique Dumais or Jean-Christophe Blavier have made works specially for her.

The increase of participations at international galas or the invitation of the English National Ballet, also talk about this thriving raise. But far away from assuming that she is the “Queen of the World”, as Leonardo DiCaprio would say in “Titanic”, Alicia keeps her feet on earth. Not in vain, a health fright, that kept her away from stage during nearly one year, made her reconsider a lot of things. Even though she is able to afford a great variety of artistic registers, out of the stage she is only a girl in her twenties a bit shy with media. She doesn’t like flashes and cameras, although she pays politely attention to journalists. She is not a woman of many words neither when the recorder is on.

Another question is about the Alicia in her dressing room, the Alicia sharing a coffee cup, when you are in short distances. But that is another history.

If there is a role that changed her life, at least the professional one, was her leading role in “Lulú”, work of Christian Spuck. As she admits, Lulú was a flood of questions of difficult responses. A good day, fed up of so many hesitations, she said to Spuck to be direct and to tell to her all what she had to do as Lulú. She entered so much in the role of the tormented protagonist of Spuck’s ballet that she was awarded the “Outstanding Ballerina” of the 2003-2004 season. A sparkle of proud shines in her eyes when she talks about her most appreciated creation. If you get to meet her one day, do not doubt in asking her, paraphrasing a famous perfume add, “Lulú?”, because certainly this charming blonde will replay very satisfied “Oui, c’est moi”.

English translation of dancers profile by Carolina Masjuan

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