Jose Manuel Carreño, one of the most recognized Cuban dancers worldwide, will lead the San Jose Ballet, in California, USA, starting next September 3rd. The Mercury News newspaper recently broke the news quite naturally because Carreño was a member for 18 years of the star cast of the leading American ballet company, the famous American Ballet Theatre (ABT). His talent on stage was reflected by countless media, and he has also performed and taught at various schools in the country.
Although his name appears among the biggest stars of the late 20th and early 21st centuries -Carreño is one more within his family that gave Cuba the greatest dynasty of dancers. When mentioning the glory pages of the Cuban National Ballet (BNC by its Spanish acronym), his uncle Lazaro, his brother Joel and cousin Alihaydée, all former leading figures of the institution, may not be excluded. Not even his uncle Alvaro, soloist at the same company for decades.
José Manuel was one of the few dancers awarded with the possibility of making an international career without losing his connection with the school where he was born. The ABT hired him as leading dancer in 1993, which allowed him to enhance his prestige through the participation in international galas and festivals, including Havana’s.
In the same city, the oldest of the current leading figures of ABT, Julie Kent, admitted in 2010 that the arrival of José Manuel, 17 years ago, to that company had served as an impetus to raise the level of the troop.
“I do not know if dancers improve when they have a role model or if someone of his caliber in a company attracts other good dancers, but his arrival changed ABT´s trajectory “, the famous American dancer claimed, who is also known for her participation in the film Center Stage.
The first time he entered the BNC, Carreño was about three months old, in the arms of his uncle Lazaro. ¨ Toto¨, as he was known by then, thinks he knows the company because he grew up in it. Two of his uncles were artists of the center and some of the dancers who carried him as a child then shared with him the scene.
“I spent hours running, hanging off the railings, watching the rehearsals, mimicking what dancers did, trying to jump,” he recalled months ago during one of his regular visits to Cuba.
The young restless and disciplined at the same time, student of Loipa Araujo and Laura Alonso, won a honorary diploma at the Varna Competition and gold medal in New York in 1989. But conquering the Grand Prix in the contest of Jackson, Mississippi, a year later, finally opened him the doors of different companies.
In addition to his career with ABT, the artist has also danced with the English National Ballet, London Royal Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Mariinsky, Alla Scala Theatre in Milan, Argentina’s Colon and Cuba’s Contemporary Dance, just to mention a few.
However, he attributes the nobility, virility, elegance and virtuosity that characterize him in scenarios to the training. “Graduating from a school like Cuba’s is a very good base. After finishing my studies, I spent four years at BNC and I practically performed all the classic roles. I had the opportunity to work with ballerinas such as Alicia, Josefina, Loipa, the jewels of BNC, and almost with all the great dancers too, including my uncle Lazaro, Jorge Esquivel and that is an experience that is here, ” Carreño told while placing a hand over his heart.
“It’s an amazing base, and after accumulating this knowledge, having gone to other companies has allowed me to see the world from different places and that gives you another perspective on any type of role or choreography. I have made Giselle with different choreographers, it is very interesting. And also dancing with other ballerinas is a different feeling, “he said.
Joel Carreno is currently dancing with the Ballet of Norway, while Alihaydée continues her career in the Dominican Republic. Like José Manuel, they often return Cuba to share with their family and friends, but they do not know the reasons why the BNC prevents them from acting with the institution.
Seven years ago, in the halls of BNC, I asked ¨Toto¨ how he saw his future in the world of dance and after clarifying me he never thought reaching the level he got, he recited a line from the famous song by Chilean Violeta Parra: ¨ thanks to life that has given me so much.¨
Last February, Carreño accepted dancing as guest of the San Jose Ballet in the production of the classic Don Quixote, and according to the chair of the board of the company’s trust, when watch him to work with the dancers and noticing how they responded to him, it became clear he was the right person for the post of artistic director. “It was a natural process,” the San Francisco Chronicle noted.
All members of the Carreño family teach at various institutions for years, even the youngest ones. The family tradition continues, as a truly natural process. So, positions like the one recently offered to Jose Manuel are not surprising, it is something obvious that Cubans summarized with a single word: normal.
