{"id":302075,"date":"2024-05-14T20:21:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T00:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=302075"},"modified":"2024-05-14T20:21:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T00:21:50","slug":"yolanda-correa-every-dancer-has-an-impossible-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/dance\/yolanda-correa-every-dancer-has-an-impossible-step\/","title":{"rendered":"Yolanda Correa: \u201cEvery dancer has an impossible step\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The name of Yolanda Correa has not gone unnoticed for a long time. Her dance is instantly awe-inspiring, no matter if she performs great ballet classics, a modern dance piece or a contemporary composition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps this is due, beyond her innate talent, to the passion that she imprinted from the beginning on the sacrificing art of classical dance. \u201cGreat dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion,\u201d pioneering modern dance teacher Martha Graham reminds us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yolanda Correa is that: a brilliant artist. Fifteen years ago, in 2009, she was named first dancer of the National Ballet of Cuba, the company that saw her artistic birth, as they say. Then the desire to go beyond grew, to learn new ways of expressing herself through movement, to drink from other sources.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus she joined the cast of V\u00edctor Ullate\u2019s ballet in Spain, and then went to the National Ballet of Norway, as a leading figure, and then temporarily joined the Staatsballett-Berlin and later returned to the company in Oslo, where she currently resides.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was awarded the Leonide Massine Positano Dance Award (2012), as the best emerging dancer on the international scene of that year, among other recognitions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yolanda has dazzled with her skill on stages around the world; she has been part of diverse casts, from the San Carlo Theater Ballet in Naples to the Royal Ballet of Denmark, boasting in all of them of her versatility. She has been Giselle, Odette\/Odile, Aurora, Manon, Oneguin\u2019s Tatiana, a Juliet for Romeo and many other characters that she has defended with special dedication on the stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those of us who had the opportunity to follow the presentations of the 27th edition of the 2022 Havana International Ballet Festival, in the twilight of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we returned to filling the halls and theaters after the long confinement, found Yolanda. As expected, she moved viewers in several of her choreographic facets.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of those tremendous nights of the event, we saw a different Giselle every day \u2014 Anette Delgado, Mar\u00eda Kochetkova, Susanna Salvi, <\/span>Viengsay Vald\u00e9s<\/b><\/a> came on stage \u2014 and Yolanda showed what she was capable of with her masterful interpretation of the young peasant girl who is dying of love. Her performance with the Russian Semyon Chudin, from the Bolshoi Ballet, was one of the most acclaimed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As Giselle. Photo: Maykel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then we saw her in the center of two memorable pieces, between \u201cThe Death of the Swan,\u201d by Michel Fokine, and <\/span>Cygne<\/span><\/i>, a choreography as risky as it was sublime, by the Argentine Daniel Proietto.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Havana public least expected it, Correa returned during the presentations of the Jubilee for the 75 years of the National Ballet of Cuba, in October 2023, together with her training partner at the National Ballet of Norway, the also Cuban Ricardo Castellanos, to perform the second act of <\/span>Swan Lake<\/span><\/i> and, at the grand anniversary celebration gala, the \u201cDiana and Actaeon\u201d pas de deux.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cDiana and Actaeon.,\u201d Photo: Maykel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That gala still thrills in the memory of those who lived it. Several generations, between young people seeking their path in this art and established figures of Cuban classical dance, gathered to celebrate a shared artistic legacy, the same one that many of them defend in other latitudes.<\/span><\/p>\n

From most veterans such as Aurora Bosch, Alberto M\u00e9ndez and Mar\u00eda Elena Llorente, to the vibrant <\/span>Carlos Acosta<\/b><\/a>, Lorna Feij\u00f3o, Joel Carre\u00f1o, Alejandro Virelles, Yolanda herself, and many others, joined the Cuban ballet company, currently directed by Viengsay Valdes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Together with the public, they celebrated decades of training. This living tree, with cemented roots and healthy fruits spread around the world, is a guarantee of the diversity and mobility of the artistic legacy of the founders <\/span>Alicia<\/b><\/a>, Alberto, and <\/span>Fernando Alonso<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yolanda Correa\u2019s career has been a notable example of this.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Holgu\u00edn to Oslo: dance as a path, refuge and joy<\/b><\/p>\n

It is October 27, 2023. It is almost evening and rehearsals are taking place against the clock at the Avellaneda room. Several pieces make up the program. If someone takes more time than they should rehearse, the rest fall behind. An attempt is made to be millimetric, despite the usual setbacks on stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next day, the National Ballet of Cuba will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding, a date that, despite the fuel crisis and economic instability that Cuba has been suffering for a long time, the company manages to celebrate with a varied program of performances throughout October in the National Theater of Cuba, with good attendance.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rehearsal anticipates a memorable evening. The ability that dancers have to overcome physical circumstances typical of a human body is surprising. We see them backstage walking, sometimes with difficulty because the leotard is tighter than usual, or feeling a muscle that is hurting, but when they go on stage those difficulties dissolve.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the great personal battles of the performing artist is fought backstage, in that decisive moment of crossing the threshold to interpret the fictional being. The transformation produces the magic that will later be appreciated and applauded by the public.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yolanda Correa was in the middle of that artistic process when I approached her. She had just rehearsed with Ricardo Castellanos the pas de deux \u201cDiana and Actaeon\u201d \u2014 they would dance this piece together for the first time \u2014, a choreography inspired by the creations of Agrippina Vag\u00e1nova and Vajtan Chabukiani about the mythological story of the goddess and the hunter told by the Roman poet Ovid in <\/span>The Metamorphoses<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Maikel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It turns out that one day Actaeon and his men, together with his dogs, went hunting in the forest. On a detour, Actaeon runs into the goddess Diana and her nymphs, on the other side of a river, while they were bathing. Actaeon\u2019s casual recklessness aroused the anger of the goddess, who had been caught naked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow for you, who have seen me leaving my attire, may you say \u2014 if you could say \u2014 it is lawful,\u201d said the goddess \u2014 in Ovid\u2019s narration \u2014 before turning the hunter into a deer, who would then be devoured by his own dogs. The scene has been an inspiration for painters, writers and, of course, choreographers.<\/span><\/p>\n

And there was Diana, or rather, Yolanda, with her thoughts, a priori, on the steps that she had just rehearsed in a pas de deux that she knows perfectly and has danced on several occasions. Something wasn\u2019t going how she wanted and she needed another pass before the big show the next day. Her gaze showed the concentration that a creative process requires; even more so if it is a piece that is in the artistic DNA of a performer. In short, it is about being demanding so that the work turns out the way you want.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since she first joined the ranks of the National Ballet of Cuba in 2000, Yolanda Correa\u2019s fate has been marked by constant work, in addition to the perfection of a technique that would soon stand out alongside that of other generation colleagues, such as Sadaise Arencibia or Elier Bourzac.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yolanda Correa. Photo: Taken from her Instagram profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2002 she was promoted to the rank of first soloist and in 2004 to principal dancer. She would then make her debut in the role of Giselle, in 2006, a litmus test for future prima ballerinas. Three years after her debut in the iconic character of romanticism, Correa rose to the highest position she could aspire to within a dance company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time has witnessed the value of a performer who achieves mimicry with each character she assumes, without neglecting the technical and artistic. It is the same artist who is now sitting in one of the dressing rooms of the National Theater of Cuba, among the hustle and bustle of the young dancers going from one place to the other, the comings and goings of the technicians, and the concern about being called for the rehearsal of the function\u2019s great closing parade.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe must be alert in case they call us. Will we hear if they call us?\u201d says Yolanda, worried that they will miss her at the rehearsal, but she seems willing to talk with <\/span>OnCuba<\/b> in this meeting for which she had reserved a quarter of an hour.<\/span><\/p>\n

The talk, however, extended, because Yolanda is cordial, genuine, and peaceful and she talks limitlessly about her life, the difficulties faced, and the dreams that have helped her not give up.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yolanda Correa. Photo: Maykel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She begins to speak with her mind still focused on the steps of the rehearsal. Little by little she relaxes and remembers that effort in her profession is an essential requirement to embark on the path. Yolanda Correa\u2019s life story is, without a doubt, an example for any new performer who wants to carve out a successful career. She then remembers her time at the National Ballet of Cuba as \u201cthe perfect training\u201d for everything that followed in her career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCuba is a country that has always had a very difficult situation, and the culture \u2014 the artists \u2014, to survive, has had to make a lot of effort. The fact that we can perform functions, even if we have few working conditions, with shortages, trains you for when you go to a place where you have all the facilities. Living in Cuba, knowing how to adapt and deal with different situations, of course, makes you much stronger. That\u2019s how I felt when I left Cuba,\u201d says the Holguin native.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yolanda settles in and revels in her memories. She assures that for seven years, maybe eight, she has not visited her hometown; although her parents have not missed any of their daughter\u2019s recent presentations in Havana. Oslo has marked much of the last fifteen years of her life and work, but she proudly claims her origins. \u201cWhenever I come to Cuba and I can\u2019t go to Holgu\u00edn it hurts me a lot, because it is my city, the land to which I belong. That\u2019s where it all started.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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During the Jubilee for the 75 years of the National Ballet of Cuba, in October 2023. Photo: Maykel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You started in the middle of the 1990s. I imagine it wasn\u2019t easy to leave Holgu\u00edn to embark on a new educational path in Havana.<\/b><\/p>\n

It was very hard for my family, as it has been for many others. We were very poor; we did not have help from any relative abroad, like other people who perhaps could receive some support that would make life a little easier during that period.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Holgu\u00edn we had a vocational art school and they provided us with education there, but we did not have all the means, like pointe shoes and so on. This situation influenced my level as a dancer when I arrived in the capital since it was much lower than that of the rest of the girls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traveling from Holgu\u00edn to Havana, due to transportation problems, turned into indescribable adventures that my father and I faced together.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Together with her parents, in 2017. Photo: Taken from Yolanda Correa\u2019s Instagram profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I started my studies in Havana, I was one of the less advanced in the group and this required me to work much harder. That also trained me; I knew that if I wanted to reach the level, I had to make the effort and work three times as hard, despite the difficulty of leaving my native town to come to study ballet in this city, being far from the friends I grew up with, my family, and adapting to the capital\u2019s mentality.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know now, but at that time the way of thinking in Havana was different from that of Holgu\u00edn, and adapting to a new dynamic, to a way of seeing the world very different from what I was used to, was difficult for me. They were difficult years, yes, that formed me and helped me a lot to be a dancer and a strong person.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yolanda Correa. Photo: Maykel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How do you remember yourself as a child?<\/b><\/p>\n

It was terrible (she smiles). I had too much energy and it was difficult for me to stay calm in a single activity, because I was hyperactive. My mother says it\u2019s because I had a very difficult childhood, because we moved a lot; we lived in very small places and I developed some anxiety, I walked on tiptoes and had a hard time putting my feet on the ground. At that time I was even prescribed me some drops to calm me down.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was always running, playing with the boys, climbing the mango trees, riding <\/span>chivichanas<\/span><\/i>. I was always hanging around, in a very innocent way, which seemed fun to me, because I needed to let go of that energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then my mother discovered a Swedish writer for me, Astrid Lindgren \u2014 <\/span>Pippi<\/span><\/i> Longstocking<\/span><\/i> (1945), <\/span>Ronja<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>the Bandit\u2019s Daughter<\/span><\/i> (1981), among other titles \u2014, whose work captivated me. That world became a refuge for me and everything that had to do with Swedish stories, tales of trolls, gnomes, fascinated me. It is a fantastic universe that protected me a lot from the difficult situation we had at home and at school because as I was hyperactive, I spoke a lot, loudly and I liked to sing, sometimes the teachers thought I was \u201cstrange,\u201d but I simply didn\u2019t know what to do with that energy and this world of fantasies helped me a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember reading <\/span>The Hobbit<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>The Lord of the Rings<\/span><\/i> and understanding that they had to do with my imagination and my interests, which were then channeled towards dance. In some way, I felt out of place, but that energy helped me find my purpose because I have always been passionate and I think I have put a lot of myself into anything I like. That shaped my character and greatly influenced who I am today.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yolanda Correa. Photo: Bert Kubik. Taken from Yolanda Correa\u2019s Instagram profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When did you become aware of your passion for classical dance?<\/b><\/p>\n

My dad took me to see the ballet in Holgu\u00edn when I was a child, but I honestly don\u2019t remember those moments much. He says that once I fell asleep during the performance and that has remained a family anecdote. The truth is that for me ballet became a way to stay active and channel my energies.<\/span><\/p>\n

I used to practice gymnastics and my parents thought that going to ballet school would be better than sports. Since I entered, I was fascinated by the space and the training, seeing that I could move to the rhythm of the music, I loved that, but I was not aware of what that dance was. It only came to me here in Havana, when I went to the National Ballet School and I realized that my technique was not very good, that I was behind. I felt some disappointment and thought that maybe this was not what I should do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I saw for the first time a presentation by the National Ballet of Cuba, in the Garc\u00eda Lorca room. That night I saw Lorna Feij\u00f3o in the lead role in <\/span>Don Quixote<\/span><\/i> and I was incredibly struck by it. I got up to applaud when I shouldn\u2019t have and people told me to sit down (she smiles). When I left the performance, I felt something that I couldn\u2019t explain, but I was determined to get there, sure that that was what I wanted to do. It inspired me a great deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

I spent three years working very hard. The first year I worked out until 10 at night because I knew there was potential; the teacher told me. But I had to work harder, learn to think how to execute the steps. By that time it was clear that I wanted to become part of the National Ballet of Cuba and be a prima ballerina.<\/span><\/p>\n

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From left to right: Grettel Morej\u00f3n, Sadaise Arencibia and Yolanda Correa. Photo: Taken from Yolanda Correa\u2019s Instagram profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The stories you read as a child brought you closer to a certain magic present in the works that you later performed in ballet. To what extent was the fantasy of the classics important to translate it into technique?<\/b><\/p>\n

You have to believe in the energy to be able to tell the story, because in the end that\u2019s what the audience wants to see. Of course, they want to see the technical-artistic development and virtuosity, but if the story is not told it has been useless. In the end, whether it\u2019s <\/span>Swan Lake<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>Giselle<\/span><\/i>, you tell a story and you have to believe in the character, study it to know at every step what it says and what it thinks so that it reaches the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yolanda Correa. Photo: Bert Kubik. Taken from Yolanda Correa\u2019s Instagram profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We saw you in the Jubilee season for the 75 years of the BNC assuming the role of the white swan. What did you feel on stage? What happened there?<\/b><\/p>\n

I try to feel every muscle\u2026 not like a swan because I can\u2019t really think of what the animal feels like. My strategy is to look for how a woman would feel transforming into a creature and what I try, when I play the swan, is to feel every muscle in my arms and torso to achieve that sensation and make it perceived.<\/span><\/p>\n

The swan must look at its reflection in the water. If I think about the step and fail to reproduce it, that moment is lost and the audience only sees a step that failed, but if I am looking at my reflection in the water, perhaps the spectators do not see the step, but they see the swan reflected; there you are telling the story. I try that when I\u2019m dancing. It is about technique being transformed into feeling and that the technical step is not perceived.<\/span><\/p>\n

But disconnecting the character from the technical difficulty is difficult; I always try to at least make it clear that it is a swan who makes a technical step and not Yolanda. That\u2019s something Natalia Makarova (Leningrad, 1940) told us when we prepared her version of <\/span>Swan Lake<\/span><\/i>: \u201cThe technical step will happen. The technique is there and they know how to use it, but what we all want to see is the swan looking at its reflection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Maykel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is it like to return to reality when the show ends?<\/b><\/p>\n

It is difficult to disconnect after the performance. It\u2019s hard for me to sleep after each presentation because I\u2019m left thinking about what I did, what went well, and what didn\u2019t. When the performance ends and people come and congratulate me, it is complicated for me, because I remain in a state of emotional transit. Let\u2019s say that it becomes difficult to be me again completely. At those times I feel a little slow when it comes to responding and it\u2019s because I\u2019ve just used a lot of energy and my brain has been so involved in the function that I\u2019m sort of on standby.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yolanda Correa in the dressing room. Photo: @skjalgen. Taken from Yolanda Correa\u2019s Instagram profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Yolanda Correa in the dressing room. Photo: @skjalgen. Taken from Yolanda Correa\u2019s Instagram profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many characters endorse your acting skills and you have held the title of first ballerina in three companies. What did the transition of the National Ballet of Cuba to a new stage in Europe represent?<\/b><\/p>\n

Many things happened. I felt ready to take the step, to learn more with great excitement and desire, but also with a little sadness because I knew I was going to be away from Cuba for a long time. I knew that I wouldn\u2019t see my family and friends again for a long time and even though the start of my international career was very good, I felt sad quite soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had managed to become the first ballerina in Cuba; I didn\u2019t want to skip any steps, I wanted to learn as much as possible from the teachers in my land \u2014 Josefina M\u00e9ndez, Alicia Alonso, Svetlana Ballester, among others \u2014, I wanted to nourish myself first and achieve a recognized position on the island. That desire was always very important and then I could think about refining the technique with other international schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does the Norwegian National Ballet\u2019s proposal come about?<\/b><\/p>\n

I had a contract for a company in Hungary that, when I was about to sign it, had to be canceled due to the effects of the economic crisis of 2008. Then the maestro V\u00edctor Ullate was visiting Cuba and, after seeing my debut in <\/span>Sleeping Beauty in the Forest<\/span><\/i>, he told me that he would like me to spend some time in his company. It was where I began my journey through Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a good start, because with him we worked a little more neoclassical, very physical, and I felt the change from having only danced classical ballet to doing something different.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having the classical component of the Cuban school and having danced with V\u00edctor Ullate helped me a lot in Norway, a company with a vast repertoire that has all the classics, all the contemporary ones and that again was a new training for me, something else that I learned.<\/span><\/p>\n

The artistic director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, Espen Giljane, was looking for a dancer who could do all the classical ballets, who had good technique, but rhythmic movements, who could do the same <\/span>Don Quixote<\/span><\/i> as <\/span>Romeo and Juliet<\/span><\/i>. He saw a <\/span>Sleeping Beauty<\/span><\/i> video of mine on YouTube and asked me if I wanted to audition. From Spain, I went to Norway for an audition and he gave me the job with Joel Carre\u00f1o; and that was when we both began and when another career began for me in Norway, where I have learned a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n

I imagine it was a bit painful for the BNC you left for another company. How did you manage that moment?<\/b><\/p>\n

Alicia permitted us. I think we were privileged because I know that it has not been the same for other dancers. Let\u2019s say that, perhaps, at that moment she realized that it was important for us to have this experience; furthermore, something that we always made clear was that we did not want to lose the link with the National Ballet of Cuba.<\/span><\/p>\n

We wanted to go out to learn and be able to bring what we learned to Cuba, remain first dancers and return whenever possible. Of course it helped a lot that she understood it, because later we were able to return, work in the company, attend the festivals. That bond for me has always been very important and necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

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During the Jubilee for the 75 years of the National Ballet of Cuba, in October 2023. Photo: Maykel Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the middle of this adventure of life and creation in Oslo, the Staatsballet-Berlin appears.<\/b><\/p>\n

After a few years in Oslo, I wanted to continue learning and needed a change. I have always been convinced that this must be constantly questioned: what more can I learn and what more can I contribute to my career, while I am still in a position to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Staatsballet director Johannes \u00d6hman knew that I was looking for something temporary. We had already worked together when I was director of the Opera in Stockholm. Then he invited me to dance <\/span>Don Quixote<\/span><\/i>, in Nureyev\u2019s version, and he told me: \u201cA little bird told me that you are looking for a change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I went and auditioned to make it official and they gave me a position in the company. The Staatsballet Berlin, with an extraordinary level, good dancers and excellent people, is a group that I felt part of very early on.<\/span><\/p>\n

I went there with permission from my Norwegian National Ballet director, Ingrid Lorentzen; she gave me years of leave until at one point she told me that I had to return. I also felt that it was time to return home to Norway and establish myself as a dancer and teacher, to share what I have learned.<\/span><\/p>\n

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With part of the cast of the Staatsballet Berlin. Photo: Taken from Yolanda Correa\u2019s profile on Instagram.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do you have another company, another change in sight?<\/b><\/p>\n

No. It\u2019s been enough for me. Additionally, my director needs me to train young dancers because of all the training I have had in so many places. That\u2019s what they need and I feel very good at the (Oslo) Opera House, the company\u2019s headquarters; it\u2019s like being at home and everyone who works there is close to me, the opera staff, the dancers… we are big family.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pieces like <\/b>Cygne<\/i><\/b> come to mind, which we saw you perform during the last Havana Ballet Festival, or <\/b>Du bist die ruh<\/i><\/b>, a piece whose video circulates on YouTube. As a dancer, you show how important it is to expand your gaze and be able to take risks.<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m lucky. Since I left Cuba I have been exploring paths: classical, neoclassical, contemporary, theater, singing, and acting. <\/span>Cygne<\/span><\/i> is a very nice work, a little more classical but breaking the patterns, taking the body to an extreme; I did it with Daniel Proietto and he pushed my body to the limit. It is inspired by Anna Pavlova and the abandonment she experienced when she danced. He used that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Du bist die ruh<\/span><\/i> is a musical piece by Schubert that inspires Andreas Heise, a German choreographer. We carried it out during the time of the pandemic, amid isolation. His work is very contemporary, very primitive and earthy, and he even made me sing at the end of the piece. At first, I didn\u2019t get it because the movement is very intense, it demands a different type of physicality. I had to train a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n