Positioned among the great events of Spring Season 2023, Don Quijote -one of the most represented ballets in the world- Kitri and Basilio, who defend their love against the convenient interest of Lorenzo, father of this heroine who insists on marrying her off to Gamache, a rich and headstrong man.
The National Dance Company’s version of the original by Marius Petipa with music by León Minkus, under the direction of Elisa Carrillo and Cuauctémoc Nájera, captivated the audience due to the high artistic-technical rigor of the dancers, the colorful costumes, the scenery and the portrayal of its characters.
Outstanding in ballet are: Kitri (Valeria Mariaud), in whom the chivalrous and vigilante Don Quijote (Raúl Fernández), capable of loving a woman without ever having found her, believes he sees his beloved Dulcinea; Sancho Panza (Erick Santamaría), Basilio (Alejandro Hidalgo) the young man who loves her; Lorenzo, (Antón Joroshmanov) the young woman’s father, who for convenience insists on marrying her to Gamache (Yered Tobón), a character to whom all his money does not take away from his cartoonish and stubborn character.
In this choreography, an adaptation of the famous work by Cervantes, the ingenious Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, the fight between Basilio and Gamache for the love of the beautiful Kitri is evident.
The protagonist of the ballet due to her economic condition, is forced to accept the marriage proposal of the wealthy Gamache, but she does not love him. In the choreography Don Quixote appears as a knight defender of justice and love, always accompanied by his faithful squire Sancho de él, attesting to this renunciation of authentic love.
In the staging Don Quijote arouses admiration and respect and Sancho gives the work a comical touch as Cervantes left embodied in his novel.
In the CND version, the second act reveals the choreographic beauty and technical rigor of this romantic ballet as variations, choreography, characters and costumes converge on stage in an ideal atmosphere to experience the honey of romanticism.
Although the work takes place in a market – in a public square – a scene stands out in which the night lighting is the only companion of Don Quijote, who, tired, falls into a deep sleep. The presence on stage of Cupid played by a dancer and a group of nymphs create a romantic and sublime scene in which reality and imagination are opposed.
In this Don Quijote, dancers Roberto Rodríguez (Espada) and Ana Elisa Mena (Mercedes and Carmencita) play leading roles and reflect the high discipline, aesthetic and technical rigor that make the National Dance Company one of the best in Latin America.
Memorable was the artistic intervention of Gean Lee Panchi Balseca, Oscar Treto Hevia, Carlos Cervantes Trejo, Juan Carlos Santiago, Manuel Ricardo Hernández, dancers from the Mazatlán Ballet Company and guest dancer Kevin Manuel Sillas Sánchez.
