6TH IVÁN NAGY INTERNATIONAL BALLET GALA

Ballet gala in two acts

“Now in hindsight we realise that energy is everything. When we created Sad Case in 1998, so far in to Sol’s pregnancy, the hormones were jumping and emotions were high.  It is these hormones of laughter, madness and the trepidation of the unknown ahead that are the umbilical chord of this work,” says the British Paul Lightfoot, thinking back to the origin of the ballet. He and his partner, the Spanish Sol León share credit for the performance’s choreography and set and costume designs. Up until 2020, León worked as artistic consultant and Lightfoot as artistic director for the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), where they were responsible for bringing about sixty creations, including Sad Case, which is undoubtedly one of the pillars of their work. In it, surprising movements set to Mexican mambo music reflect the ongoing search for the tension between the satirical and the serious. The piece was first presented in Hungary by the Hungarian National Ballet in 2021.

Few works in classical ballet history have as many versions as the Paquita suite, also known as the Paquita Grand pas (classique). The new piece was created by Marius Petipa on the basis of the French ballet Paquita by working together with composer Ludwig Minkus to select the main musical numbers. Ever since the original premiere in Russia in 1882, the piece has used as many variations and solos, including additions from external sources, as dreamed up by the choreographer of the given production. In fact, a unique attribute of the piece is that the performing dancers often determine the numbers to dance or even perform choreographies prepared specifically for them.