Repertoire

L´après-midi d´un faune

Cayetano Soto

Original creation of Cayetano Soto for the Compañía Nacional de Danza

When I received the CND’s commission to revise the classic L’après-midi d’un faune, the first thing that came to mind was the chromatic melody of the flute solo in the overture, together with the word ‘dreamy’ (from an artistic perspective) and a vast vertical garden and the fact that whenever I dream, it is always in black and white. These impulses were my initial guide but, undoubtedly, the structure of the symphonic poem for orchestra, composed by Claude Debussy, and divided into six parts of varying lengths, led me to create the siesta or, more to the point, the dream within the siesta.
I wanted to imagine I dreamed of the faun and transfer that dream to the stage.
My creation is devoted to the faun’s sleep; to its siesta before approaching the nymphs. And it is divided into six parts, as in the score.
During the creation, I wondered which was better: to live the dream or dream the experience lived.
Finally, I took the liberty of using the score’s rhythm (inspired by Nijinsky’s freedom) to achieve a more artistic physical relationship between one performer and another.

- Cayetano Soto -

  • Absolute premiere by Compañía Nacional de Danza 2: at Teatros del Canal, Madrid (Spain), July 26th 2019
Fauno-portada

CAYETANO SOTO
Born and based in Barcelona, Cayetano Soto has created works for major companies worldwide. His technical, high-pitched and unpredictable choreography can be seen at international festivals in Europe, USA and Canada.Soto started his dance education in Barcelona at the Institut del Teatre and continued his studies at the Koninklijke Conservatorium in The Hague.
After receiving his degree in Classical Dance, Soto danced with IT Dansa Barcelona in 1997, before joining Ballet Theater Munich a year later where he created several successful ballets and one of his first signature pieces, Fugaz. Since 2005, Soto has worked as a freelance choreographer and has received commissions from Ballet BC, Nederlands Dans Theater, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Zürich Ballet, Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, BJM Montréal, Introdans, Introdans voor de Jeugd, Gauthier Dance Company, Companhia Nacional de Bailado, Perm Opera Ballet Theater, Národní Divadlo Brno, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Tanz Luzern Theater, Ballet Hispanico, Maggio Danza Opera di Firenze, BalletX in Philadelphia, Györi Ballet and Northwest Dance Project in Portland.
He also created several ballets with German companies, such as Stuttgart Ballet, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Hessisches Staats Ballett Wiesbaden, Augsburg Ballett, Ballett im Revier, Staatstheater Nürnberg and Ballett Dortmund. In 2009, he began a continuous collaboration with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and Introdans voor de Jeugd, creating a number of new ballets. For Ballett Dortmund he created a new full evening version of Carmen. Due to the success in Dortmund, Národní Divadlo Brno in Czech Republic staged Carmen in 2010.Soto served as Resident Choreographer for Ballet BC from September 2015 to April 2018.
Arte 1 Brazil broadcast a documentary of six episodes of Cayetano Soto’s 2015 creation ADASTRA for Balé da Cidade de São Paulo.ADASTRA was nominated for Best Dance Performance of the Year by the press in São Paulo. In season 2016/17, Cayetano Soto was the Choreographic Fellowship Mentor for Philadelphia’s BalletX. In 2000, Cayetano Soto was awarded Best Young Choreographer to Watch by the Magazine Tanz Aktuell in Germany for his first choreography Plenilunio commissioned by Ballet Theatre Munich.
Soto was awarded first prize for his ballet 24FPS at the choreographic competition Uncontainable at the Royal Ballet of Flanders in 2006. Canela Fina, commissioned by Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, was awarded Best Dance Production of 2008 by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo. Canela Fina, was performed at the Expo in Shanghai by Balé da Cidade de São Paulo in 2010.In 2011, Soto was nominated for the most prestigious dance award in Russia, the Golden Mask Award, for his choreography Uneven.In July 2018, Cayetano Soto was invited to the contemporary dance program of the world famous Jacob’s Pillow Faculty.

Información

  • Choreography:
    Cayetano Soto
  • Music:
    Claude Debussy
  • Musical versión :
    Boston Symphony Orchestra, Michael Thomas (conductor). (p) 1971 Polydor International GmbHº
  • Stage Design, Costume Design and Lighting Design:
    Cayetano Soto
  • Artistic advisor:
    Dario Susa
  • Choreographic Assistants:
    Mikiko Arai - Kawasaki y Rita Soares
  • Running time:
    13 minutes
  • Premiere cast:
    Daan Vervoort, Sara Fernández, Mar Aguiló, Ana Pérez-Nievas