Les Arts premieres ‘The Smuggler’, Antonio Najarro’s tribute to the legendary dancer ‘La Argentina’

Arts and Dance

Les Arts premieres 'The Smuggler', Antonio Najarro's tribute to the legendary dancer 'La Argentina'

• The choreographer revives two ballets that Antonia Mercé premiered in Paris in 1928: 'El contrabandista', by Óscar Esplá, and 'Sonatina', by Halffter
• Les Arts and the Juan March Foundation are co-producing this show which, after its success in Madrid, is being performed at the Teatre Martín i Soler.

Valencia (20.2.24). The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía premieres on February 23 at the Teatre Martín i Soler, 'El contrabandista', a show directed and choreographed by Antonio Najarro, which pays homage to the legendary dancer Antonia Mercé, 'La Argentina' and to the origins of stylized Spanish dance.

The production has been one of the season's biggest hits in Madrid. Following an excellent reception from both audiences and critics, Les Arts has added a third performance for Sunday, February 25, after tickets for the February 23 and 24 performances sold out weeks ago.

Les Arts and the Juan March Foundation are collaborating on this new production, which revives the ballets 'Sonatina' by Ernesto Halffter and 'El contrabandista' by Óscar Esplá from Alicante, which the legendary artist premiered in Paris in 1928 with her company Ballets Espagnols.

A great innovator of Spanish dance, under her tutelage and following the principles of Diaghilev's 'Ballets Russes', the 'Ballets Espagnols' of 'La Argentina' brought together the best Spanish creators of her time in the field of music, dance, costumes and scenery.

'El contrabandista' and 'Sonatina' marked a turning point in the way narrative ballets were presented, using the language of all styles of Spanish dance. 96 years later, and thanks to intensive research into scores, librettos, photographs, costume designs, reviews, and press articles, audiences are rediscovered by both pieces under the direction of Antonio Najarro.

The dancer and choreographer has had the opportunity to freely adapt the choreographies of both ballets, performed by artists from the Antonio Najarro Company, who will defend the four styles of Spanish dance: stylized dance, bolero school, flamenco and traditional Spanish dance.

For the staging, the dancer and choreographer has assembled an artistic team, with Carolina África as director, Néstor L. Arauzo and Davitxun handling the video projections, and Sergio Torres in charge of lighting. Special mention should be made of Yaiza Pinillos' costumes, inspired by the originals by Salvador Bartolozzi and Federico Beltrán Massés, as well as Mariano Andreu's set design conceived for the revival of both works in 1929.

In the musical section, the show features musical direction and piano by Miguel Baselga, guitar by José Luis Montón and Sergio Menem on cello.

Les Arts informs that tickets for the performances of 'El contrabandista' at the Teatre Martín i Soler have a single price of 25 euros.