2023-06-21 11:42:41
Virigina Segarra Vidal, long-standing protagonist of the Ballett am Rhein in Düsseldorf, is developing her own choreography as part of “Step by Step” at the Tanzhaus NRW. At the end of the season she leaves the ensemble of the Rheinoper.
Von Marion Meyer
Düsseldorf Virginia Segarra Vidal has been on stage as a dancer in pieces by other choreographers for more than 20 years. Now she is taking a courageous step and is leaving the Ballett am Rhein to go her own way. And they should lead them more in the direction of their own creations.
She is currently working with Simon Hartmann and Daniel Ernesto Müller on the piece “Let’s dance” at Tanzhaus NRW. In the “Step by Step” program, Ballett am Rhein and Tanzhaus NRW support the development of experimental formats that promote young talent. The municipal cultural institute therefore cooperates with the independent scene – and that for mutual fertilization. The pieces will be premiered at Tanzhaus on June 23.
Virginia Segarra Vidal started dancing when she was four years old. Until she graduated from high school, the Spaniard attended a dance school three to four times a week, where she learned flamenco as well as ballet. “At 18, I was actually quite old to study dance,” she says. That’s why she first went from her village of Castelló de la Plana to Barcelona and studied audiovisual communication there, since she is very interested in photography, and danced on the side. But following two years – and strengthened by dance scholarships – she decided to give up her studies and devote herself entirely to dance. A path that brought success: After four years of training, she immediately got an engagement at the Ballet de Zaragoza.
Her career took the Spaniard to very different companies in Europe. She appeared with the English National Ballet and the European Ballet in London, with the Ballet de l’Opéra-Théâtre in Limoges – and finally landed in Germany through an engagement at the Ballet Vorpommern in Greifswald. Since 2011 she has been part of the ensemble of the Ballett am Rhein. “I always thought it was nice that the repertoire is so big here,” says the 42-year-old dancer. She danced ballet by George Balanchine as well as American modern dance by Merce Cunningham or Martha Graham, creations by Kurt Jooss from the 1930s and world premieres by various choreographers
Under Martin Schläpfer, she gained her first experiences with her own choreography “Posidonia” in 2018 as part of “Young Moves”. This was followed by the impressive work “Prometheus dis.order”, a multimedia production with dancers from the Ballett am Rhein in the Tonhalle. “It was a very nice experience,” she says. And now she wants to deepen this with further works of her own. She doesn’t rule out dancing herself, but she says: “I need a break first.” Because ballet is a high-performance sport, the elasticity, the strength, the jumping, all of that is very demanding.
Her piece “Let’s dance” is regarding love, love between people and love for nature. The four dancers perform on a raised blue platform surrounded by classical music and 90s techno. Chaos and the supposed attempt to create order always accompany what is happening. At the end of the performance, a feeling of euphoria, inspired self-liberation and tenderness remains, according to the announcement. Language also plays a role. Segarra Vidal: “We developed the dialogues during the rehearsals.” Simon Hartmann and Daniel Ernesto Müller studied at the Folkwang University in Essen and are therefore influenced by dance theater.
Segarra Vidal enjoys the project character of working together and the freedom to rehearse. “I like the spontaneity. You dare more when you feel that it’s the right thing to do,” says the choreographer. She is inspired, among other things, by the fine arts, by pictures, but also by sculptures: “There is already a body and a posture, and I’m thinking regarding how the movement might continue.” You have in the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg Developed “Parallel Bodies”, for which the sculptures of the famous sculptor were the source of inspiration for her. The creation for the Lehmbruck Museum was so well received that she was immediately asked to rework her choreography for the ballet evening “Shortcuts” in Duisburg for the foyers and staircases. The ballet audience had never experienced anything like it and received it curiously and enthusiastically.
She is planning her first independent work for the fall. She will stay in Düsseldorf because she likes the city and the dance state of North Rhine-Westphalia with its many possibilities. And maybe you’ll meet Virginia Segarra Vidal around town with her analogue camera. Because it relaxes her, as she says, and at the same time gives her inspiration to just go for a walk with the camera and take pictures.
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